סְבַל (se.val)
se.val
to bear
A:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb seval means to bear or carry a load. It appears only once in the Old Testament, in Ezra 9:4, where it describes the heavy burden of grief and shame that fell on the prophet and others when they realized the people had intermarried with surrounding nations.
This single usage highlights the physical weight of emotional distress. The word does not describe a voluntary task but an imposed pressure that one must support. In Ezra, the "load" is not a sack of grain but the collective sin and its consequences, which pressed down on the community so heavily that they sat stunned and silent.
Translators typically render this as "sat down overwhelmed" or "was seized with horror," capturing the way the burden immobilized them. The term reminds readers that spiritual crises can feel like physical weights, requiring endurance rather than immediate action. It stands as a rare but poignant example of Hebrew vocabulary linking moral crisis to bodily sensation.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word seval describes a weight that presses down upon you, often one you did not choose to carry. In the Old Testament, it appears only once, capturing the heavy burden of grief and shame felt by Ezra and his companions when they discovered the people had intermarried with surrounding nations. This was not a voluntary task but an imposed pressure that left them stunned and silent.
When you face moral crises or deep disappointment, the weight can feel physical, immobilizing your ability to act immediately. This rare usage reminds us that spiritual distress often manifests as bodily sensation. It invites patience rather than hasty solutions, acknowledging that some burdens require endurance before they can be lifted.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [be] retained1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מְסֽוֹבְלִ֑ין1×