H8314b H8314b
Seraphim, celestial beings with six wings attending God's throne in Isaiah's vision
The seraphim appear exclusively in Isaiah 6 as angelic beings stationed above the Lord's throne. They have six wings (two covering the face, two the feet, two for flying), human hands and voices, and they call antiphonally 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.' One touches Isaiah's lips with a burning coal to cleanse his sin. The name likely derives from the root 'burn' and may originally have had serpentine associations (compare 'fiery serpent' elsewhere), though Isaiah presents them as humanoid. They serve as guardians and worshipers in the heavenly throne room.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Majestic celestial beings serving in God's immediate presence, characterized by their six-winged form and role in declaring divine holiness. Isaiah 6:2 describes their form and position, while 6:6 shows one acting to purify the prophet. The unique plural form occurs only in these two verses, making the seraphim distinctive to Isaiah's throne vision. All translations transliterate 'seraphim' or preserve the Hebrew, recognizing this as a specific class of heavenly beings. Their burning/purifying function aligns with their etymological connection to fire. 2×
AR["السَّرَافِيمِ", "سَرَافِيمُ"]·ben["-সরাফীমদের", "সরাফীমরা"]·DE["[השרפים]", "[שרפים]"]·EN["seraphim", "the-seraphim"]·FR["[השרפים]", "[שרפים]"]·heb["ה-שרפים", "שרפים"]·HI["सराफीम", "सराफीमों"]·ID["Serafim", "serafim"]·IT["[השרפים]", "[שרפים]"]·jav["Sérafim", "sérafim"]·KO["스라빔들", "스라빔이"]·PT["Serafins", "serafins"]·RU["серафимов", "серафимы"]·ES["Serafines", "los-serafines"]·SW["Maserafi", "maserafi"]·TR["Seraflar", "Seraflarin"]·urd["سرافیم", "سرافیم-میں-سے"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. [שָׂרָף] n.m. Is 6:2 pl. שְׂרָפִים seraphim (prob. akin to i. שׂ׳, as beings orig. mythically conceived with serpents’ bodies (serpent-deities, cf. Is 14:29; 30:6), or (CheComm.) personif. of lightning, cf. arts. Seraphim, StrachanHast. DB. CheEncy. Bib.; Di Marti al. cp. also Egyptian guardian-griffins, called Šerref; v. also כְּרוּב; on Assyrian Šarrapu, epith. of god Nergal, connected by…