Original Word: שְׂבָכָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: sbakah
Pronunciation: seh-bah-KAH
Phonetic Spelling: (seb-aw-kaw')
KJV: checker, lattice, network, snare, wreath(-enwork)
NASB: network, networks, lattice, nets of network, webbing
Word Origin: [feminine of H7638 (שָׂבָך - To interweave)]

1. a net-work, i.e (in hunting) a snare, (in architecture) a ballustrade
2. also a reticulated ornament to a pillar

checker, lattice, network, snare, wreathen work

Feminine of sabak; a net-work, i.e (in hunting) a snare, (in architecture) a ballustrade; also a reticulated ornament to a pillar -- checker, lattice, network, snare, wreath(-enwork).

see HEBREW sabak

Word Origin
from the same as sobek
Definition
latticework, network
NASB Translation
lattice (1), nets of network (1), network (8), networks (4), webbing (1).

שְׂבָכָה noun feminine lattice-work, network; — absolute ׳ר 1 Kings 7:18 +, plural שְׂבָכוֺת 1 Kings 7:41 +, שְׂבָכִים 1 Kings 7:17; —

1 probably window-lattice 2 Kings 1:2.

2 net-ornament on pillars, 1 Kings 7:17 (twice in verse) **(for שׁבעה) Bö Th Sta Klo Kmp Benz Kit Bur; (omitted by ᵐ5 Kit Benz), 1 Kings 7:18; 20(corrupt, compare Kit Benz), V:41; V:42; V:42; 2 Chronicles 4:12,13 (twice in verse); 2 Kings 25:17 (twice in verse) "" Jeremiah 52:22,23.

3 network, toils, for catcing animals (figurative) Job 18:8 (+ רֶשֶׁת, מַּךְ, צַמִּים).

שְׂבָכִים see שְׂבָכָה. above

Physical Form and Craftsmanship

The term describes an intricately woven “network” or “lattice,” fashioned of interlaced strands that leave open spaces between them. Whether worked in bronze for the capitals of pillars, carved in stone for windows, or pictured figuratively as a snare, it always conveys skill, strength, and measured symmetry. In Solomon’s day such workmanship required both artistic vision and exacting technique; the metal-workers of Tyre under Hiram “fashioned the two capitals… with a network of interwoven chains—seven for each capital” (1 Kings 7:17). The result was beauty without bulk: a screen strong enough to guard, yet open enough to reveal.

Role in Solomon’s Temple

The majority of occurrences cluster in the description of the first Temple (1 Kings 7:17-20, 41-42; 2 Chronicles 4:12-13). The latticework encircled the lily-shaped bronze capitals of Jachin and Boaz and supported two hundred pomegranates arranged in rows around each pillar. This marriage of network and fruit symbolizes ordered abundance—design supporting life. Because the pillars flanked the entrance to the sanctuary, worshipers approaching the house of the Lord were greeted by a visual sermon: strength, order, and fruitfulness upheld by the covenant God.

Continuity Through Exile

More than four centuries later, the same word is used when Nebuchadnezzar dismantled those very pillars (2 Kings 25:17; Jeremiah 52:22-23). Scripture’s mention of the latticework even in judgment underscores God’s faithfulness to His word: He had warned that disobedience would lead to exile, yet He preserved the memory of the Temple’s glory down to its smallest detail. The network therefore becomes a witness both to the splendor of divine blessing and to the severity of covenant discipline.

Royal Architecture Beyond the Temple

“Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured” (2 Kings 1:2). Here the lattice is part of a palace window, suggesting that such decorative screens had become a common feature of Israelite and Judean architecture. The fall of the king through his own lattice foreshadows his spiritual downfall; external beauty could not protect a heart that sought counsel from Baal rather than from the Lord.

Metaphorical Use for Spiritual Danger

In the wisdom literature the word is transferred from architecture to hunting imagery. Bildad warns: “For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh” (Job 18:8). The sinner is ensnared by the very plans he weaves, just as an intricate lattice can either guard or entrap. The metaphor reinforces the moral order revealed elsewhere in Scripture: sin is self-destructive, righteousness protective.

Symbolic Themes

1. Divine Order—The patterned regularity of the lattice mirrors the ordered cosmos established in Genesis 1 and the ordered worship prescribed in Exodus.
2. Revelation and Mystery—The screen conceals yet allows sight, echoing Exodus 33:20 where God’s glory is both hidden and revealed.
3. Protection—Whether guarding a window or crowning a pillar, the network stands between what is holy or safe and what is profane or perilous.
4. Judgment—The same structure that protects the faithful can entangle the wicked (Job 18).

Lessons for Ministry Today

• Pursue craftsmanship in worship: the excellence seen in Solomon’s artisans reflects the worth of the God they served.
• Guard the gateways: physical or metaphorical entrances to the heart and church need well-wrought lattices of doctrine and discipline.
• Remember and teach history: the biblical writers recorded even minute architectural details to remind later generations of both glory and loss.
• Warn against self-made snares: sin’s complexity often mirrors the intricate weave of the lattice; only obedience keeps the mesh from becoming a trap.

Key References

1 Kings 7:17-20, 41-42; 2 Kings 1:2; 2 Kings 25:17; 2 Chronicles 4:12-13; Job 18:8; Jeremiah 52:22-23

בכה הַשְּׂבָכ֑וֹת הַשְּׂבָכָ֖ה הַשְּׂבָכָ֗ה הַשְּׂבָכָ֣ה הַשְּׂבָכָֽה׃ הַשְּׂבָכָ֑ה השבכה השבכה׃ השבכות וְהַשְּׂבָכ֣וֹת וּשְׂבָכָ֨ה והשבכות ושבכה לַשְּׂבָכָ֣ה לשבכה שְׂ֝בָכָ֗ה שְׂבָכָ֗ה שבכה ḇā·ḵāh ḇāḵāh haś·śə·ḇā·ḵāh haś·śə·ḇā·ḵō·wṯ haśśəḇāḵāh haśśəḇāḵōwṯ hassevaChah hassevaChot laś·śə·ḇā·ḵāh laśśəḇāḵāh lassevaChah śə·ḇā·ḵāh śəḇāḵāh sevaChah ū·śə·ḇā·ḵāh ūśəḇāḵāh usevaChah vaChah vehassevaChot wə·haś·śə·ḇā·ḵō·wṯ wəhaśśəḇāḵōwṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts