שְׂרֵפָה (se.re.phah)
se.re.phah
fire
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word serpah refers specifically to the act of burning or the fire itself, often in contexts of ritual purification or judgment. In ancient Israel, this was not merely a destructive force but a means of transformation. When used for sacred purposes, such as the ashes of the red heifer in Numbers 19, it served to cleanse impurity, pointing to the need for spiritual purity before God.
Yet this same word also appears in accounts of divine judgment, reminding us that God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. The fire that consumed offerings or punished rebellion was a visible sign of His presence and authority. For believers today, this dual nature invites reflection on how we approach God—with reverence for His holiness and trust in His power to purify our hearts.
Whether in the context of ritual cleansing or historical judgment, serpah underscores the seriousness of sin and the necessity of atonement. It points forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, who bore the weight of judgment so that we might be made clean and restored to fellowship with God.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- a burning2×
- [the] burning of2×
- to/ burning1×
- the/ burning1×
- like/ [the] burning of1×
- from/ [the] burning1×
- burning1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שְׂרֵפָ֖ה2×
- שְׂרֵפָֽה\׃1×
- שְׂרֵפַ֥ת1×
- שְׂרֵפַ֣ת1×
- מִ/שְׂרֵפָ֑ה1×
- לִ/שְׂרֵפָ֑ה1×
- כִּ/שְׂרֵפַ֥ת1×
- הַ/שְּׂרֵפָ֔ה1×
Key Verses
-
Numbers 19:6
The priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the middle of the burning of the heifer.
This verse highlights the ritual use of fire in preparing the ashes for cleansing, showing how serpah was central to maintaining ceremonial purity.
-
Leviticus 10:6
Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled.
Here, Moses references the fire as a direct act of God’s judgment, emphasizing the solemnity and consequences of approaching Him improperly.
-
Amos 4:11
“I have overthrown some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
The metaphor of being like a burning stick plucked from the fire illustrates both deliverance and the lingering reminder of divine judgment on unrepentant hearts.