What does סָפַד (sāpad) mean in the Bible?
Mourning is the expression of sorrow over death or grievous loss, often visible within a family or community. Genesis 23:2 records Abraham mourning and weeping for Sarah before he arranges a burial place.
Hebrew · H5594
סָפַד
Mourning is the expression of sorrow over death or grievous loss, often visible within a family or community. Genesis 23:2 records Abraham mourning and weeping for Sarah before he arranges a burial place.
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סָפַדH5594
Pronunciationsāpad
What does סָפַד (sāpad) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for סָפַד (H5594) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5594?
The BSB source-word alignment has 30 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include mourn (5), to mourn (4), and lament (2), and mourn (2), be mourned (2).
Where does סָפַד (sāpad) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 23:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (9), 1 Kings (4), 2 Samuel (3), Zechariah (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Mourning is the expression of sorrow over death or grievous loss, often visible within a family or community. Genesis 23:2 records Abraham mourning and weeping for Sarah before he arranges a burial place. Ecclesiastes 3:4 places a time to mourn beside a time to dance, recognizing differing seasons rather than commanding one emotional response for all occasions.
Zechariah 12:10 describes deep mourning over the pierced one, using the grief for an only child or firstborn to express its intensity. These settings are not interchangeable: bereavement, wisdom about time and prophetic recognition each govern their use. Mourning does not cancel trust in God or require copying every customary gesture. Its depth should not be turned into a performance that earns forgiveness.
Responsible teaching allows loss to be named and distinguishes the passage's particular grief from demands imposed on a present reader.
Passage contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Family bereavement, contrasting seasons and a prophetic response to the pierced one govern these mourning witnesses. Each preserves the seriousness of sorrow without supplying one compulsory ritual for every loss.
- Gen.23.2
She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
Abraham mourns and weeps for Sarah, then seeks a burial place; the narrative includes both sorrow and practical care without condemning his grief.
- Eccl.3.4
A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
Mourning and dancing belong to contrasting times in the wisdom poem; recognizing a time for sorrow does not prescribe its duration for an individual.
- Zech.12.10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Mourning over the pierced one follows God's gift of grace and prayer; the only-child comparison communicates intensity rather than a required bereavement ritual.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itmourn5×Jeremiah 4:8, Jeremiah 22:18, Ezekiel 24:16, Ezekiel 24:23
to mourn4×Genesis 23:2, 1 Samuel 25:1, Ecclesiastes 3:4, Jeremiah 16:5
and lament2×Jeremiah 34:5, Joel 1:13
and mourn2×2 Samuel 3:31, Jeremiah 49:3
be mourned2×Jeremiah 16:4, Jeremiah 25:33
mourned2×1 Kings 14:18, Jeremiah 16:6
will mourn2×1 Kings 14:13, Zechariah 12:12
and mourned1×Zechariah 7:5
and mourners1×Ecclesiastes 12:5
and they lamented1×1 Kings 13:30
Beat1×Isaiah 32:12
had mourned1×1 Samuel 28:3
I will lament1×Micah 1:8
she mourned1×2 Samuel 11:26
they lamented1×Genesis 50:10
They mourned1×2 Samuel 1:12
They will mourn1×Zechariah 12:10
to mourn for him1×1 Kings 13:29
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 23:2לִסְפֹּ֥דtoto mournPreposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive constructGenesis 50:10וַיִּ֨סְפְּדוּ־tothey lamentedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural1 Samuel 25:1וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־toto mournConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural1 Samuel 28:3וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־tohad mournedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2 Samuel 1:12וַֽיִּסְפְּדוּ֙toThey mournedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2 Samuel 3:31וְסִפְד֖וּtoand mournConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural2 Samuel 11:26וַתִּסְפֹּ֖דtoshe mournedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular1 Kings 13:29לִסְפֹּ֖דtoto mourn for himPreposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct1 Kings 13:30וַיִּסְפְּד֥וּtoand they lamentedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural1 Kings 14:13וְסָֽפְדוּ־towill mournConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 23:2
Aligned rows30
Books represented11
Genesis21 Samuel22 Samuel31 Kings4Ecclesiastes2Isaiah1Jeremiah9Ezekiel2Joel1Micah1Zechariah3
Source forms
וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־3xway·yis·pə·ḏū-1 Samuel 25:1, 1 Samuel 28:3, 1 Kings 14:18
יִסְפְּד֣וּ3xyis·pə·ḏūJeremiah 16:6, Jeremiah 22:18
אֶסְפְּדָ֣ה1x’es·pə·ḏāhMicah 1:8
הַסֹּפְדִֽים׃1xhas·sō·p̄ə·ḏîmEcclesiastes 12:5
וַֽיִּסְפְּדוּ֙1xway·yis·pə·ḏū2 Samuel 1:12
וַיִּסְפְּד֥וּ1xway·yis·pə·ḏū1 Kings 13:30
וַיִּ֨סְפְּדוּ־1xway·yis·pə·ḏū-Genesis 50:10
וְסָפְדָ֣ה1xwə·sā·p̄ə·ḏāhZechariah 12:12
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural6xGenesis 50:10, 1 Samuel 25:1, 1 Samuel 28:3, 2 Samuel 1:12
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural4xJeremiah 16:6, Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 34:5
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct3xGenesis 23:2, 1 Kings 13:29, Jeremiah 16:5
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural2x1 Kings 14:13, Zechariah 12:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural2x2 Samuel 3:31, Joel 1:13
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural2xJeremiah 16:4, Jeremiah 25:33
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural1xEcclesiastes 12:5
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular1xZechariah 12:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respect differing expressions of bereavement and offer practical support without grading the mourner's visible response.
- Ground future hope in Christ while allowing the present loss to be honestly named and lamented.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim mourning demonstrates unbelief; Genesis 23:2 openly records Abraham's sorrow within his promise-shaped life.
- Do not claim sorrow earns cleansing; Zechariah 12:10 begins the response with God's gift of grace and prayer.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Embodied grief ritual—tearing hair and beating breasts—expressing acute communal or personal lamentation over death or disaster
Strong'sH5594
Lexical occurrences32 versesWord forms2 forms14 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkIsaiah 32:9-20Source Gloss
properly, to tear the hair and beat the breasts (as Orientals do in grief); generally to lament ; by implication, to wail
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Embodied grief ritual—tearing hair and beating breasts—expressing acute communal or personal lamentation over death or disaster
properly, to tear the hair and beat the breasts (as Orientals do in grief); generally to lament; by implication, to wail BDB: wail Usage: lament, mourn(-er), wail.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms14
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense11×
ImperfectJer 16:6 · Jer 22:18 · Jer 34:5 · Ezek 24:16 · Ezek 24:23 · Mic 1:87×
Sequential imperfectJer 4:8 · Jer 49:32×
Infinitive constructEccl 3:41×
Participle activeIsa 32:121×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action2×
ImperfectJer 16:4 · Jer 25:332×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Women called to lament and mourn in response to coming desolation and judgment
Showing 1 selected witness from 32 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
סָפַד is a primitive root - no further derivation.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Abraham's mourning in Genesis 23 stands within a life shaped by God's promises. Sarah's death is still a real loss, and the account moves from sorrow to the practical responsibility of burial without treating those responses as rivals. Ecclesiastes likewise acknowledges that mourning has its time; this wisdom resists demands for permanent celebration while avoiding a fixed schedule for each person.
Zechariah's lament carries a different burden, arising in relation to the pierced one after God's gracious initiative. John 19 explicitly recalls the looking statement at Jesus' crucifixion, so the canonical connection rests on an actual textual use rather than the mourning verb alone. Teachers should keep those distinctions visible and offer hope in Christ without making sorrow an achievement or denying the continuing weight of bereavement.
Anchor passage
Gen.23.2
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 23:2-4 includes Abraham's mourning for Sarah alongside his effort to secure a burial place.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4 recognizes mourning and dancing as different occasions within the poem about time.
- Zechariah 12:10-12 places intense mourning within God's gift of grace and prayer, with families responding distinctly.
- Zechariah 7:5 questions whom the people's fasting and mourning served, showing that ritual expression alone does not establish sincerity.
- John 19:37 explicitly recalls looking on the pierced one from Zechariah's statement; the quotation concerns the crucified Jesus.
- Revelation 21:4 locates the final end of death and mourning in God's new creation, not a demand for present emotional suppression.
The mourning verb describes the expression of lament, while its object and occasion give the response its significance. General lexical summaries of customary gestures must not be imposed as commands on every occurrence.
From Old to New Testament
Zechariah's pierced-one statement is explicitly recalled in John 19:37 at the crucifixion. Revelation 21:4 later promises the end of mourning with death in God's new creation. These connections arise from whole passages and canonical use, not from a hidden prediction inside H5594 or a rule that believers must conceal present sorrow.
Passage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application