Biblica Analytica

סְגֻלָּה

se.gul.lah (H5459)

possession

8 verses 6 books OT 8 / NT 0
AI Word Study

# Segullah: A Possession of Special Value The Hebrew word *segullah* (סְגֻלָּה) denotes a form of possession, but the lexical data suggests this is not ordinary ownership. The term appears only eight times in the biblical text, indicating it was used selectively rather than as a common everyday word for property or belongings. This limited occurrence suggests the word carried specific weight and was reserved for particular contexts where the nature of possession mattered theologically or legally. The designation as a "possession" indicates that *segullah* referred to something owned or held, but the specialized vocabulary choice implies a distinction from standard property terms. In ancient Near Eastern contexts, such carefully chosen terminology typically marked items or relationships of unusual importance—whether royal treasures, covenant relationships, or uniquely valued holdings. The rarity of the word across the biblical canon suggests it was employed to emphasize the exclusive or treasured character of what was being described, rather than simply denoting ownership in general terms. Without additional contextual usage examples in the provided data, the precise range of what could be called *segullah* remains constrained by the definition itself. What can be stated with certainty is that biblical authors selected this term deliberately when they wanted to characterize a possession as distinctive in nature—marked by special relationship, exclusive claim, or particular value to the possessor.

AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.

Exodus 19:5

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;

Deuteronomy 7:6

For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 14:2

For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 26:18

Yahweh has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments.

1 Chronicles 29:3

In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

Psalms 135:4

For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession.

Ecclesiastes 2:8

I also gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men: musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

Malachi 3:17

They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.