H5033 H5033
springs, sources (of the sea/deep)
A rare noun of uncertain etymology, appearing only in Job 38:16 where God challenges Job: 'Have you entered the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?' The term describes the mythological sources or springs of the ocean—the mysterious depths where waters originate. The parallel term 'recesses of the deep' (חֵקֶר תְּהוֹם) reinforces this sense of inaccessible, primordial waters. Ancient Near Eastern cosmology imagined underground springs feeding the seas, and God's rhetorical question asserts Job's limited access compared to divine omniscience.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Springs or sources—specifically the mythical fountains of the ocean depths, inaccessible to humans. Job 38:16 places this in God's catalog of cosmological wonders: 'Have you entered into נִבְכֵי־יָם (the springs of the sea)?' The construct form links these 'springs' directly to 'sea,' suggesting deep underwater sources. Some scholars have questioned the text or proposed alternative roots (נִבְלֵי, נִבְעֵי), but the meaning 'springs/sources' fits the parallelism with 'recesses of the deep.' Spanish 'manantiales-de' and English 'the-springs-of' both capture the sense of originating sources, pointing to waters beyond human exploration—cosmic mysteries that dwarf Job's understanding. 1×
AR["يَنَابِيعِ-"]·ben["উৎসে-"]·DE["[נבכי]"]·EN["the-springs-of-"]·FR["נבכי"]·heb["נבכי"]·HI["स्रोतों"]·ID["mata air-"]·IT["il-springs-di"]·jav["sumber-ipun"]·KO["샘들-에"]·PT["as-fontes-do-"]·RU["истоков-"]·ES["manantiales-de-"]·SW["chemchemi-za"]·TR["kaynaklarına-"]·urd["گہرائیوں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [נֵ֫בֶךְ] n.[m.] spring (si vera l.) (√ unknown);—only pl. cstr. נִבְכֵי־יָם Jb 38:16 the springs, sources of the ocean (‖ חֵ֫קֶר תְּהוֹם);—Ol Siegf נִבְלֵי; Bu suggests נבעי = מַכֻּעֵי as poss.; but Gr Perles read נִבְכֵי Jb 28:11, also, for Mass. מִבְּכִי, cf. נָהָר 2.