שָׂדַי (sa.day)
sa.day
Sirion; land: soil; land: country; Field (of the Launderer); land: wildlife; field
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 267 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew word sadeh refers broadly to open land, covering everything from cultivated fields to wild country. It distinguishes settled ground from the sea or mountains, serving as the stage for daily agricultural life and the habitat of wild animals. In Genesis, this term appears frequently when describing the pastoral activities of the patriarchs, such as Abraham’s shepherds quarreling over grazing space (Genesis 13:7). The word captures both the productivity of tilled soil and the untamed nature of the wilderness.
Its usage extends beyond simple geography to include specific locations like the "field of Hamor," where Jacob bought land (Genesis 33:19), or the "field of the washer," a place associated with laundry work near the city gate (2 Kings 18:17). This versatility allows the text to shift seamlessly between intimate scenes of family life and broader narratives of national history. The term grounds biblical stories in physical reality, reminding readers that faith unfolded in real places where people worked, traveled, and met.
Translators typically render sadeh as "field," "land," or "country" depending on context. This flexibility reflects the word’s core meaning of open space rather than a fixed property boundary. Whether describing the barren wastes or fertile valleys, sadeh emphasizes the tangible world where divine promises were enacted and human struggles played out.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word sadeh describes open land, ranging from cultivated plots to wild country. It grounds biblical stories in physical reality, showing that faith unfolded in real places where people worked and met. This term reminds us that God’s promises were enacted in tangible soil, not just in abstract ideas.
When Isaac smelled the scent of his son Jacob, he compared it to the smell of a field blessed by Yahweh (Genesis 27:27). This connection links divine favor with the earth itself. It suggests that our daily labor and the ground we walk on are part of God’s good creation.
Even in moments of conflict or loss, this land serves as a stage for human drama and divine providence. From Cain and Abel to Abraham purchasing a burial plot, sadeh anchors our spiritual journey in the earth. It invites us to see our own surroundings as places where God meets us.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 267 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ field100×
- in the/ field35×
- [the] field15×
- in the/ open country13×
- [the] field of12×
- a field9×
- in/ [the] region of8×
- fields5×
- field/ your5×
- field/ his5×
- [were] in the/ open country5×
- in/ a field4×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הַ/שָּׂדֶ֖ה26×
- בַּ/שָּׂדֶ֔ה19×
- הַ/שָּׂדֶ֔ה17×
- הַ/שָּׂדֶה֙16×
- הַ/שָּׂדֶ֑ה11×
- בַּ/שָּׂדֶ֑ה11×
- בַּ/שָּׂדֶֽה\׃10×
- הַ/שָּׂדֶֽה\׃9×
- שְׂדֵ֣ה7×
- הַ/שָּׂדֶ֗ה6×
- בִּ/שְׂדֵ֣ה6×
- שְׂדֵ֥ה5×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 27:27
He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, “Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
This verse uniquely connects the blessing of a person with the scent of a blessed field, linking divine favor to the earth.
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Genesis 4:8
Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.
The field here becomes the setting for the first murder, showing how open land can hold both life and tragedy.
-
Genesis 23:19
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
Abraham’s purchase of this specific field establishes a permanent possession for his family in Canaan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does sadeh mean in the Bible?
How is sadeh different from eretz?
Where does sadeh appear in Genesis?
Every Occurrence (267 verses across 28 books)
Genesis 42 verses
No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused…
Genesis 2:19Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man…
Genesis 2:20The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there…
Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God…
Genesis 3:14Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal…
Genesis 3:18It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
Genesis 4:8Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his…
Genesis 14:7They returned, and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the…
Genesis 23:9that he may sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him…
Genesis 23:11“No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of…
Genesis 23:13He spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will, please hear me. I will give the…
Genesis 23:17So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, the cave which was in it, and all…
Genesis 23:19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the…
Genesis 23:20The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham by the children of Heth as a possession for a burial…
Genesis 24:63Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes and looked. Behold, there were camels…
Genesis 24:65She said to the servant, “Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.”…
Genesis 25:9Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite,…
Genesis 25:10the field which Abraham purchased from the children of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah, his wife.
Genesis 25:27The boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
Genesis 25:29Jacob boiled stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.
Genesis 27:3Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and get me venison.
Genesis 27:5Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
Genesis 27:27He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, “Behold, the smell of my…
Genesis 29:2He looked, and saw a well in the field, and saw three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they…
Genesis 30:14Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother, Leah. Then…
Genesis 30:16Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, “You must come in to me; for I have…
Genesis 31:4Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock,
Genesis 33:19He bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father,…
Genesis 34:5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held…
Genesis 34:7The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he…
Genesis 34:28They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,
Genesis 36:35Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his…
Genesis 37:7for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your…
Genesis 37:15A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
Genesis 39:5From the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house for…
Genesis 41:48He gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities. He…
Genesis 47:20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine…
Genesis 47:24It will happen at the harvests, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of…
Genesis 49:29He instructed them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in…
Genesis 49:30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with…
Genesis 49:32the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.”
Genesis 50:13for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham…