Hebrew word · H8241

שֶׁצֶף

beshetzef

overflowing

Qetsef is a common word for provoked anger, very often God's (Num 1:53; Deut 29:28; Jer 21:5). Shetsef appears nowhere else.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

flood, downpour, overflowing

Another spelling of she.teph (שֶׁ֫טֶף "flood" H7858)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 54:8

Range of meaning

Qetsef is a common word for provoked anger, very often God's (Num 1:53; Deut 29:28; Jer 21:5). Shetsef appears nowhere else. BDB and most modern lexicons treat it as a by-form of shetef, 'flood, torrent, overflow' (Prov 27:4 'a flood of anger'; Nah 1:8 'with an overflowing flood'), with the consonant changed so it chimes with qetsef.

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'surge of anger', WEB/YLT 'overflowing wrath', ESV 'overflowing anger', NASB 'outburst of anger', NLT 'burst of anger'. KJV has 'a little wrath', following the Greek Septuagint (en thymō mikrō, 'in a little anger').

How it drifted

The KJV's 'little wrath' comes from the ancient Greek translation's guess at a rare word, probably influenced by the 'moment' that follows. Modern readers of the KJV hear 'mild irritation', which is the opposite of the Hebrew picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: 'in a little anger'. Vulgate: in momento indignationis, 'in a moment of indignation'. Both translators seem to have taken their cue from context. Elsewhere in the Bible, divine anger is often pictured as overflowing water (Isa 8:7–8; 28:2, 15–18; Nah 1:8).

Where it appears

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 54:8 בְּשֶׁ֣צֶף in a flood of

    In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer.

    Here: A word found only here in the Hebrew Bible. Most scholars take it as a variant of shetef, 'flood, torrent', chosen so it rhymes with the next word. It pictures anger pouring over someone like a flood, and it sets up the 'waters of Noah' in the next verse.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.