צִפּוּי (tsip.puy)
tsip.puy
plating
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun tsippuy refers specifically to the act or result of plating a surface with metal, particularly gold or silver. It appears only three times in the Old Testament, primarily in Exodus and Isaiah, where it describes the decorative overlay applied to sacred objects or structures.
In its biblical context, this term highlights the transformation of ordinary materials into something precious and set apart. For instance, it is used to describe the gold plating on the Ark of the Covenant and other temple furnishings, emphasizing both the beauty and the holiness of these items through their metallic covering.
The word underscores a tangible sense of value and honor in ancient Israelite worship. By covering base materials with precious metals, craftsmen created objects that reflected divine glory and worth, making tsippuy a key term for understanding how physical craftsmanship expressed spiritual significance in the biblical world.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word tsippuy describes the careful act of covering a surface with precious metal, such as gold or silver. In the Old Testament, this technique transformed ordinary materials into objects of honor and beauty. When craftsmen applied these overlays to sacred items, they were not merely decorating; they were setting things apart for holy use. This physical process offers a tangible picture of how value is assigned in God's eyes.
For your faith life, this concept reminds us that what we offer to God can be transformed by His grace. Just as base metals were covered with gold to reflect divine glory, our everyday lives and ordinary efforts can be 'plated' with Christ’s righteousness. This doesn't erase our humanity but highlights the spiritual significance behind our worship and service.
Isaiah 30:22 provides a sobering counterpoint, warning against idolatry where people defile such precious coverings. The text calls believers to reject false gods and cast them away. This contrast encourages us to examine what we hold dear, ensuring our hearts remain focused on the true God rather than creating substitutes that lack His glory.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ [the] overlay of2×
- [the] plating of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- צִפּוּי֙1×
- וְ/צִפּ֧וּי1×
- וְ/צִפּ֥וּי1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 38:17
The sockets for the pillars were of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. Their capitals were overlaid with silver. All the pillars of the court had silver bands.
This verse details the specific construction of the tabernacle pillars, showing how silver overlays were applied to capitals to signify the structure's sacred status.
-
Exodus 38:19
Their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of bronze; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals, and their fillets, of silver.
Here the term appears again in describing the court pillars, reinforcing the consistency of using precious metal coverings to denote holiness in worship spaces.
-
Isaiah 30:22
You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”
This passage uses the word for idolatrous images, commanding believers to defile and cast away these false 'plated' objects, highlighting the danger of misdirected worship.