---
title: סֵתֶר — covering · The Tanakh dictionary
description: סֵתֶר (5643), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 35 times: covering. BDB 1906: covering, hiding-place, secrecy. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# סֵתֶר

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«סֵתֶר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **covering** — 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:** 35 times · **Key:** 5643 · **BDB:** סֵ֫תֶר

### Glosses

secrecy (13); the.hiding.place (3); \[are\].a.hiding.place (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

covering [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5643/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

covering, hiding-place, secrecy [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5643/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.\[m.\] covering, hiding-place, secrecy;—abs. ס׳ Ju 3:19 +, סָ֑תֶר 2 S 12:12; Pr 25:23, סֶ֑תֶר ψ 139:15; cstr. סֵ֫תֶר 1 S 25:20 +; sf. סִתְרוֹ ψ 18:12 (ins. also ‖ 2 S 22:12 𝔊 𝔖 Th Bu HPS), סִתְרִי ψ 119:114; pl. סְתָרִים Pr 9:17;— covering, cover, בְּס׳ הָהָר 1 S 25:20 under cover of the mt., concealed by it; of clouds as covering for י׳ (shutting out his view) Jb 22:14, of darkness (i.e. dark clouds) as י׳’s shiding-place (in theoph.) ψ 18:12 (= 2 S 22:12 v. supr.), so ס׳ רַ֑עַם 81:8 hiding-place of thundur; of adulterer ס׳ פָּנִים יָשִׂים Jb 24:15 i.e. disguiseth himself. hiding-place, 1 S 19:2; Is 28:17 ס׳ הַמַּדְרֵגָה Ct 2:14 (in fig.; ‖ חַגְוֵי הַסֶּלַע), of hippopot. Jb 40:21; fig. of Isr. as shelter to Moab c. מִפְּנֵי Is 16:6, of ideal Israelite, as ס׳ זֶרֶם 32:2, especially of י׳ as shelter: ס׳ אָהֳלוֹ ψ 27:5, ס׳ פָּנֶיךָ 31:21, ס׳ בְּנָפֶיךָ 61:5, ס׳ עֶלְיוֹן 91:1, אַתָּה ס׳ לִי 32:7 cf. 119:114. secret place, of womb ψ 139:15 (‖ תַּחְתִּיּוֹת אָ֑רֶץ). secrecy: דְּבַר־ס׳ Ju 3:19 a matter of secrecy, secret matter; pl. abstr. intens. לֶחֶם סְתָרִים Pr 9:17 bread of utter secrecy (i.e. gained stealthily, ‖ מַיִם גְּנוּבִים); לְשֹׁן סָ֑תֶר 25:23 tongue of secrecy, i.e. slanderous; elsewhere בַּסּ׳ in secrecy, secretly Dt 13:7; 27:15, 24; 28:57; 2 S 12:12; Je 37:17; 38:16; 40:15; Is 45:19; 48:16; Jb 13:10; 31:27; Pr 21:14 ψ 101:5.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 34 of its verses cited, 4 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (5 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (5 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «סֵתֶר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1505/5643/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 9:17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.9.17/)

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מַֽיִם־גְּנוּבִ֥ים יִמְתָּ֑קוּ וְלֶ֖חֶם סְתָרִ֣ים יִנְעָֽם׃

*Word for word:* waters stolen they.are.sweet and bread of.secret.places it.is.pleasant

*JPS 1917:* 'Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.'

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[Job 40:21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.40.21/)

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תַּֽחַת־צֶאֱלִ֥ים יִשְׁכָּ֑ב בְּסֵ֖תֶר קָנֶ֣ה וּבִצָּֽה׃

*Word for word:* under thorny.lotus.plants it.lies in a.hiding.place of.reed\[s\] and swamp

*JPS 1917:* He lieth under the lotus-trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

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- ← previous: [סָתַר](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/5641.md)
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