Original Word: סָעִיף
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ca`iyph
Pronunciation: sah-eef'
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-eef')
KJV: (outmost) branch, clift, top
NASB: branches, cleft, clefts
Word Origin: [from H5586 (סָעַף - lop off)]

1. a fissure (of rocks)
2. also a bough (as subdivided)

outmost branch, clift, top

From ca'aph; a fissure (of rocks); also a bough (as subdivided) -- (outmost) branch, clift, top.

see HEBREW ca'aph

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a cleft, branch
NASB Translation
branches (2), cleft (2), clefts (2).

[סָעִיף] noun [masculine]

1 cleft.

2 branch; —

1 cleft of a crag, construct סְעִיף סֶלַע Judges 15:8,11; plural construct וּבִסְעִפֵֿי הַסְּלָעִים Isaiah 2:21; ׳סְעִיפֵי הַסּ Isaiah 57:5.

2 branches, boughs, plural construct סְעִפֵֿי הַמֹּרִיָּה Isaiah 17:6 (so divide, Hi Kn Di Dr^{Sm xxx} Du and others) the boughs of the fruit-tree; suffix סְעִיפֶיהָ Isaiah 27:10 (of ruined city; compare קְצִירָהּ Isaiah 27:11).

Scope of Meaning and Imagery

The noun סָעִיף carries two complementary pictures: (1) a split or cleft in rock, and (2) a branch or off-shoot of a tree. Both ideas arise from an underlying notion of division or bifurcation. Scripture employs the term to portray either a place of refuge carved out of solid stone or a slender limb extending from a trunk—two very different scenes that together communicate safety, separation, fruitfulness, and, when abused, judgment.

Occurrences in the Historical Narrative (Judges 15:8, 11)

Samson’s flight to “the cave in the rock of Etam” (Judges 15:8) after striking the Philistines shows the cleft as a God-provided shelter for the Lord’s servant during a season of conflict. Three thousand men of Judah later visit Samson “in the cave in the rock of Etam” (Judges 15:11) to negotiate his surrender. The episode highlights how a סָעִיף can become a temporary stronghold protecting God’s chosen instrument until His purposes advance. The cave is neither self-originated nor permanent; it is a providential hiding place that preserves life and mission.

Prophetic Use: Clefts of Dread and Judgment (Isaiah 2:21; 57:5)

Isaiah twice employs the rocky sense to describe humanity’s futile attempts to escape divine judgment. In the day the LORD shakes the earth, people will “flee into the crevices of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs” (Isaiah 2:21). Later, idolaters “slaughter [their] children in the ravines, under the clefts of the rocks” (Isaiah 57:5). What once served Samson as a refuge becomes, for the rebellious, a theatre of terror or sin. The same topography that shelters the faithful exposes the futility of hiding from God’s holiness when hearts remain unrepentant.

Prophetic Use: Branches of Remnant and Desolation (Isaiah 17:6; 27:10)

In the agricultural sense, Isaiah 17:6 depicts a judgment leaving only “four or five on the most fruitful branches” after harvest. The picture is of sparse gleanings on the סָעִיף—an emblem of a small, yet preserved, remnant. By contrast, Isaiah 27:10 foresees a desolate city where calves “strip its branches bare,” a graphic image of total abandonment. Together the texts teach that the Lord both spares and strips; He can leave a few olives on a lofty branch for His covenant people, or He can lay waste unfruitful boughs when iniquity persists.

Theological Threads

1. Refuge and Revelation: A cleft in the rock simultaneously hides and reveals. Moses met God in a “cleft of the rock” (Exodus 33:22, same concept though not the same term), paralleling Samson’s shelter. The motif anticipates believers being hidden “with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
2. Remnant and Responsibility: Sparse olives on upper branches picture the faithful remnant preserved through judgment. The imagery calls the church to persevere, trusting the Lord to keep a people for Himself even when national or cultural vines seem stripped.
3. Judgment and Futility: Isaiah’s idolaters who retreat to clefts show that geology cannot out-shield theology; only repentance avails. Modern ministry must therefore call sinners away from all self-made coverts toward the once-for-all refuge in Christ.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Sanctuary in Conflict: Leaders facing hostility may take comfort that God provides strategic “clefts” of rest—moments, places, or relationships—so that service can continue in His timing.
• Warning Against False Security: Congregations should be cautioned that physical or institutional strongholds (buildings, resources, reputation) become meaningless if hearts persist in idolatry.
• Encouraging the Remnant: Where church attendance or cultural influence wanes, the picture of a few olives on high branches reminds believers that even a small, Spirit-preserved community is precious to God and integral to His future purposes.

Christological Foreshadowing

The rock-cleft motif reaches fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the smitten Rock who becomes the ultimate refuge. Simultaneously, He is the true Branch (Isaiah 11:1) who bears enduring fruit. Thus סָעִיף, whether as cleft or branch, finds its deepest meaning in Him: the place where the sinner hides and the vine into which the believer is grafted.

Key References

Judges 15:8; Judges 15:11; Isaiah 2:21; Isaiah 17:6; Isaiah 27:10; Isaiah 57:5

בִּסְעִ֖יף בִּסְעִפֶ֙יהָ֙ בסעיף בסעפיה וּבִסְעִפֵ֖י ובסעפי סְעִיף֮ סְעִפֵ֥י סְעִפֶֽיהָ׃ סעיף סעפי סעפיה׃ bis‘îp̄ bis‘ip̄ehā bis·‘i·p̄e·hā bis·‘îp̄ bisIf bisiFeiha sə‘îp̄ sə‘ip̄ê sə‘ip̄ehā sə·‘i·p̄ê sə·‘i·p̄e·hā sə·‘îp̄ seIf seiFei seiFeiha ū·ḇis·‘i·p̄ê ūḇis‘ip̄ê uvisiFeiInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts