שְׁפִי
she.phi
bareness
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of שְׁפִי (she.phi) The Hebrew word שְׁפִי carries the fundamental meaning of "bareness" or nakedness, appearing nine times throughout the biblical text. This concrete physical term describes the state of being exposed or uncovered, without the protection or concealment of clothing or covering. The word operates in the semantic field of visibility and exposure, where something normally hidden or protected becomes visible and vulnerable. Given its limited nine occurrences, this word appears to serve a specialized function in biblical Hebrew rather than being a common everyday term. Its specific definition as "bareness" suggests it was chosen deliberately by biblical authors to convey not merely nudity in general, but the particular condition of being stripped bare or exposed. This distinction in word choice indicates that Hebrew possessed a nuanced vocabulary for describing states of exposure, with different terms available depending on context and connotation. The relative rarity of this word—appearing fewer times than many other biblical Hebrew terms—suggests it held particular theological, legal, or social significance in specific contexts where such exposure required special nomenclature. Without examining individual passages, we can observe only that biblical writers selected this term selectively, indicating it carried weight and precision in communicating ideas related to bareness and the state of being uncovered.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
9 total occurrences across the text
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the middle of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isaiah 49:9saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
Jeremiah 3:2“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
Jeremiah 3:21A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the petitions of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Yahweh their God.
Jeremiah 4:11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;
Jeremiah 7:29Cut off your hair, and throw it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Jeremiah 12:12Destroyers have come on all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Yahweh devours from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land. No flesh has peace.
Jeremiah 14:6The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights. They pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail, because there is no vegetation.
Numbers 23:3Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” He went to a bare height.