סנה

Hebrew

Etymology 1

סנה

Root
ס־נ־ה (s-n-h)
2 terms

Derived from the root סָנָה (saná, “to be sharp, to sharpen”), which is semantically tantamount to שָׁנַן (shanán), from where שֵׁן (shen, “tooth”) is derived, meaning that both are derived in a similar manner and named after their quality of being sharp. Cognates include Classical Syriac ܣܢܝܐ (sanyā, “bramble, thornbush”), Arabic سَنَا (sanā, “senna”) and Akkadian sinûm (“blackberry bush”).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /sne/

Noun

סְנֶה • (s'ne) m (plural indefinite סְנָאִים or סְנָיִים) [pattern: קְטַל]

1. (Biblical Hebrew) thornbush, bramble (especially Rubus armeniacus)
   • Tanach, Exodus 3:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת־אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל׃

     And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

   • Tanach, Deuteronomy 33:16, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וּמִמֶּגֶד אֶרֶץ וּמְלֹאָהּ וּרְצוֹן שֹׁכְנִי סְנֶה תָּבוֹאתָה לְרֹאשׁ יוֹסֵף וּלְקׇדְקֹד נְזִיר אֶחָיו׃

     And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush; Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brethren.

2. (Proper noun) burning bush, the place where Moses experienced a divine relevation

Notes

The Septuagint translates this dis legomenon as βάτος (bátos, “bramble”), leaving no uncertainty regarding its meaning. This interpretation is further confirmed by Ibn Ezra[1].

Derived terms

• סְנָאִי (sna'í, “squirrel”)

References

• H5572 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “סְנֶה”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[2], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 450c
• Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 1005a

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic سُنَّة (sunna).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /suˈna/

Noun

סֻנָּה • (suná) f

1. (Islam) sunnah

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863) “סנה”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[3], London: Williams & Norgate, page 1448
• “senna”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Further reading

• הסנה הבוער on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he
• סונה on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he