Lexical Summary
tsallachath: Bowl, dish
Original Word:צַלַּחַת
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:tsallachath
Pronunciation:tsal-lakh'-ath
Phonetic Spelling:(tsal-lakh'-ath)
KJV: bosom, dish
NASB:dish
Word Origin:[fromH6743 (צָּלַח צָּלֵַח - To prosper)]
1. something advanced or deep, i.e. a bowl
2. (figuratively) the bosom
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bosom, dish
Fromtsalach; something advanced or deep, i.e. A bowl; figuratively, the bosom -- bosom, dish.
see HEBREWtsalach
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
tselachahDefinitiona dish
NASB Translationdish (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; —
2 Kings 21:13 (simile),
Proverbs 19:24;
Proverbs 26:15 (see ).
Topical Lexicon
Form and FunctionTsallachath denotes a shallow dish, pan, or platter fashioned of clay, bronze, or occasionally stone, wide enough for washing, cooking, or communal eating. Its shape allowed easy wiping and quick inversion, the very actions appealed to in the Scriptures where the word occurs. Archaeological finds from Iron-Age Judah show low-walled bowls, roughly thirty centimeters in diameter, matching the implied dimensions in the texts.
Occurrences in Scripture
1.2 Kings 21:13
2.Proverbs 19:24
3.Proverbs 26:15
Though numerically few, these references place the utensil in three distinct literary settings—historical narrative, wisdom exhortation, and prophetic oracle—providing a multifaceted theological testimony.
Divine Judgment Illustrated (2 Kings 21:13)
“I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.”
The pan becomes an object lesson in total judgment. Just as grease and crumbs are removed before a dish is inverted to dry, so the Lord promises to scour Jerusalem of idolatry and then upend the city. The imagery stresses completeness: nothing clings, no remnant escapes. For preaching and teaching, the verse underscores God’s holiness and the certainty that sin will be dealt with exhaustively (compareLeviticus 18:28;Revelation 18:21).
The Folly of Sloth (Proverbs 19:24; 26:15)
“The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.” (Proverbs 19:24)
“A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.” (Proverbs 26:15)
Here the tsallachath becomes a silent witness against laziness. In a culture where communal dishes occupied the meal’s center, it is nearly unimaginable for a diner to grow too languid to lift food to his lips. The hyperbole shames apathetic hearers and calls them to diligence (see alsoEcclesiastes 9:10;2 Thessalonians 3:10–12). Ministers may press the point that spiritual lethargy can leave believers famished though nourishment lies within reach.
Historical and Cultural Backdrop
Shared dishes promoted fellowship; to dip one’s hand into the same bowl signified acceptance within the group (cf.Ruth 2:14;Matthew 26:23). Consequently, God’s choice of a dish to portray Jerusalem’s fate speaks of broken covenant fellowship, while the sluggard’s half-hearted dipping hints at fractured social responsibility—his indolence burdens others at the table.
Theological Themes
• Holiness and thorough cleansing—God removes every defilement (2 Kings 21:13).
• Human responsibility—effort is required to partake of provision (Proverbs 19:24; 26:15).
• Community implications—personal sin or sloth affects the shared “dish” of family, church, or nation.
Ministerial Applications
• Call to Repentance: Use the inverted pan of2 Kings 21 as a vivid illustration that unconfessed sin invites wholesale upheaval.
• Encouragement to Persevere: Contrast the slothful hand with Christ’s persevering hand that “set His face toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).
• Communion Meditation: The Lord’s Supper reorients the believer from the dish of judgment to the cup of the new covenant (1 Corinthians 11:25).
Intertextual Echoes
Revelation’s “bowls of wrath” (Revelation 16) amplify the cleansing motif found in2 Kings 21. Likewise, the call to diligence in Proverbs resonates with Paul’s athletic metaphors (1 Corinthians 9:24–27).
Summary
Tsallachath, though a humble household utensil, conveys weighty truths: God cleanses thoroughly, and His people must not grow weary in reaching for the grace placed before them.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּצַּלָּ֑חַת בצלחת הַצַּלַּ֙חַת֙ הצלחת baṣ·ṣal·lā·ḥaṯ baṣṣallāḥaṯ batztzalLachat haṣ·ṣal·la·ḥaṯ haṣṣallaḥaṯ hatztzalLachat
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