סֵ֫פֶר185 H5612a
A written document: a book or scroll, a letter or epistle, or an official legal certificate such as a deed of divorce or royal decree.
An ancient Semitic loan-word (from Akkadian shipru, 'message, missive') that became Hebrew's primary term for anything committed to writing. Its range stretches from the grand — 'the Book of the Law' found in Josiah's temple (2 Kgs 22:8) and 'the Book of the Wars of the LORD' (Num 21:14) — down to the grimly practical: Jezebel's forged letters (1 Kgs 21:8) and the certificate of divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1. Spanish captures the breadth well, using 'libro' for sacred and historical scrolls but 'carta' for personal correspondence and 'documento' for legal certificates. The word's Akkadian ancestry as a royal dispatch shines through in the letter and decree senses, while its broader evolution into 'book' reflects Israel's growing literary culture.
Senses
1. book or scroll — A book or scroll — a substantial written composition, whether historical, legal, prophetic, or liturgical. 'The Book of the Covenant' (Exod 24:7), 'the Book of Jashar' (Josh 10:13), and 'the Book of the Law' (Deut 31:26) all use this sense. Spanish 'libro' and German 'Buch' consistently render these references, while French sometimes retains the English loan 'book' in the multilingual data. The 142 occurrences make this the overwhelmingly dominant sense, reflecting sefer's status as the standard Hebrew term for any extended written work. 142×
AR["سِفرَ","سِفرِ","سِفْرُ","سِفْرِ","كِتَابَ","كِتَابُ"]·ben["পুস্তক","পুস্তকে","বই"]·DE["Buch-von","book-von","der-book-von","ist-das-Buch","scroll-von"]·EN["book-of","scroll-of","the-book-of"]·FR["book-de","le-book-de","livre-de","rouleau-de","scroll-de"]·heb["ספר"]·HI["पुस्तक","पुस्तक-में","सेपेर"]·ID["-kitab","kitab"]·IT["book-di","il-book-di","libro-di","rotolo-di","scroll-di"]·jav["kitab","kitab-"]·KO["서책을","책","책(접)","책-의","책에","책이"]·PT["livro-de","é-o-livro"]·RU["-книге","книга","книге","книгу"]·ES["el-libro-de","libro-de"]·SW["kitabu","kitabu-cha"]·TR["kitabı","kitabında","kitabını","kitabının","kitap"]·urd["کتاب"]
Gen 5:1, Exod 24:7, Deut 31:26, Josh 1:8, Josh 10:13, 2 Sam 1:18, 1 Kgs 11:41, 1 Kgs 14:19, 1 Kgs 14:29, 1 Kgs 15:7, 1 Kgs 15:23, 1 Kgs 15:31 (+38 more)
2. letter or epistle — A letter or epistle — a shorter written communication sent from one person to another. David's fateful letter to Joab ordering Uriah's death (2 Sam 11:14-15), Jezebel's forged letters sealed with Ahab's seal (1 Kgs 21:8), and the diplomatic correspondence of the exile period all employ this sense. Spanish shifts decisively to 'carta' and 'cartas,' and German uses 'Briefe,' clearly distinguishing this from the 'book' sense. The original Akkadian meaning of shipru as a royal dispatch survives most clearly here. 29×
AR["الرَّسَائِلُ","الرِّسَالَةَ","الرِّسَالَةِ","رَسائِلَ","رَسَائِلَ","رَسَائِلُ","رِسالَةً","رِسَالَةً","ٱلرِّسَالَةِ"]·ben["-চিঠিগুলো","চিঠি","চিঠিগুলি","চিঠিগুলো","পত্র","পত্র-এর","পত্রগুলি"]·DE["Briefe","Buch","das-Buch","der-Brief","ein-Brief"]·EN["a-letter","letters","the-letter","the-letters"]·FR["le-lettre","le-livre","lettres","livre","un-lettre"]·heb["ה-ספר","מכתבים","ספר","ספרים"]·HI["पत्र","पत्र-के","पत्र-को","सपारीम","सेपेर","हस्सेपेर"]·ID["-surat","kitab","surat","surat-itu","surat-surat"]·IT["il-lettera","lettere","libro","un-lettera"]·jav["serat","serat-serat"]·KO["그-서신들을","그-편지가","그-편지의","글들이","서신들을","편지","편지-가","편지-를","편지들과","편지들을","편지를"]·PT["a-carta","as-cartas","carta","cartas"]·RU["-письмо","письма","письмо"]·ES["carta","cartas","documentos","la-carta","los-documentos"]·SW["barua"]·TR["mektubun-o","mektup","mektup-o","mektuplar","mektupları-"]·urd["خط","خط-کے","خطوط"]
2 Sam 11:14, 2 Sam 11:15, 1 Kgs 21:8, 1 Kgs 21:8, 1 Kgs 21:8, 1 Kgs 21:9, 1 Kgs 21:11, 2 Kgs 5:5, 2 Kgs 5:6, 2 Kgs 5:6, 2 Kgs 5:7, 2 Kgs 10:1 (+17 more)
3. official document or certificate — An official document or legal certificate — a formal instrument with binding legal force. The 'bill of divorcement' (sefer keritut, Deut 24:1, 3; Isa 50:1; Jer 3:8) is the paradigm case, but this also covers property deeds (Jer 32:11-12) and royal decrees (Esth 9:25). Spanish distinguishes this with 'documento' and 'carta de,' while German sometimes uses 'Scheidbrief' for the divorce certificate. The formality and legal consequence set these apart from both literary scrolls and personal letters. 14×
AR["السِّفْرِ","الْأَسْفَارِ","الْكِتَابِ","سِفْرَ","سِفْرِ","فِي-السِّفْرِ","فِي-سِفْرِ","كِتَابَ","كِتَابُ"]·ben["-চিঠির","-দলিল","-দলিলগুলি","-দলিলে","দলিল","পত্র","পত্র-"]·DE["Buch","das-Buch","der-Schreiber","document-von","im-Buch"]·EN["certificate-of","document-of","in-document-of","in-the-document","the-document","the-documents"]·FR["dans-le-livre","der-livre","document-de","le-livre","livre"]·heb["ב-ה-ספר","ב-ספר","ה-ספר","ה-ספרים","ספר"]·HI["पत्र","पत्रों","में-पत्र"]·ID["dalam-surat","surat","surat-itu","surat-surat"]·IT["document-di","il-libro","libro"]·jav["ing-layang","layang","serat"]·KO["그-문서들을","그-문서를","그-문서에","그-문서에서","그-서신과","문서가","문서를","서류를"]·PT["a-carta","carta-de","documento-de","no-documento","no-documento-de","o-documento","os-documentos"]·RU["в-грамоте","в-грамоту","в-грамоты","грамоту","грамоты","письмо","письмом","свиток"]·ES["carta-de","documento","documento-de","el-documento","en-documento-de","en-el-documento","los-documentos"]·SW["barua","hati","hati-ya","katika-hati","katika-hati-ya"]·TR["belge","belgede","belgeleri","belgesinde","belgesini","kagidi-","mektup-","tomarını"]·urd["خط","دستاویز","دستاویز-میں","دستاویزات","طلاق-نامہ"]
4. sense 4 — The literature and learning of a foreign culture — specifically the 'writings and language of the Chaldeans' (Dan 1:4, 17), where sefer denotes not a single document but an entire scribal-scholarly tradition. Spanish uses 'escritura' ('writing' as a discipline), and German 'Buch' obscures the distinction. Daniel and his companions were trained in Babylonian sefer — the cuneiform literary corpus — making this a metonymic extension from 'written document' to 'written learning' as a cultural domain. 2×
AR["كِتَابٍ","كِتَابَ"]·ben["লিপি","লিপিতে"]·DE["Buch"]·EN["writing"]·FR["livre"]·heb["ספר"]·HI["पुस्तक"]·ID["tulisan"]·IT["libro"]·jav["seratan"]·KO["문자","문자와"]·PT["escrito"]·RU["книге"]·ES["escritura"]·SW["maandiko"]·TR["yazıda","yazısını"]·urd["کتاب"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
סֵ֫פֶר185 n.m. Is 29:11 missive, document, writing, book (prob. ancient loan-word from Assyrian šipru, missive, message DlHWB 683, TelAm. šipru, šipirtu, id. WklTA Gloss.; √ šâpâru, send, send message or letter DlHWB 683, Wkll.c., whence also šâpiru, writer, and (perhaps ruler, šapirûtu, rule; v. HomAufsätze (1892), 34 BuhlLex 13; perhaps cf. Arabic سَفَرَ go forth to journey, ii. send on a…