---
title: סָפִר — secretary · The Biblical Aramaic dictionary
description: סָפִר (lemma:סָפִר), a word of Biblical Aramaic, used 6 times: secretary. BDB 1906: n.m. secretary, scribe. With 2 verses in Aramaic, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# סָפִר

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«סָפִר» in the Biblical Aramaic dictionary: **secretary** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 6 times · **Key:** lemma:סָפִר · **BDB:** סָפַר

### Glosses

the (4); the.scribe (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

secretary [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1505/lemma_3a_5e1_5b8_5e4_5b4_5e8/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. secretary, scribe [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1505/lemma_3a_5e1_5b8_5e4_5b4_5e8/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. secretary, scribe (𝔗 Syriac; BH סֹפֵר);—emph. סָֽפְרָא the secretary, Persian official, Ezr 4:8, 9, 17, 23; cstr. סָפַר the scribe 7:12, 21, of Ezra as learned in God’s law.

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Why these entries: BDB: same consonants, part of speech agrees, 6 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (2 candidates); Jastrow: none

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «סָפִר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1505/lemma_3a_5e1_5b8_5e4_5b4_5e8/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Ezra 4:8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/EZR.4.8/)

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רְח֣וּם בְּעֵל־טְעֵ֗ם וְשִׁמְשַׁי֙ סָֽפְרָ֔א כְּתַ֛בוּ אִגְּרָ֥ה חֲדָ֖ה עַל־יְרוּשְׁלֶ֑ם לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥שְׂתְּא מַלְכָּ֖א כְּנֵֽמָא׃

*Word for word:* Rehum lord of.command and Shimshai the scribe they.wrote a.letter one concerning Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as.follows

*JPS 1917:* Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort —

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[Ezra 7:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/EZR.7.12/)

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אַ֨רְתַּחְשַׁ֔סְתְּא מֶ֖לֶךְ מַלְכַיָּ֑א לְעֶזְרָ֣א כָ֠הֲנָא סָפַ֨ר דָּתָ֜א דִּֽי־אֱלָ֧הּ שְׁמַיָּ֛א גְּמִ֖יר וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃

*Word for word:* Artaxerxes the.king of.(the) kings to Ezra the priest the.scribe of the.law (diy).of the.God of the.heavens perfect and now

*JPS 1917:* 'Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, and so forth.

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- ← previous: [סְפַר](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/aramaic/w/lemma_3a_5e1_5b0_5e4_5b7_5e8.md)
- next →: [סַרְבָּל](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/aramaic/w/lemma_3a_5e1_5b7_5e8_5b0_5d1_5b8_5bc_5dc.md)
- ↑ back to [ס](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/aramaic/1505.md)