סֶלַע sela

Hebrew word for “crag” · Strong’s H5553 · used 58 times in 52 verses

Explore it in the Word Atlas

Meaning

1) crag, cliff, rock; 1a) crag, cliff; 1b) as stronghold of Jehovah, of security (fig.)

Senses in the lexicon

• crag (56)
• rock (2)

How it is translated

Glosses given for sela in context, with how often each is used:

• rock 43
• cliffs 4
• rocks 4
• crags 3
• cliff 2
• more than rock 1
• among the rocks 1

Where it is used

Also in 5 more books.

Chapters where it is used most

Numbers 20 (3), Judges 15 (3), Judges 20 (2), Job 39 (2), Ezekiel 24 (2), Ezekiel 26 (2), Numbers 24 (1), Deuteronomy 32 (1), Judges 6 (1), Judges 21 (1)

Forms

• הסלע 16
• סלע 16
• בסלע 7
• סלעי 5
• הסלעים 5
• מסלע 4
• סלעים 3
• ובסלעים 1
• וסלעו 1

Words used with it

Words that share verses with sela more often than their overall frequency would suggest:

• מְצוּדָה matsudah “fortress” 5
• צְחִיחַ tsechiach “bare” 4
• סָעִיף saiph “cleft” 4
• חֲגָוִים chagav “cleft” 3
• נָקִיק naqiq “cleft” 3
• מַי mayim “water” 7
• שָׁכַן shakhan “to dwell” 5
• יָרַד yarad “to go down” 6
• נְאֻם neum “utterance” 6
• מָרוֹם marom “height” 4
• צוּר tsur “rock” 4
• רִמּוֹן rimmon “(Rock of) Rimmon” 3

Key verses

The verses using sela that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):

• Numbers 20:8 — Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his…
• 1 Samuel 13:6 — When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in…
• 1 Kings 19:11 — And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in…
• Psalms 18:2 — The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
• Psalms 40:2 — He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
• Song of Solomon 2:14 — O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice,…
• Isaiah 32:2 — And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary…
• Isaiah 33:16 — He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
• Isaiah 57:5 — Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
• Jeremiah 5:3 — O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive…
• Jeremiah 51:25 — Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee…
• Obadiah 1:3 — The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring…

See all 52 verses in the Word Atlas

Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.