Hebrew word · H8275

שַׁרְבִֿיט

sharvit

scepter

Scepter or royal staff. It is a later form of Hebrew shevet ('rod, staff, tribal scepter'). The inserted r is typical of Aramaic-influenced forms. It occurs only in Esther (4:11; 5:2 twice; 8:4).

Appears 4 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) sceptre

2) (TWOT) dart, spear

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 Esther 5:2

Range of meaning

Scepter or royal staff. It is a later form of Hebrew shevet ('rod, staff, tribal scepter'). The inserted r is typical of Aramaic-influenced forms. It occurs only in Esther (4:11; 5:2 twice; 8:4).

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'scepter'. The word is accurate, but modern readers may picture a short, jeweled ceremonial wand. Persian royal art shows a long staff, and in this story the object has a legal function.

Used elsewhere in the period

Reliefs at Persepolis show the Achaemenid king on his throne holding a long staff in one hand while receiving an official who bows before him. Esther 4:11 states the rule tied to it: anyone who comes to the king in the inner court unsummoned is to be put to death, 'except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live.'

Where it appears

Esther · 4

  1. Esther 4:11 שַׁרְבִ֥יט [the] scepter of

    “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”

  2. Esther 5:2 שַׁרְבִ֤יט הַשַּׁרְבִֽיט׃ ס [the] scepter of, the scepter

    As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

    Here: A word found only in Esther. It is a later, Aramaic-influenced form of the ordinary Hebrew shevet ('rod, staff, scepter'). The object is the king's staff of office.

  3. Esther 8:4 שַׁרְבִ֣ט [the] scepter of

    The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.

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