Hebrew noun (masculine) · H7922
שֶׂכֶל
sekelseh'-kel
understanding
16 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H7922is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 9 of 39Old Testament books
- 10spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H7922
intelligence; by implication, success
The King James renders it: discretion, knowledge, policy, prudence, sense, understanding, wisdom, wise.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
sekel is rendered "understanding". It stands 16 times in the Hebrew text, across nine books.
- Six of the uses stand in Proverbs, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.1 Samuel 25:3His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
- The Greek text spells it ten different ways.
The first use
His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
1 Samuel 25:3שֶׂ֙כֶל֙
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Six of the word's sixteen uses are in Proverbs.
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- insight5
- prudence of2
- an understanding1
- and insight1
- from understanding1
- insight his1
- prudence his1
- sense1
- to insight of1
- understanding1
- with insight1
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
The words it stands beside
All 16, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
10 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- שֵׂ֣כֶל5
- שֶׂ֔כֶל2
- שֵֽׂכֶל־2
- בְּשֶׂ֗כֶל1
- וְשֵֽׂכֶל־1
- לְשֵׂ֣כֶל1
- מִּשָּׂ֑כֶל1
- שֶׂ֙כֶל֙1
- שִׂ֭כְלוֹ1
- שִׂכְל֗וֹ1
The grammar of each form
- noun · masculine singular8HNcmsa
- noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)2HNcmsc
- noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular2HNcmsc/Sp3ms
- preposition + noun · masculine singular2HR/Ncmsa
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine singular1HC/Ncmsa
- preposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)1HR/Ncmsc
1 Samuel
one use
His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
- שֶׂ֙כֶל֙sekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: insight
1 Chronicles
two uses
Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God.
- שֵׂ֣כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: insight
The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.
- בְּשֶׂ֗כֶלbesekhelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: with insight
2 Chronicles
two uses
And Hiram added: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
- שֵׂ֣כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: insight
And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- שֵֽׂכֶל־sekhel-noun · masculine singulartagged: understanding
Ezra
one use
And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men;
- שֶׂ֔כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: insight
Nehemiah
one use
So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read.
- שֶׂ֔כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: sense
Job
one use
You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore You will not exalt them.
- מִּשָּׂ֑כֶלmisakhelpreposition + noun · masculine singulartagged: from understanding
Psalms
one use
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- שֵׂ֣כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singulartagged: an understanding
Proverbs
six uses
Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
- וְשֵֽׂכֶל־vesekhel-conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: and insight
A man is praised according to his wisdom, but a twisted mind is despised.
- שִׂ֭כְלוֹsikhlovnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: prudence his
Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the faithless is difficult.
- שֵֽׂכֶל־sekhel-noun · masculine singulartagged: insight
Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.
- שֵׂ֣כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: prudence of
A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.
- שֵׂ֣כֶלsekhelnoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: prudence of
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- לְשֵׂ֣כֶלlesekhelpreposition + noun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: to insight of
Daniel
one use
Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
- שִׂכְל֗וֹsikhlonoun · masculine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: insight his
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.