Lexical Summary sebal: Load, burden Original Word: סְבַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance strongly laid (Aramaic) corresponding to cabal; to erect -- strongly laid. see HEBREW cabal NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to sabal Definition to bear, carry (a load) NASB Translation retained (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [סְבַל] verb si vera lectio bear, carry a load (see Biblical Hebrew); — Po`. Passive participle אֻשֹּׁ֫הִי מְסוֺבְלִים (K§ 36 NöGGA, 1884, 1016) Ezra 6:3 its foundations (be) raised (Thes and others; WCG 203, 225), very dubious; HptGu on the passage conjectures ׳מְס ׳אֶשֹּׁהִ his (God's) fire-offerings they bring (Assyrian Zabâlu), so (hesitantly) Berthol. Topical Lexicon Biblical Occurrence Ezra 6:4 records the only use of סְבַל, describing the “three rows of large stones and one of timber” (Berean Standard Bible) specified in King Cyrus’s decree for the second temple. Historical and Architectural Setting The alternation of stone and wood was a known Near-Eastern technique that strengthened walls against earthquakes and siege. By preserving Cyrus’s blueprint, Ezra highlights the providential intersection of Persian engineering and Israel’s covenantal restoration. Each סְבַל (row or course) marks a measured, load-bearing stage of rebuilding after exile. Covenantal and Theological Significance Re-establishing the temple signaled renewed fellowship with the Lord. The carefully ordered layers proclaim that true worship requires both God-given design and human obedience. Just as the exiles could not improvise the structure, believers must not improvise the faith once delivered (Jude 3). Typology and Christological Foreshadowing The visible courses point to an invisible reality. Peter writes, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). The physical layers prefigure a redeemed people joined to Christ the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22). The single timber layer whispers of the wooden cross that would bear the true weight of God’s dwelling with mankind. Ministry Applications 1. Ordered Ministry: God values structural faithfulness; elders and builders today must lay doctrine and practice “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Intertextual Echoes • Solomon’s temple employed “costly stones from the foundation to the coping” (1 Kings 7:9-12), setting precedent for Ezra’s plan. Pastoral Reflection A solitary Hebrew word preserves the moment Israel’s worship regained physical form. Every detail in Scripture matters: each סְבַל in Ezra’s wall, each act of obedience in the believer’s life. “No one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Forms and Transliterations מְסֽוֹבְלִ֑ין מסובלין mə·sō·wḇ·lîn mesovLin məsōwḇlînLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ezra 6:3 HEB: דִּבְחִ֔ין וְאֻשּׁ֖וֹהִי מְסֽוֹבְלִ֑ין רוּמֵהּ֙ אַמִּ֣ין NAS: and let its foundations be retained, its height KJV: and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height INT: sacrifices the foundations laid the height cubits 1 Occurrence |