צָפַן
tsa.phan (H6845)
to treasure
AI Word Study
# צָפַן (Tsaphan): The Hebrew Concept of Treasuring The Hebrew word צָפַן (tsaphan) carries the fundamental meaning "to treasure," encompassing the act of storing, preserving, or hiding something of value. With 32 biblical occurrences, this verb reflects a consistent semantic field centered on the deliberate securing of items deemed important enough to set aside or conceal. The word operates across both literal and metaphorical registers, describing physical acts of safeguarding tangible goods as well as the preservation of intangible things like words, thoughts, or divine promises. The range of usage suggests that tsaphan implies intentionality and care—one does not merely place something away but treasures it with purpose. Whether something is hidden for protection, preserved for future use, or guarded as something precious, the verb conveys an attitude of valuation. This meaning allows the word to function in contexts where security, secrecy, or reverence is relevant, making it useful for describing both practical storage and spiritual preservation. The relatively high frequency of occurrence (32 times) indicates that the concept of treasuring or safeguarding valued things was significant enough in ancient Hebrew thought to warrant regular expression through this particular verb.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
The woman conceived and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from.
Yet you hid these things in your heart. I know that this is with you:
“Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!
the wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
For you have hidden their heart from understanding, Therefore you will not exalt them.
All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire will devour him. It will consume that which is left in his tent.
You say, ‘God lays up his iniquity for his children.’ Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
“Why aren’t times laid up by the Almighty? Why don’t those who know him see his days?
He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.
from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.
Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men!
In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues.
They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to take my life.
They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
but these lay in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you,
He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.
restraining her is like restraining the wind, or like grasping oil in his right hand.
The mandrakes produce fragrance. At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old, which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face. Their iniquity isn’t concealed from my eyes.
I will also turn my face from them, and they will profane my secret place. Robbers will enter into it, and profane it.