Lexical Summary sala: To lift up, to exalt, to cast up Original Word: סָלָא Strong's Exhaustive Concordance compare A primitive root; to suspend in a balance, i.e. Weigh -- compare. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to weigh NASB Translation weighed (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [סָלָא] verb weigh (Arabic  pay promptly Lane1398; compare Sabean סלא consecrate, devote HomZMG xivi (1892), 531; Süd-Arab. Chrest. 124); — only Pu`al Participle הַמְסֻלָּאִים בַּמָּ֑ז Lamentations 4:2 they who were weighed against gold, reckoned of such value. — compare also II.סלה. Topical Lexicon Hebrew Concept and Word Family סָלָא conveys the action of weighing something on a balance and, by extension, assigning high value or esteem to that object. Its lone finite occurrence (“מְסֻלָּאִים”) colors the entire word family with nuance of preciousness that has been carefully assessed. The idea stands close to Old Testament imagery of “fine gold,” “refined silver,” or “costly stones” (Job 28:15-19; Proverbs 3:14-15), yet it is distinct in stressing value that has been deliberately calculated rather than merely observed. Old Testament Usage Lamentations 4:2 employs the participial form to lament the tragic reversal that befell the covenant community: “The precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, how they are now regarded as clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!” The prophet contrasts the former “weighed-out” glory of Zion’s youth with their present humiliation. “Pure gold” evokes sanctity and permanence; “clay jars” suggest fragility and disposability. By selecting סָלָא, Jeremiah underscores that Judah’s worth was no exaggeration—it was an objective, measured value assigned by God Himself. Historical Setting The Babylonian siege of 586 BC left Jerusalem burned, her temple razed, and her leading citizens exiled. Children who once played in palace courts now scrounged for food among ruins. Lamentations was likely composed by Jeremiah shortly after the catastrophe. In chapter 4 he moves from the inanimate (“gold,” “stones”) to the animate (“sons of Zion”), revealing that devastation penetrated every stratum of society. The use of סָלָא heightens pathos: even those once officially recognized as priceless have become common earthenware. Theological Insights 1. Covenant Esteem. Israel’s worth came from Yahweh’s election (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). When sin invited discipline, that worth was not erased but obscured; a potter can re-form clay, but gold cannot lose its elemental purity. Christological and New Testament Resonance Peter echoes the valuation motif: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed … but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Believers, “like living stones,” are built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). Where Lamentations shows the loss of worth, the gospel reveals its surpassing restoration in the Messiah, who became the cornerstone after being “rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight” (1 Peter 2:4). Practical Ministry Applications • Human dignity is grounded in God’s valuation, not social status or economic utility. This conviction fuels pro-life ethics, care for the impoverished, and respect for every ethnicity. Related Themes and Passages Isaiah 13:12; Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 13:44-46; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 21:18-21. Forms and Transliterations הַמְסֻלָּאִ֖ים המסלאים ham·sul·lā·’îm hamsullā’îm hamsullaImLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Lamentations 4:2 HEB: צִיּוֹן֙ הַיְקָרִ֔ים הַמְסֻלָּאִ֖ים בַּפָּ֑ז אֵיכָ֤ה NAS: of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, KJV: of Zion, comparable to fine gold, INT: of Zion the precious Weighed fine how 1 Occurrence |
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