צַפַּ֫חַת
tsap.pa.chat
jar
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# צַפַּחַת (tsappachat): The Biblical Jar The Hebrew word *tsappachat* refers to a jar—a container vessel used in ancient Israel. With seven occurrences across the biblical text, this term appears with enough frequency to indicate it was a recognized, named object in everyday life rather than a hapax legomenon (a word appearing only once). The word's presence in the biblical vocabulary reflects the material culture of ancient Judea, where pottery vessels were essential for storage, transport, and daily domestic functions. While the lexicon data provided does not specify the jar's size, contents, or exact shape, the mere fact that Hebrew speakers had a distinct term for this particular vessel type suggests it held a recognized place in their material world. The seven biblical instances indicate the word was stable enough in usage to appear across different texts and contexts, suggesting consistency in what this container represented to ancient audiences. This modest but consistent presence in Scripture reflects how biblical narratives incorporated the ordinary objects of daily life alongside their theological content.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences across the text
Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let’s go.”
1 Samuel 26:12So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head; and they went away: and no man saw it, or knew it, nor did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.
1 Samuel 26:16This thing isn’t good that you have done. As Yahweh lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, Yahweh’s anointed. Now see where the king’s spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.”
1 Kings 17:12She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
1 Kings 17:14For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’ ”
1 Kings 17:16The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.
1 Kings 19:6He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.