Hebrew word · H8314

שָׂרָף

saraf

serpent

From the verb śārap, "to burn." In the Hebrew Bible the noun names: (1) the deadly "fiery serpents" of the wilderness (Numbers 21:6, "the serpents, the seraphim"); (2) the bronze serpent Moses set on a pole (Numbers 21:8, simply "a seraph"); (3) a desert creature listed with snakes and scorpions...

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

1) serpent, fiery serpent

1a) poisonous serpent (fiery from burning effect of poison)

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 6:2

Range of meaning: From the verb śārap, "to burn." In the Hebrew Bible the noun names: (1) the deadly "fiery serpents" of the wilderness (Numbers 21:6, "the serpents, the seraphim"); (2) the bronze serpent Moses set on a pole (Numbers 21:8, simply "a seraph"); (3) a desert creature listed with snakes and scorpions (Deuteronomy 8:15); (4) a "flying seraph" in Isaiah's own oracles (14:29; 30:6); and (5) only here, beings attending God's throne. The core sense is "burning one." Whether that means the burning pain of a venomous bite, a fiery shining appearance, or both is not settled.
Against the English: English versions simply transliterate ("seraphim," KJV "seraphims"). That keeps the word but loses its meaning: a Hebrew hearer heard "burning ones," and probably thought of serpents too. KJV, ESV and WEB add "the" ("the seraphim"), which suggests a familiar category; the Hebrew has no article.
How it drifted: Later Jewish and Christian angel lists made the seraphim one rank of angels. The 5th–6th-century Christian writer known as Pseudo-Dionysius put them at the top of nine "choirs." Medieval and modern art then gave them human bodies and feathered wings. Isaiah never calls them angels (malʾākîm, "messengers"), and these are the only throne-seraphim in the Hebrew Bible.
Used elsewhere in the period: Egyptian royal and temple art used the uraeus, a rearing cobra, often winged, as a guardian of kings and gods. Seals and seal impressions from 8th-century Judah and Israel show winged uraei, usually four-winged, in exactly Isaiah's period (documented by Othmar Keel). A bronze serpent, Nehushtan, stood in the Jerusalem temple and received offerings until Hezekiah destroyed it (2 Kings 18:4), within Isaiah's lifetime. Later Jewish texts (1 Enoch 61:10; 71:7) list seraphim with cherubim and ophanim as heavenly beings around God's throne.

From the study of Isaiah 6:6

Range of meaning: From the verb śārap, "to burn." In the Hebrew Bible the noun is used for (1) the "fiery serpents" of the wilderness (Num 21:6, 8; Deut 8:15), (2) a "flying seraph" in oracles about desert dangers (Isa 14:29; 30:6), and (3) only here (Isa 6:2, 6) for heavenly beings standing above God's throne. Most plainly it means "burning one": a being of fire, or one whose bite burns.
Against the English: English versions simply carry the Hebrew plural over ("seraphim"; KJV's "seraphims" adds an English plural to a Hebrew one). This is accurate, but it fixes the word as the proper name of a type of angel and hides the plain sense, "burning ones."
How it drifted: Later Jewish and Christian angel lore made the seraphim one rank in a fixed order of angels. Pseudo-Dionysius (c. 500 AD) put them at the top of nine 'choirs,' and Christian art then shows them as winged human figures or winged child-faces. Isaiah never calls them angels (malʾākîm, "messengers"), and gives no ranking.
Used elsewhere in the period: Judahite and Israelite seals from the 8th century BC, Isaiah's own century, show winged cobras (the Egyptian uraeus, a royal guardian snake), sometimes with four wings and occasionally with six. Scholars such as Joines (JBL 1967) and Keel (1977) argue this is the visual background. The LXX transliterates the word (seraphin) and does not translate it. In later Jewish texts (1 Enoch 61:10; 71:7) seraphim appear among the throne guardians alongside cherubim and ophanim.

From the study of Numbers 21:6

Range of meaning: A noun built on the verb שָׂרַף (saraph) 'to burn', literally 'burning one'. In the Hebrew Bible it means (1) a kind of venomous desert snake (Num 21:6, 8; Deut 8:15), (2) a 'flying saraph' among the dangerous creatures of the Negev (Isa 14:29; 30:6), and (3) the heavenly beings around God's throne in Isaiah 6:2, 6, the only place where the plural 'seraphim' names heavenly beings.
Against the English: KJV/ESV/NASB 'fiery serpents' keeps the 'burning' idea. YLT 'burning serpents' is the most literal. NIV/BSB/WEB 'venomous' and NLT 'poisonous' give the practical sense but lose the word itself, which hides the link to v.8 ('make a saraph') and to Isaiah's seraphim. NJPS 'seraph serpents' simply carries the word over into English.
How it drifted: 'Fiery' in modern English suggests flames or fire-breathing. Hebrew 'burning' more likely points to the effect of the bite (burning pain, fever, swelling), and perhaps also to the snake's colour or a fiery reputation in folklore.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deut 8:15 describes the wilderness as a land of 'nachash saraph and scorpion', so this was a known kind of creature in that region. Isa 14:29 and 30:6 mention a 'flying saraph'. In Egypt the rearing cobra (the uraeus) was a royal guardian believed to spit fire at the king's enemies, and was often drawn with wings. Winged uraeus-type serpents also appear on 8th-century BCE Judahite seals. Many scholars (e.g. K. R. Joines, JBL 1967) link these images with the saraph of Isaiah. A small copper snake with a gilded head was found in the 12th-century BCE shrine at Timna, in the copper-mining Arabah where this story is set.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

Numbers 21:6 הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים the saraphs

So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.

Here: From the root 'to burn': 'the burning ones'. It names a recognised, dreaded kind of desert snake (Deut 8:15), most likely so called for the burning pain and inflammation of its bite. It is the same word as the 'seraphim' of Isaiah 6.
Numbers 21:8 שָׂרָ֔ף a saraph

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”

Here: Literally 'a burning one'. In verse 6 the deadly snakes are called 'the burning snakes'. Here the word stands alone: Moses is told to make 'a saraph', an image of the very thing that was killing them. It is the same word as the 'seraphim' of Isaiah 6.

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 8:15 שָׂרָף֙ fiery

He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.

Here: From the root "to burn." Placed next to "snake," it names the burning, deadly kind, most likely for the fiery pain of its venom. It recalls the serpents of Num 21:6 that bit and killed Israelites.

Isaiah · 4

Isaiah 6:2 שְׂרָפִ֨ים seraphim

Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

Here: "Burning ones." The word comes from the root for burning, and elsewhere it names fiery, sometimes flying, serpents. It has no definite article, so it reads "seraphim," not "the seraphim." Isaiah introduces them as beings he saw, not as a class his hearers already knew from heaven.
Isaiah 6:6 הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים the seraphim

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

Here: "The seraphim": the six-winged beings of v. 2. The name comes from the root *śrp*, "to burn," so a fiery being is the one who carries the fire from the altar.
Isaiah 14:29 שָׂרָ֥ף [will be] a serpent

Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.

Here: The third and deadliest step. The word comes from the root "to burn," probably for the burning pain of its venom. It is the creature of the wilderness plague in Numbers 21:6 and the same word as the "seraphim" of Isaiah 6.
Isaiah 30:6 וְשָׂרָ֣ף and serpent

This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.

Here: A venomous snake named from the root 'burn': the burning bite, or perhaps its fiery colour. It is the same word as the 'fiery serpents' of the wilderness (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15) and the singular of the 'seraphim' of Isaiah 6.

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