סֵפֶל (sefel) — mug, cup
Etymology
The word סֵפֶל appears only twice in the Bible, both in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:25, 38), one of the oldest texts in the Hebrew canon. In the famous passage, the heroine Yael gives Sisera milk when he asks for water, delivering it "in a noble's bowl [בְּסֵפֶל אַדִּירִים]." The ancient translations make clear this was a large vessel: the Septuagint renders it with the Greek lekane ("basin"), the Aramaic Targum Jonathan uses phialei (from Greek phialē, a flat broad dish), and the Vulgate uses phiala ("drinking plate"). The word is not a small drinking cup but a large basin or bowl.
The word's history does not end with the Bible. An Akkadian cognate, sapplu, appears in the victory inscription of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (840s BCE), which records the plunder taken from a coalition of local kings headed by Israel's Ahab. The inclusion of sapplu among the precious objects of tribute confirms it was a large, impressive vessel. The word continued in use in Land of Israel Aramaic and Rabbinic Hebrew: Rabbinic texts show that a סֵפֶל was large enough to wash feet in (Sifrei Deuteronomy, 355) and to use as a chamber pot (Tosefta Niddah 7:8) — a very different object from the modern coffee mug.
Most remarkably, the word survived in Palestinian Arabic for over a millennium. In 897 CE, the translator Stephan Marmalah used the Arabic form sifil to render the vessel Jesus uses to wash his disciples' feet in a translation of the Gospel of John (13:5). The same form appears in a 14th-century Arabic translation of Judges. As late as the 20th century, the archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik found an Arab potter in Nablus who was still making and selling clay basins under the name sifil — direct continuity across thousands of years.
The modern meaning — a ceramic cup for hot drinks, usually with a handle — was introduced by the lexicographer Yehuda Leib Ben-Ze'ev in his 1807 German-Hebrew-German dictionary, where he used סֵפֶל as the Hebrew equivalent of the German Tasse ("teacup"). Ben-Ze'ev was aware this departed from the word's original meaning and listed it also as a synonym for "basin," but his dictionary was influential. Throughout the 19th century, Haskalah writers used the word in a range of meanings including basin and tub, but most commonly followed Ben-Ze'ev in using it for "teacup." In 1938 the Va'ad ha-Lashon (Language Committee) officially standardized this meaning, defining סֵפֶל as a ceramic cup with a handle for hot drinks.
Since the late 1970s, the word has been in gradual decline, with more and more Hebrew speakers preferring the broader term כּוֹס (cup/glass) even when a mug is intended. The word may eventually fall out of active use entirely.
Key Quotes
"מַיִם שָׁאַל חָלָב נָתָנָה בְּסֵפֶל אַדִּירִים הִקְרִיבָה חֶמְאָה" — Judges 5:25 (Song of Deborah) (He asked for water, she gave milk; she presented butter in a noble's bowl)
Timeline
- ca. 11th–12th century BCE: Song of Deborah composed; סֵפֶל used for a large bowl
- 840s BCE: Akkadian sapplu (cognate) appears in Shalmaneser III's victory inscription
- 1st–3rd century CE: Word used in Rabbinic literature for a large vessel (large enough for foot-washing)
- 897 CE: Stephan Marmalah uses Arabic sifil to translate the Gospel of John
- 14th century: Arabic sifil used in translation of Judges
- 20th century: Arab potter in Nablus still sells clay basins as sifil
- 1807: Yehuda Leib Ben-Ze'ev equates סֵפֶל with German Tasse (teacup/mug) in his dictionary
- 19th century: Haskalah writers use the word in various senses, most often as "mug"
- 1938: Va'ad ha-Lashon officially defines סֵפֶל as a ceramic cup with handle for hot drinks
- Late 1970s–present: Declining use; כּוֹס increasingly used in its place
Related Words
- כּוֹס — cup, glass; increasingly preferred over סֵפֶל in everyday speech
- קְעָרָה — bowl; the word סֵפֶל originally overlapped with this meaning
- פַּיְלָה — washtub; possibly related via Greek phialē / Latin phiala, arriving through Ladino
- אֵגָן — basin; Ben-Ze'ev listed סֵפֶל as a synonym for this word