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סִיר sīr – pot, basin

Semantic Fields: Utensils   Containers   
Author(s): Paul Sanders
First published: 2026-06-28
Citation: Paul Sanders, סִיר sīr – pot, basin,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2026 (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Introduction

Grammatical type: noun masc.
Occurrences: 29x HB (3/18/8); 1x Sir; x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 30)

  • Torah: Exod 16:3; 27:3; 38:3;
  • Nebiim: 1 Kgs 7:45; 2 Kgs 4:38, 39, 40, 41 (2x); 25:14; Jer 1:13; 52:18, 19; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; 24:3, 6; Mic 3:3; Zech 14:20, 21;
  • Ketuvim: 2 Chron 4:11, 16; 35:13; Pss 58:10; 60:10; 108:10; Job 41:23; Eccl 7:6;
  • Sira: 13:2A.

A.1

1 Root and Comparative Material

A.1 Akkadian:

2. Formal Characteristic

A.1

3. Syntagmatics

A.1

4. Ancient Versions

Septuagint (LXX)1

  • ἄκανθα, ‘thorny or prickly plant’: Ps 58:10;
  • βάσις, ‘base’: ;
  • λέβης, ‘metal cauldron’: Exod 16:3; 1 Kgs 7:45; 2 Kgs 4:38, 39, 40, 41 (2x); 25:14; Jer 1:13; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; 24:3, 6; Mic 3:3; Zech 14:20, 21; Pss 60:10; 108:10; Eccl 7:6; Sir 13:2.

A.1 In Ps 58:10 סִּירֹתֵכֶם was apparently interpreted as a form of the noun סִירָה, ‘thorn’.

Peshitta (Pesh)2

  • ܩܕܣܐ (qadsā), ‘cauldron’, ‘kettle’ (24x): Exod 16:3; 27:3; 38:3; 1 Kgs 7:45; 2 Kgs 4:38, 39, 40, 41 (2x); 25:14; Jer 1:13; 52:18, 19; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; 24:3, 6; Mic 3:3; Zech 14:20, 21; Ps 108:10; 2 Chron 35:13; Eccl 7:6;
  • ܟܘܒܐ (kūbā), ‘thorn’: Ps 58:10 (see A.1);
  • ܐܝܪܐ ܕܢܚܫܐ݁ (ʾīrā danḥāšā), ‘pot of bronze’: Sir 13:2;
  • omission: 2 Chron 4:11, 16; Ps 60:10; Job 41:23.

A.1 In Ps 58:10 סִּירֹתֵכֶם was apparently interpreted as a form of the noun סִירָה, ‘thorn’.

Targum (Tg)

  • דּוּד, ‘pot’, ‘cauldron’ (22x): Exod 16:3; 1 Kgs 7:45; 2 Kgs 4:38, 39, 40, 41 (2x); 25:14; Jer 1:13; 52:18, 19; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; 24:6; Mic 3:3; Zech 14:20, 21; Pss 60:10; 108:10; Job 41:23; 2 Chron 4:16;
  • כוּב, ‘thorn’: Eccl 7:6;
  • כִּיּוֹר, ‘washing-tub’, ‘cooking vessel’: 2 Chron 4:11;
  • פְסַכתֵירוּ, ‘large pot’: Exod 27:3 and 38:3 in TgO (forms of דּוּד in TgPj,N);
  • קְדַר, ‘cooking pot’: 2 Chron 35:13; paraphrastic: Ezek 24:3; Ps 58:10.

A.1 In Eccl 7:6 סִיר was apparently interpreted as a form of the noun סִירָה, ‘thorn’.

Vulgate (Vg)3

  • lebes (< λέβης), ‘(metal) cauldron’: Exod 27:3; 38:3; 1 Kgs 7:45; Jer 52:18; Ezek 11:3, 7, 11; Mic 3:3; Zech 14:20, 21; Ps 108:10; 2 Chron 4:11, 16; 35:13;
  • olla, ‘pot or jar (esp. for cooking)’: Exod 16:3; 2 Kgs 4:38, 39, 40, 41 (2x); 25:14 (+ aereus, ‘bronze’); Jer 1:13; Ezek 24:3, 6; Ps 60:10; Job 41:23 (Vg 41:22); Sir 13:2;
  • pelvis, ‘shallow bowl or basin, usu. of metal’: Jer 52:19;
  • spina, ‘thorn’: Ps 58:10; Eccl 7:6.

A.1 The forms סִּירֹתֵכֶם in Ps 58:10 and סִיר in Eccl 7:6 were apparently interpreted as forms of the noun סִירָה, ‘thorn’.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

A.1

6. Exegesis

A.1

6.1 Textual Evidence

6.2 Pictorial Evidence and Archaeology

7 Conclusion

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Honeyman 1939
Alexander M. Honeyman, ‘The pottery vessels of the Old Testament’, PEQ 71:76-90.

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Notes

  1. The translations of the Greek are based on GELS. ↩

  2. The translations of the Syriac are based on Sokoloff, SLB. ↩

  3. The translations of the Latin are based on OLD. ↩

Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database