StrongerBible

sar

שַׂר

HebrewH8269“prince, captain, ...”

Appears 421 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 12:15Gen 21:22Gen 21:32Gen 26:26Gen 37:36Gen 39:1Gen 39:21Gen 39:22Gen 39:23Gen 40:2 (2×)Gen 40:3Gen 40:4Gen 47:6Exo 1:11Exo 2:14Exo 18:21 (4×)Exo 18:25 (4×)Num 21:18Num 22:8Num 22:15Num 22:40Jdg 5:151Sa 22:22Sa 3:382Sa 18:52Sa 19:6(7)2Sa 23:191Ki 4:21Ki 5:16(30)1Ki 9:222Ki 9:5 (2×)2Ki 11:142Ki 24:122Ki 24:141Ch 11:61Ch 11:211Ch 12:21(22)1Ch 12:28(29)1Ch 12:34(35)1Ch 15:51Ch 15:61Ch 15:71Ch 15:81Ch 15:91Ch 15:101Ch 15:271Ch 24:61Ch 27:81Ch 28:211Ch 29:24
Root family
Word studynoun

What sar means

a person placed in command over others: an official, commander, chief, or ruler acting under a higher authority

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

At its core this word names someone who holds authority over a body of people and answers to someone above him. It is not a king but a ranking man the king (or commander, or master) sets over others to lead, govern, or oversee. The same word covers a general at the head of an army, a minister at the royal court, the foreman of a work gang, the head of a household staff, the leading men of a nation, and even the unseen powers said to stand over nations and armies in heaven.

What ties these together is delegated command, not a fixed rank. The word tells you that a person is in charge of a defined group, and the context tells you which group: soldiers, provinces, cupbearers, musicians, or a whole people. Hebrew uses it again and again in the pattern "chief of the X" or "officials of the Y," where the second word names what he is over.

Because it is so flexible, English Bibles spread it across many words: prince, captain, commander, chief, official, ruler, governor. None of these is wrong, but each narrows a word that is deliberately broad. The senses below sort its uses by the kind of group a person leads, while the underlying idea stays the same: a leader set over others under a greater authority.

Nuances

1aa military commander or captain, set over an army or a unit of troops
Gen 21:22Gen 26:26Exo 18:21 (4×)Exo 18:25 (4×)Num 31:14Num 31:48Deu 1:151Sa 12:91Sa 17:552Sa 2:82Sa 24:21Ki 1:19
1ba royal or civic official who runs a department of the court or state
Gen 12:15Gen 39:1Gen 40:2 (2×)Gen 41:9Exo 1:111Ki 4:21Ki 20:141Ki 20:151Ki 20:171Ki 20:192Ch 26:11Est 1:3
1cthe head or overseer set over a particular group, place, or division
Gen 39:21Gen 39:22Gen 39:23Gen 47:61Ki 9:231Ch 15:51Ch 15:61Ch 15:71Ch 15:81Ch 15:91Ch 15:101Ch 27:8
1da noble or leading man at the top of a nation or city
Num 22:8Num 22:13Job 3:15Psa 45:16(17)Isa 1:23Isa 23:8Isa 32:1Jer 2:26Lam 1:6Ezk 22:27Hos 3:4Zep 3:3
1ea heavenly or angelic commander set over an unseen host or nation
Jos 5:14Jos 5:15Dan 10:21Dan 12:1

Uncategorized

Awaiting AI sense categorization.

12 verses
Gen 21:32Gen 37:36Gen 40:3Gen 40:4Gen 40:9Gen 40:16Gen 40:20Gen 40:21Gen 40:22Gen 40:23Gen 41:10Gen 41:12

What scholars say about sar

The standard lexica treat sar as a single noun built on the verb sarar (to rule, to be in command), naming a person who holds delegated authority over a defined group, with the kind of authority determined by context. HALOT and BDB lay out the range as military commander, civil and court official, chief over a class or guild, leading man or noble of a nation, and, in apocalyptic texts, an angelic or heavenly prince. DCH catalogs the full breadth of attested combinations (chief of the army, of the guard, of the bakers, of the city, of the provinces). TDOT traces the word across the monarchy as the standard term for the officers and ministers around the king, and notes the late development of the heavenly-prince usage in Daniel, where sar names patron powers standing over nations and the angelic figures who contend over them.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. שַׂרlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. שַׂרlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. שַׂרlexicon
  • G. F. Hasel and others, "שַׂר sar," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT)theological-dictionary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of שַׂר

m p construct

שָׂרֵי, שָּׂרֵי

Gen 12:15, Gen 47:6, Exo 1:11, Exo 18:21, Exo 18:21, Exo 18:21, Exo 18:21, Exo 18:25

m s construct

שַׂר, שַּׂר

Gen 21:22, Gen 21:32, Gen 26:26, Gen 37:36, Gen 39:1, Gen 39:21, Gen 39:22, Gen 39:23

m p absolute

שָּׂרִים, שָׂרִים

Num 22:40, 2Sa 18:5, 1Ki 4:2, 2Ki 11:14, 2Ki 24:14, 1Ch 24:6, 1Ch 28:21, 1Ch 29:24

m p construct

שָׂרָיו

1Ki 9:22, 2Ki 24:12, 2Ch 17:7, 2Ch 21:9, 2Ch 30:2, 2Ch 30:6, 2Ch 32:3, 2Ch 35:8

m s absolute

שָּׂר, שָׂר, שַּׂר, שַׂר

2Ki 9:5, 2Ki 9:5, 1Ch 15:5, 1Ch 15:6, 1Ch 15:7, 1Ch 15:8, 1Ch 15:9, 1Ch 15:10

m p construct

שָׂרֶיהָ

Pro 28:2, Isa 34:12, Jer 1:18, Jer 25:18, Jer 50:35, Jer 51:57, Lam 1:6, Lam 2:2

m p construct

שָׂרֵינוּ

Ezr 10:14, Neh 9:32, Neh 9:34, Neh 9:38, Jer 44:17, Dan 9:6, Dan 9:8

m p construct

שָׂרֵיהֶם

Isa 3:4, Jer 2:26, Jer 17:25, Jer 32:32, Hos 7:16, Hos 9:15

m p construct

שָׂרַיִךְ

Ecc 10:16, Ecc 10:17, Isa 1:23

m p construct

שָׂרַי

Jdg 5:15, Isa 10:8

m p construct

שָׂרֵיכֶם

Jer 44:21

m s construct

שַׂרְכֶם

Dan 10:21