Hebrew word · H8323

שָׂרַר

sorer

to rule

Śārar means "to rule, be chief, exercise authority." It is related to śar, the ordinary word for a chief, official, commander or leading man (not a king's son). Here it is repeated in an emphatic construction: "lord it, lord it."

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be or act as prince, rule, contend, have power, prevail over, reign, govern

1a) (Qal) to rule over, govern

1b) (Hithpael) to lord it over

Also means: sur (שׂוּר "to reign" H7786)

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 Numbers 16:13

Range of meaning

Śārar means "to rule, be chief, exercise authority." It is related to śar, the ordinary word for a chief, official, commander or leading man (not a king's son). In this form (hithpael), which often means doing or acting something for oneself, it means "set oneself up as ruler, play the lord, lord it over." The form occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Here it is repeated in an emphatic construction: "lord it, lord it."

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "make thyself a prince." In modern English "prince" means a royal son, which śar does not. BSB's "appoint yourself as ruler" and "lord it over us" (NIV and others) catch the self-appointed, overbearing tone. The KJV's "except" misreads the connective, and its "altogether" stands for the repetition.

How it drifted

In 1611 "prince" still had its older sense of "chief ruler, leader" (from Latin princeps). Today it mostly means a monarch's son.

Used elsewhere in the period

Other forms of the verb appear at Judg 9:22 (Abimelech "ruled" Israel), Isa 32:1 ("princes will rule with justice"), Esth 1:22 and Prov 8:16. The noun śar is used in the key earlier taunt at Exod 2:14: "Who made you a śar and judge over us?"

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 16:13 תִשְׂתָּרֵ֥ר הִשְׂתָּרֵֽר׃ you will make yourself ruler, really <make yourself ruler>

    Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?

    Here: "You make yourself a sar," a chief or commander. The verb form means acting this part for oneself, setting oneself up as ruler. This is the only place in the Bible the verb takes this form.

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 1:22 שֹׂרֵ֣ר ruler

    He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his own household.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 8:16 יָשֹׂ֑רוּ they rule

    By me princes rule, and all nobles who govern justly.

    Here: A verb from the same root as śar. It describes ongoing, regular action: 'officials hold office', 'chiefs act as chiefs'. It mirrors 'kings reign' (literally 'kings king') in verse 15.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 32:1 יָשֹֽׂרוּ׃ they will rule

    Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

    Here: 'They will rule'. This is a rare verb built on the same root as śārîm, so the second line repeats the sound pattern of the first: 'officials will officiate'. The exact phrase śārîm yāśōrû appears again only in Proverbs 8:16, where Wisdom says 'by me princes rule'.

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