סוּר (sur)
sur
degenerate
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb sur primarily means to turn aside or depart from a course. While it can describe physical movement away from a path, in Scripture it often carries a moral weight, indicating a departure from God’s ways. This semantic range allows it to cover both literal deviation and spiritual apostasy.
In the Old Testament, this word is a common term for removing or taking something away. However, its use in Jeremiah highlights a specific nuance: turning away from covenant faithfulness. When applied to people, it describes a deliberate shift in direction that leads to degeneration or separation from divine instruction, rather than simple physical relocation.
The sources note that while the root implies movement, the theological implication is often negative when directed toward God’s commands. It signifies a breaking of alignment with the intended path, resulting in a state of being removed or turned aside from the right way. This usage underscores the seriousness of spiritual drift as a form of departure.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word sur describes a turning away from a set path. In Jeremiah, it paints a picture of a vine that was planted to bear good fruit but instead twisted into something wild and foreign. This image reminds us that our spiritual health depends on staying connected to the source of life. When we drift from God’s ways, we do not just move physically; we shift our allegiance and lose our purpose.
It is easy to feel discouraged when we see this kind of departure in history or even in ourselves. Yet the text does not leave us in that darkness. The same passage points to Yahweh as the hope of Israel. Even when people turn aside, God remains the spring of living waters. We are invited to return to that source, trusting that His faithfulness is stronger than our tendency to wander.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ disloyal [ones]/ my1×
- [the] degenerate [ones] of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- סוּרֵ֖י1×
- וְ/סוּרַ/י֙1×
Key Verses
-
Jeremiah 2:21
Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a pure and faithful seed. How then have you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine to me?
This verse uses the word to describe a shocking moral inversion where God’s planted vine becomes a foreign, degenerate branch.
-
Jeremiah 17:13
Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be disappointed. Those who depart from me will be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Yahweh, the spring of living waters.
Here the term links the act of departing from God directly to being written in the earth, highlighting the finality of spiritual abandonment.