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I have a question about the names Sela and Zelah.
I'm from the Netherlands and in the Dutch Bible Sela is the name for the son of Juda (in English Shelah), the musical interlude (in English Sela), a place (Sela(h)) and a place (Zelah).
So lately I found out they have all different meanings. So my question is: what does Zelah mean?
And is the place Zelah the same place that was meant in the Bible by Sela(h)?
Zelah is meantioned in the Bible in: Joshua 18,28 Judges 1,36 and 2 Samuël 21,13
The place Selah in: 2 Kings 14,7 and as Sela: Isaiah 16,1
Thanks in advance
I'm from the Netherlands and in the Dutch Bible Sela is the name for the son of Juda (in English Shelah), the musical interlude (in English Sela), a place (Sela(h)) and a place (Zelah).
So lately I found out they have all different meanings. So my question is: what does Zelah mean?
And is the place Zelah the same place that was meant in the Bible by Sela(h)?
Zelah is meantioned in the Bible in: Joshua 18,28 Judges 1,36 and 2 Samuël 21,13
The place Selah in: 2 Kings 14,7 and as Sela: Isaiah 16,1
Thanks in advance
1
Replies
There is indeed some confusion with these names, and this is due to different transcriptions in various languages and Bible translations. So we will have to look at the Hebrew to tidy up this mess a little bit. There is:
ZELA (Tsadik – Lamed – Ayin)
It is mentioned in Joshua 18:28 and also in 2 Sam 21:14, here as Saul’s burial place.
”The Hebrew noun “tsela” means “rib, side” (e.g. of Adam, the Temple, the ark), but also “ridge, slope” (of a hill), and this makes sense for a place name.
The Hebrew verb “tsala” (with the same consonants) means “to limp” (Jacob, gen 32:31/32). It is also found as “stumbling” in Jer 20:10
Its location has not been identified, but probably in the hill country north or west of Jerusalem. Khirbet Salah, between Jerusalem and Gibeon, is a possible identification of the site.
SELA (Samekh – Lamed – Ayin)
This is a place name mentioned as haSela (with the definite article “ha”). It means “rock, cliff.”
1. A fortress city of Edom (2 Kings 14:7), probably to be identified with Umm el-Bayyarah, the great acropolis which dominates the basin in which the Nabatean city of Petra (“rock”!) was built.
2. A place on the border of the Amorites in the time of the judges (Ju 1:36). It was apparently in Judah, but its site is unknown.
3. A place in Moab, mentioned in a prophesy of destruction (Isa 16:1). Its site has not been identified.
SHELAH 1 (Shin – Lamed – He)
This is the son of Judah mentioned in Genesis 38 etc. His name has been interpreted as “quiet, peaceful” or else “request” (probably in the sense of “asked for”).
ZELA (Tsadik – Lamed – Ayin)
It is mentioned in Joshua 18:28 and also in 2 Sam 21:14, here as Saul’s burial place.
”The Hebrew noun “tsela” means “rib, side” (e.g. of Adam, the Temple, the ark), but also “ridge, slope” (of a hill), and this makes sense for a place name.
The Hebrew verb “tsala” (with the same consonants) means “to limp” (Jacob, gen 32:31/32). It is also found as “stumbling” in Jer 20:10
Its location has not been identified, but probably in the hill country north or west of Jerusalem. Khirbet Salah, between Jerusalem and Gibeon, is a possible identification of the site.
SELA (Samekh – Lamed – Ayin)
This is a place name mentioned as haSela (with the definite article “ha”). It means “rock, cliff.”
1. A fortress city of Edom (2 Kings 14:7), probably to be identified with Umm el-Bayyarah, the great acropolis which dominates the basin in which the Nabatean city of Petra (“rock”!) was built.
2. A place on the border of the Amorites in the time of the judges (Ju 1:36). It was apparently in Judah, but its site is unknown.
3. A place in Moab, mentioned in a prophesy of destruction (Isa 16:1). Its site has not been identified.
SHELAH 1 (Shin – Lamed – He)
This is the son of Judah mentioned in Genesis 38 etc. His name has been interpreted as “quiet, peaceful” or else “request” (probably in the sense of “asked for”).
1