זפת

Pronunciation

• Tiberian: zep̄eṯ, pausal zāp̄eṯ^[1][2]
• Samaritan reading tradition: zēfət^[3]

Forms

זֶפֶת (zep̄eṯ) noun, feminine^[1][4]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Egyptian sfṯ (“resinous oil, pitch”), according to Noonan.^[5] He argues that the word has no good Semitic etymology, that a Semitic word would have /d/ rather than /z/ in Aramaic, and that it appears in Exodus 2:3 beside the Egyptian loans תֵּבָה (tēḇâ, “chest”), גֹּמֶא (gōmeʾ, “papyrus”) and סוּף (sûp̄, “reeds”).^[5] The Egyptian word is found from the Old Kingdom, later spelled sft; the Hebrew /z/ for Egyptian /s/ is unusual, and Noonan suggests voicing at the start of the word.^[5] Older dictionaries also took it for a loanword, BDB reporting a proposed Armenian source and an Egyptian one.^[6][7][2]

The word is also Aramaic זִפְתָּא (zip̄tā), Classical Syriac ܙܸܦܬ݁ܵܐ (zeptā) and Ge'ez ዝፍት (zəft).^[2][8][9] Akkadian zibtu and Arabic زِفْت (zift) are loans from Aramaic.^{[5][10][11][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

It occurs three times.^[1][2] Moses' mother made a basket of papyrus wattaḥmərâ ḇaḥēmār ūḇazzāp̄eṯ “and daubed it with bitumen and pitch” (Exodus 2:3), and Isaiah's oracle against Edom says that its streams shall be turned into pitch and its land become zep̄eṯ bōʿērâ “burning pitch” (Isaiah 34:9).^[1][6][5]

Semantic evolution

The Septuagint renders the pair in Exodus 2:3 by Ancient Greek ἀσφαλτόπισσα (asphaltópissa) and the word in Isaiah by Ancient Greek πίσσα (píssa).^[5] It also occurs in Ben Sira 13:1, about touching pitch, and in the Thanksgiving Hymns from Qumran, which have “streams of pitch”.^[2][12] Later Hebrew formed the verb “to coat with pitch” from it.^[13][2] Today Modern Hebrew זפת (zéfet) means pitch or tar.^[4]

Timeline

• Classical Biblical Hebrew – ḥēmār ūzep̄eṯ “bitumen and pitch” in Exodus 2:3.^[1][5]
• Prophetic books – twice in Isaiah 34:9.^[1][5]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint translates it as Ancient Greek πίσσα (píssa).^[14][5]
• 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – seven times in the Dead Sea Scrolls, also in the Thanksgiving Hymns.^[15][12]

Meanings

Noun

1. pitch, a black resinous substance used to make things watertight.^[2][6][5]

Descendants

• Modern Hebrew זפת (zéfet)^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Clear Bible (2023–), MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets (Westminster Leningrad Codex, with Greek alignment), github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew, CC BY 4.0
2. ^ a b c d e f g Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. זֶפֶת
3. ^ Højgaard, Christian Canu; Naaijer, Martijn; Schorch, Stefan (2023), Text-Fabric Dataset of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.7734632
4. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Noonan, Benjamin J. (2019), Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Hebrew Bible: A Lexicon of Language Contact, University Park: Eisenbrauns (Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic 14), p. 98
6. ^ a b c d Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. זֶפֶת
7. ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. זֶפֶת
8. ^ Sokoloff, Michael (2009), A Syriac Lexicon, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns; Piscataway: Gorgias Press, p. 392
9. ^ Kaufman, Stephen A., ed., Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, cal.huc.edu, p. s.v. זפת
10. ^ Gelb, Ignace J., et al., eds. (1956–2010), The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 21 vols, Chicago: Oriental Institute, p. Z 104
11. ^ Lane, Edward William (1863–1893), An Arabic-English Lexicon, 8 parts, London: Williams and Norgate, p. 1236
12. ^ a b Abegg, Martin G.; Jacobs, Jarod; Roorda, Dirk (2022), The Dead Sea Scrolls, Text-Fabric dataset, version 2.0.2, github.com/ETCBC/dss
13. ^ Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. זפת
14. ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 93
15. ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 143