What does סוֹד (sôḏ) mean in the Bible?
A council or confidential counsel concerns the company, deliberation or shared confidence named by its passage. Psalm 25 speaks of the LORD's counsel with those who fear Him and of making His covenant known.
Hebrew · H5475
סוֹד
A council or confidential counsel concerns the company, deliberation or shared confidence named by its passage. Psalm 25 speaks of the Lord's counsel with those who fear Him and of making His covenant known.
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סוֹדH5475
Pronunciationsôḏ
What does סוֹד (sôḏ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for סוֹד (H5475) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5475?
The BSB source-word alignment has 21 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include In the council (3), . . . (1), a secret (1), but He is a friend (1), confidence (1).
Where does סוֹד (sôḏ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 49:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (6), Proverbs (5), Jeremiah (4), Job (3).
What This Word Actually Means
A council or confidential counsel concerns the company, deliberation or shared confidence named by its passage. Psalm 25 speaks of the Lord's counsel with those who fear Him and of making His covenant known. Proverbs contrasts revealing a confidence with trustworthy keeping, and it also values many counselors for established plans. Jeremiah challenges prophets who have not stood in the Lord's council and whose words do not turn people from evil.
Psalm 55 remembers sweet counsel with someone whose betrayal now causes grief. Jacob refuses association with Simeon and Levi's violent council. These contexts distinguish faithful confidence, responsible deliberation and dangerous company. The noun does not make secrecy holy, allow a leader to claim automatic access to God's hidden decisions, or require someone to conceal harm in order to prove loyalty.
How the Bible Uses It
Divine counsel, kept confidence, many advisers, disputed prophetic claims, remembered friendship and repudiated violence differ in speaker and moral assessment. The content and company of the counsel remain decisive.
- Ps.25.14
The Lord confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
The Lord's counsel belongs with reverence and making His covenant known within this prayer for guidance.
- Prov.11.13
A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
The contrast concerns a gossip revealing a confidence and a trustworthy person keeping it.
- Prov.15.22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
Plans fail without counsel and are established with many advisers rather than private certainty.
- Jer.23.18
But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and obeyed it?
The question challenges whether a prophet has actually stood in the Lord's council and heard His word.
- Ps.55.14
We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
The speaker remembers sweet counsel with a companion within a lament over betrayal and fear.
- Gen.49.6
May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
Jacob refuses Simeon and Levi's council and assembly because the surrounding words name their violence.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItIn the council3×Psalms 89:7, Psalms 111:1, Jeremiah 23:18
. . .1×Job 19:19
a secret1×Proverbs 11:13
but He is a friend1×Proverbs 3:32
confidence1×Proverbs 25:9
confides1×Psalms 25:14
fellowship1×Psalms 55:14
from the scheming1×Psalms 64:2
gathered1×Jeremiah 6:11
His plan1×Amos 3:7
in My council1×Jeremiah 23:22
of counsel1×Proverbs 15:22
on the council1×Job 15:8
secrets1×Proverbs 20:19
their council1×Genesis 49:6
they scheme1×Psalms 83:3
to the council1×Ezekiel 13:9
when the friendship1×Job 29:4
with the band1×Jeremiah 15:17
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 49:6בְּסֹדָם֙totheir councilPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine pluralJob 15:8הַבְס֣וֹדtoon the councilArticle, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructJob 19:19סוֹדִ֑יto. . .Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularJob 29:4בְּס֥וֹדtowhen the friendshipPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructPsalms 25:14ס֣וֹדtoconfidesNoun - masculine singular constructPsalms 55:14ס֑וֹדtofellowshipNoun - masculine singularPsalms 64:2מִסּ֣וֹדtofrom the schemingPreposition-m | Noun - masculine singularPsalms 83:3ס֑וֹדtothey schemeNoun - masculine singularPsalms 89:7בְּסוֹד־toIn the councilPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructPsalms 111:1בְּס֖וֹדtoin the councilPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 49:6
Aligned rows21
Books represented7
Genesis1Job3Psalms6Proverbs5Jeremiah4Ezekiel1Amos1
Source forms
ס֑וֹד3xsō·wḏPsalms 55:14, Psalms 83:3, Proverbs 15:22
בְּסֹדָם֙1xbə·sō·ḏāmGenesis 49:6
בְּס֥וֹד1xbə·sō·wḏJob 29:4
בְּס֖וֹד1xbə·sō·wḏPsalms 111:1
בְּס֣וֹד1xbə·sō·wḏJeremiah 23:18
בְּס֧וֹד1xbə·sō·wḏEzekiel 13:9
בְסוֹד־1xḇə·sō·wḏ-Jeremiah 15:17
בְּסוֹד־1xbə·sō·wḏ-Psalms 89:7
Parsing patterns
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct6xJob 29:4, Psalms 89:7, Psalms 111:1, Jeremiah 15:17
Noun - masculine singular5xPsalms 55:14, Psalms 83:3, Proverbs 11:13, Proverbs 15:22
Noun - masculine singular construct2xPsalms 25:14, Jeremiah 6:11
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular2xProverbs 3:32, Amos 3:7
Article, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct1xJob 15:8
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular1xProverbs 25:9
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular1xJob 19:19
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular1xJeremiah 23:22
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Seek accountable advice and hear contrary evidence before claiming certainty about another person's situation.
- Protect vulnerable people without demanding silence as proof of loyalty to a private circle.
Avoid claiming...
- This noun cannot give a present leader unrestricted knowledge of God's hidden decisions.
- Confidential counsel cannot make violence or the suppression of harm righteous.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Intimate counsel or secret shared within a closed circle of trust; God's hidden purposes revealed to prophets.
Source Gloss
a session , i.e. company of persons (in close deliberation); by implication, intimacy , consultation , a secret
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Intimate counsel or secret shared within a closed circle of trust; God's hidden purposes revealed to prophets.
a session, i.e. company of persons (in close deliberation); by implication, intimacy, consultation, a secret BDB: council Usage: assembly, consel, inward, secret (counsel).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
confidential matter or private counsel
Secret; counsel; intimate friendship; a confidential conversation or assembly
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 21 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Why This Word Matters
The proverb highlights the responsibility to guard sensitive information.Proverbs 11:13
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Confidential counsel needs examination of what is being shared and what it produces. Psalm 25 places the Lord's counsel within reverence, covenant instruction and a prayer for guidance. Proverbs values trustworthy confidence and many advisers, while Jeremiah challenges claims to have stood in the Lord's council and asks about the resulting response to evil. Psalm 55 shows that remembered intimacy can become part of grief when a companion betrays.
Genesis 49 supplies a clear refusal to join a violent council. These settings cannot be reduced to a rule that secret knowledge proves authority. A congregation can protect appropriate confidence and seek accountable advice while hearing reports of harm openly enough for protection and responsible examination. A leader's private impression must not be presented as certain divine counsel, and a person who refuses violent or exploitative company is not thereby betraying faithful friendship.
Anchor passage
Prov.15.22
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 25 joins the Lord's counsel to reverence and the making known of His covenant.
- Proverbs distinguishes gossip from the trustworthy keeping of an appropriate confidence.
- Many advisers help establish plans rather than validating isolated certainty through a title.
- Jeremiah challenges prophetic claims through actual hearing and turning people from evil ways.
- Psalm 55 lets betrayed friendship and remembered counsel become part of truthful lament.
- Jacob's refusal of violent council prevents association itself from establishing righteousness.
The licensed council and confidential-counsel range includes company, deliberation and shared confidence according to context. Twenty-one directly tagged BSB tokens and verses remain separately stated from the canonical twenty-one; this noun does not replace broader advice vocabulary or encode divine access by itself.
From Old to New Testament
John 15:1-17 includes Jesus' words about making known what He heard from the Father, friendship, obedience and love for one another. This is a canonical comparison with shared confidence, not a claim that every private circle has Jesus' authority or that the Hebrew noun grants hidden knowledge to current leaders.