H6834 H6834
Zippor — personal name, father of Balak king of Moab; meaning 'bird' or 'sparrow'
A masculine proper name meaning 'bird' (perhaps specifically 'sparrow'), borne by the father of Balak, king of Moab, who hired Balaam to curse Israel. The name appears seven times, always identifying Balak's lineage (Num 22:2, 4, 10, 16; 23:18; Josh 24:9; Judg 11:25). The bird-name follows a common Semitic pattern of animal names for persons, paralleled by the Palmyrene name Tsipra. All translations simply transliterate: English, Spanish, French, and German all render 'Zippor.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Zippor — a proper name ('bird, sparrow') identifying the father of Balak, king of Moab. Every occurrence (Num 22:2, 4, 10, 16; 23:18; Josh 24:9; Judg 11:25) appears in the patronymic formula 'Balak son of Zippor,' establishing Balak's royal lineage in the context of Moab's attempt to have Israel cursed by Balaam. The name reflects the common ancient Near Eastern practice of using animal names for persons (cf. Palmyrene Tsipra). All multilingual glosses uniformly transliterate the name without translation. 7×
AR["صِفُّورَ", "صِفّورَ"]·ben["সিপ্পোর", "সিপ্পোরের"]·DE["Zippor"]·EN["Zippor"]·FR["Zippor"]·heb["ציפור", "צפור", "צפר"]·HI["सिप्पोर-का", "सिप्पोर-के"]·ID["Zipor"]·IT["Zippor"]·jav["Tsipor", "Zipor"]·KO["싣보르여", "십볼의", "싱론"]·PT["Tsipor", "Tsippor"]·RU["Циппора"]·ES["Sipor", "Zipor"]·SW["Sipori"]·TR["Tsipor-un", "Tsippor'un"]·urd["صفور", "صفور-کا", "صِپّور-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. צִפּוֹר n.pr.m. father of Balak, king of Moab (bird; perhaps specif. sparrow, cf. GrayProp. N. 94; Palm. n.pr.m. צפרא);—צ׳ Nu 22:2, 4, 16; Jos 24:9; Ju 11:25, צִפֹּר Nu 22:10; 23:18; Σεπφωρ.