Biblical Hebrew: סִבָּה

[brustad]

Hi!

וְלֹא שָׁמַע הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל הָעָם כִּי הָיְתָה סִבָּה מֵעִם יְהוָה לְמַעַן הָקִים אֶת דְּבָרוֹ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה בְּיַד אֲחִיָּה הַשִּׁילֹנִי אֶל יָרָבְעָם בֶּן נְבָט.
(I Kings 12:15)

What does סבה mean? I have found several meanings, but none of them seem to have any connection to the verb סבב, from which it is obviously derived. סבה should have something to do with turning or encircling, not with "indirect method", which is the meaning usually given for it.

Besides, how would "indirect method" fit in this context?

Thank you

 

[JuanCarlosK]

I checked the comentary to the Bible according to Cassuto-Hertom. They wrote as follows:

"כי היתה סיבה וכו': ה' נתן בלבו של רחבעם להשיב כך, כדי שימאס בו העם ויתקים מה שנבא אחיה לירבעם"
God put in Rehoboam's heart to answer like this so the people would get fed up from him and so Ahia's prophecy to
Jeroboam would be fulfilled

So there was a סיבה i.e.: a cause for Rehoboam to answer like this.
That is the meaning of the word סבה = cause.

 

[Ali Smith]

That makes a lot of sense. In modern Hebrew, סִבָּה means 'reason', too.

 

[𒍑 𒉺𒋼𒋛 𒄑𒆵𒆠𒆤 𒉆 𒅗]

It's a hapax legemnon. That means it only occurs once. Nobody is sure what it means really.

 

[גולם]

What does hapax legemnon mean?