H5609 — סְפַר (sephar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5609
Original: סְפַר
Transliteration: sephar (çᵉphar)
Pronunciation: sef-ar'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (Aramaic)
Root: From a root corresponding to H5608 סָפַר (saphar) — to score, inscribe, enumerate
Occurrences: 4 unique verses (5 tokens) in OT
First Occurrence: Ezr 4:15 — "That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to H5608; a book: — book, roll.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
in the book	2	50%
and the books	1	25%
of the rolls	1	25%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ezra	3	1.1
Daniel	1	0.3

Confined entirely to the Aramaic portions of Ezra (4:15; 6:1, 18) and Daniel (7:10). This distribution matches the word's Aramaic identity — it appears only in the Aramaic-language sections of these two books.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Official Record / Administrative Document¶

Ezr 4:15 — "That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city" — Persian officials appeal to written governmental archives to verify Jerusalem's history of rebellion. The phrase sephar dakranayya ("book of the records") denotes a state archive.
Ezr 6:1 — "Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon" — beth siphrayya ("house of the rolls/books") refers to the imperial archive repository where royal decrees were stored.
Ezr 6:18 — "And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses" — sephar Mosheh ("book of Moses") — the Pentateuch cited as the authoritative written source for priestly organization.

2. Book of Divine Judgment¶

Dan 7:10 — "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened" — siphrin pethichuw ("books were opened") in the heavenly court scene. The books serve as the record upon which divine judgment is rendered.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בְּקַר (beqar)	H1240	2x (50%)	"search was made in the book" — investigating official records
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4430	2x (50%)	royal/kingly context — kings ordering archival searches
קוּם (quwm)	H6966	2x (50%)	decree/establishment context — "a decree was made"
דִּכְרוֹן (dikrown)	H1799	1x (25%)	"book of the records" — paired as administrative archive designation
דִּין (diyn)	H1780	1x (25%)	"judgment was set, and the books were opened" — judicial context

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5608 סָפַר (saphar) — Hebrew root verb: to score with a mark, inscribe, enumerate, recount, tell (161 occurrences)
H5612 סֵפֶר (sepher) — Hebrew cognate noun: writing, document, book, scroll, letter, bill, evidence (184 occurrences). The standard Hebrew equivalent of this Aramaic word.
H5613 סָפֵר (sapher) — Aramaic cognate noun: scribe, secretary (6 occurrences in Ezra). The person who writes the sephar.
H5610 סְפָר (sephar) — Hebrew noun from same root: a census, numbering (1 occurrence, 2 Chr 2:16). Shows the "counting/tallying" branch of the root.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
סֵפֶר (sepher)	H5612	"book"	H5612 is the Hebrew equivalent (184v); H5609 is its Aramaic cognate (4v). H5612 covers the full range: bill, letter, scroll, register, book. H5609 appears only in Aramaic passages of Ezra and Daniel.
דָּבָר (dabar)	H1697	"in the book" (rare overlap)	H1697 primarily means "word, matter, thing" — the KJV overlap with "book" is minimal and contextual, not semantic.