סֹבֶא
𐤎𐤁𐤀
çôbeʼ
H5435 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
An intoxicating drink, especially wine or fermented beverage; more broadly, the act or state of carousing or reveling, often associated with drunkenness or excessive drinking. The term can refer either to the beverage itself or to drinking parties characterized by excess.
Semantic Range
intoxicating drink, wine or alcoholic beverage, drinking to excess, carousal, revelry, drunkenness, drinking party
Root / Etymology
From the root סבא (s-b-ʼ), which carries the core sense 'to drink heavily, to become drunk.' סֹבֶא is a noun form derived from this root, denoting either the drink itself (typically wine or strong drink) or the result and associated behavior of heavy drinking.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, סֹבֶא appears rarely (notably in Psalm 75:9, Proverbs 23:20–21), always in negative or cautionary contexts regarding excessive drinking, drunkenness, or the accompanying behavior. The word is typically associated, directly or by parallelism, with imagery of overindulgence and loss of control. While often translated as 'wine' or 'drunkenness,' the term is more nuanced, encompassing both the substance (fermented beverage) and the cultural-habitual practice of carousing or reveling, especially in social settings. Other Hebrew terms such as יַיִן (yayin, 'wine') and שֵׁכָר (shekar, 'strong drink') are more common and specific to contents, while סֹבֶא foregrounds the state or behavior of drinking to excess. English translations only partially capture these nuances; 'carousal' and 'drinking bout' reflect the broader use, while 'wine' or 'drunkenness' can oversimplify. In later Jewish tradition and translation, the linguistic root provided a term for drunkenness more generally, but in the biblical period, it remained sharply associated with excess. The usage did not significantly shift between earlier and later biblical texts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from סָבָא; potation, concretely (wine), or abstractly (carousal); drink, drunken, wine.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
סבא (s-b-ʾ) — to drink heavily, to become drunk
Word Forms
4 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5435-02 |
סָבְאֵ֖/ךְ | saveekhe | HNcmsc/Sp2fs |
your wine | your intoxicating drink | 1 |
H5435-03 |
וּ/כְ/סָבְאָ֖/ם | ukhesaveam | HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3mp |
and while they are drunken | and like their drunken revelry | 1 |
H5435-01 |
סָבְאָ֑/ם | saveam | HNcmsc/Sp3mp |
their drink | their intoxicating drink | 1 |
H5435-04 |
וְ/סֹבֵֽא | vesove | HC/Vqrmsa |
and a drunkard | heavy-drinking one | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5435-04 |
Deuteronomy 21:20 | וְ/סֹבֵֽא | vesove | HC/Vqrmsa |
and a drunkard | heavy-drinking one |
H5435-02 |
Isaiah 1:22 | סָבְאֵ֖/ךְ | saveekhe | HNcmsc/Sp2fs |
your wine | your intoxicating drink |
H5435-01 |
Hosea 4:18 | סָבְאָ֑/ם | saveam | HNcmsc/Sp3mp |
their drink | their intoxicating drink |
H5435-03 |
Nahum 1:10 | וּ/כְ/סָבְאָ֖/ם | ukhesaveam | HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3mp |
and while they are drunken | and like their drunken revelry |