צֶלֶם
tselem · tseh'-lem
an idolatrous figure
Lexicon
Derivation: (Aramaic) or צְלֶם; (Aramaic), corresponding to H6754 (צֶלֶם);
an idolatrous figure
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: form, image.
Letters
- צTsade90
Picture: a person lying on their side (or a fish hook)
- Concrete
- hook · trail · side · a man bowed
- Extended
- to hunt · to pursue · need · righteousness as a straight path
- לLamed30
Picture: shepherd's staff or goad
- Concrete
- staff · goad · yoke · cattle prod
- Extended
- authority · to lead · to teach · to bind · toward
- מMem40
Picture: waves of water
- Concrete
- water · sea · blood · liquid
- Extended
- chaos · mighty and uncontrollable · the masses · from / out of
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
to pursue the straight path › authority, the one who leads › water, chaos, the mighty deep
To pursue the straight path of authority, the one who leads of water, chaos, the mighty deep.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of צֶלֶם above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
17 occurrences · 17 OT · 0 NT · 12 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- image8 · 47%
- the image4 · 24%
- of the image2 · 12%
- this image's1 · 6%
- an image1 · 6%
- and the form1 · 6%
Where it is used, by book.
- Daniel17
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.