Lexical Summary
sebal: Load, burden
Original Word: סְבַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: cbal
Pronunciation: seh-BAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (seb-al')
KJV: strongly laid
NASB: retained
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H5445 (סָבַל - bear)]
1. to erect
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
strongly laid
(Aramaic) corresponding to cabal; to erect -- strongly laid.
see HEBREW cabal
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to
sabalDefinitionto bear, carry (a load)
NASB Translationretained (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] si vera lectio (see Biblical Hebrew); —
Passive participle (K§ 36 NöGGA, 1884, 1016) Ezra 6:3 its foundations (be) raised (Thes and others; WCG 203, 225), very dubious; HptGu on the passage conjectures his (God's) fire-offerings they bring (Assyrian Zabâlu), so (hesitantly) Berthol.
Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrence Ezra 6:4 records the only use of סְבַל, describing the “three rows of large stones and one of timber” (Berean Standard Bible) specified in King Cyrus’s decree for the second temple.
Historical and Architectural Setting
The alternation of stone and wood was a known Near-Eastern technique that strengthened walls against earthquakes and siege. By preserving Cyrus’s blueprint, Ezra highlights the providential intersection of Persian engineering and Israel’s covenantal restoration. Each סְבַל (row or course) marks a measured, load-bearing stage of rebuilding after exile.
Covenantal and Theological Significance
Re-establishing the temple signaled renewed fellowship with the Lord. The carefully ordered layers proclaim that true worship requires both God-given design and human obedience. Just as the exiles could not improvise the structure, believers must not improvise the faith once delivered (Jude 3).
Typology and Christological Foreshadowing
The visible courses point to an invisible reality. Peter writes, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). The physical layers prefigure a redeemed people joined to Christ the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22). The single timber layer whispers of the wooden cross that would bear the true weight of God’s dwelling with mankind.
Ministry Applications
1. Ordered Ministry: God values structural faithfulness; elders and builders today must lay doctrine and practice “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
2. Patient Progress: Rebuilding advanced one סְבַל at a time, mirroring the incremental nature of sanctification (2 Peter 1:5-8).
3. Divine Provision: Cyrus funded the project from the royal treasury, reminding modern servants that God can supply resources through unexpected channels (Philippians 4:19).
Intertextual Echoes
• Solomon’s temple employed “costly stones from the foundation to the coping” (1 Kings 7:9-12), setting precedent for Ezra’s plan.
• The twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19-20) consummate the imagery of ordered, precious layers.
Pastoral Reflection
A solitary Hebrew word preserves the moment Israel’s worship regained physical form. Every detail in Scripture matters: each סְבַל in Ezra’s wall, each act of obedience in the believer’s life. “No one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Forms and Transliterations
מְסֽוֹבְלִ֑ין מסובלין mə·sō·wḇ·lîn mesovLin məsōwḇlîn
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