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סֹחֵרֶת

𐤎𐤇𐤓𐤕

çôchêreth

H5508 noun

SILEX Entry

Root סחר to go round, traverse, trade

Definition

A stone or tile, particularly of dark stone or marble, used for decorative or structural border inlays or pavements. The term refers to a specific building material distinguished by its hardness and often its color, typically dark or black, and is associated with architectural ornamentation in ancient structures.

Semantic Range

stone tile, marble tile, pavement slab, decorative border stone; black or dark stone used for inlay or ornament

Root / Etymology

From the root סחר, which primarily means 'to go round, traverse, trade, go about,' but in this noun form relates to an item which is set along a margin or boundary (perhaps because it 'goes around' an edge). The noun סֹחֵרֶת is a feminine form, related to סֹחֵרָה (sōchêrāh), both from the same root.

Historical & Contextual Notes

סֹחֵרֶת refers to a particular kind of stone or tile, likely used in decorative architectural contexts such as the pavement or border of a building, described as black or dark-colored (possibly marble). Occurring only in Ezekiel 1:22, the term appears in a highly symbolic and visionary context describing the platform beneath the living creatures' feet, 'like the appearance of sapphire, resembling a firmament.' Though some English translations render the term as 'marble' or 'pavement,' the original intent is to convey a sense of a crafted, valuable, and visually striking construction element. The term is rare, and its meaning is reconstructed primarily through context and comparison to later Semitic cognates and ancient building practices. There is overlap in usage with other Hebrew words for stone or pavement, such as אֶבֶן (ʾeven, 'stone') and רְצָפָה (retzafah, 'pavement'), but סֹחֵרֶת emphasizes crafted or decorative border elements. In broader Jewish tradition and post-biblical Hebrew, the word continued to refer to paving stones or tiles, especially of notable color or quality.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

similar to סֹחֵרָה; probably a (black) tile (or tessara) forlaying borders with; black marble.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

סחר (s-ḥ-r) — to go round, traverse, go about, trade

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4536 מִסְחָר and trade-of
H5503 סָחַר the trading-one
H5504 סַחַר her trade-gain
H5505 סָחַר trade-of
H5506 סְחֹרָה merchandise of

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5508-01 וְ/סֹחָֽרֶת vesocharet HC/Ncfsa and-black-marble dark border-tile 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5508-01 Esther 1:6 וְ/סֹחָֽרֶת vesocharet HC/Ncfsa and-black-marble dark border-tile
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