tsafa · overlay

What it means

tsafa (צָפָה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “overlay”.

Cover with a sheet of metal.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To plate with gold or bronze.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To overlay, to cover with a sheet, above all of gold or bronze. It is the verb of the building of the dwelling and of the temple. BDB joins it to the idea of spreading over.

• Overlaying the ark and the table with gold Exodus 25:11Exodus 25:24
• Overlaying the altars with bronze or gold Exodus 27:2Exodus 30:3
• Solomon’s temple overlaid with gold 1 Kings 6:201 Kings 6:302 Chronicles 3:4
• The ivory throne overlaid with gold 1 Kings 10:18
• Silver overlaid on earthenware: an image Proverbs 26:23

Historical and cultural background

Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple that he himself had overlaid, to pay the king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:16).

How we translate it

Always “overlay” in its forms (“he overlaid” 18 times, “overlaid” 16, “You shall overlay” 7). So it can be seen that the text repeats the same verb in the dwelling (Exodus 25-37) and in the temple (1 Kings 6).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• he overlaid ×18
• overlaid ×16
• You shall overlay ×7
• overlay ×5
• keep ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Exodus×26
• 1 Kings×13
• 2 Kings×1
• 2 Chronicles×5
• Proverbs×1
• Isaiah×1

• Exodus 25:11

  You shall overlay it with pure gold; inside and outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 25:13

  You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

• Exodus 25:24

  You shall overlay it with pure gold and make for it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 25:28

  You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them.

• Exodus 26:29

  You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

• Exodus 26:32

  You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold, on four bases of silver.

• Exodus 26:37

  You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast for them five bases of bronze.

• Exodus 27:2

  You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.

• Exodus 27:6

  You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze.

• Exodus 30:3

  You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around and its horns, and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 30:5

  You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

• Exodus 36:34

  And the boards he overlaid with gold, and their rings he made of gold, holders for the bars; and he overlaid the bars with gold.

• Exodus 36:36

  And he made for it four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four bases of silver.

• Exodus 36:38

  and its five pillars and their hooks; and he overlaid their tops and their rods with gold; and their five bases were of bronze.

• Exodus 37:2

  And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made for it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 37:4

  And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold,

• Exodus 37:11

  And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made for it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 37:15

  And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table.

• Exodus 37:26

  And he overlaid it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and he made for it a molding of gold all around.

• Exodus 37:28

  And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

• Exodus 38:2

  And he made its horns on its four corners; its horns were of one piece with it; and he overlaid it with bronze.

• Exodus 38:6

  And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

• Exodus 38:28

  And with the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their tops and joined them with rods.

• 1 Kings 6:15

  And he built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling he overlaid them with wood on the inside; and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

• 1 Kings 6:20

  And the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits its height; and he overlaid it with fine gold; and he overlaid an altar of cedar.

• 1 Kings 6:21

  And Solomon overlaid the house on the inside with fine gold; and he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold.

• 1 Kings 6:22

  And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished; and the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

• 1 Kings 6:28

  And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

• 1 Kings 6:30

  And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, inside and outside.

• 1 Kings 6:32

  And the two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

• 1 Kings 6:35

  And he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold fitted over what was incised.

• 1 Kings 10:18

  And the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold.

• 2 Kings 18:16

  At that time Hezekiah cut off the doors of the temple of YHWH and the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave them to the king of Assyria.

• 2 Chronicles 3:4

  The portico that was at the front, along the length, across the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it inside with pure gold.

• 2 Chronicles 3:6

  He overlaid the house with precious stone for beauty; and the gold was gold of Parvaim.

• 2 Chronicles 3:10

  He made in the house of the Most Holy Place two cherubim, a work of sculpture, and they overlaid them with gold.

• 2 Chronicles 4:9

  He made the court of the priests and the great enclosure, and doors for the enclosure, and their doors he overlaid with bronze.

• 2 Chronicles 9:17

  The king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

• Proverbs 26:23

  Silver of dross overlaid on earthenware, are burning lips and an evil heart.

• Isaiah 21:5

  Set the table, keep the watch, eat, drink! “Rise up, princes; anoint the shield!”

And 7 more times.