Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Significance:In biblical terms, "sap" refers to the life-giving fluid that circulates within plants, particularly trees, providing them with the necessary nutrients for growth and vitality. It is often used metaphorically in Scripture to symbolize spiritual vitality, strength, and the sustenance provided by God to His people.
Biblical References and Usage:The concept of sap is not frequently mentioned directly in the Bible, but its implications are woven throughout the Scriptures, often in the context of trees and plants as symbols of spiritual life and growth.
1.
Psalm 92:12-14 : "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain."
· Here, the imagery of trees flourishing and remaining "healthy and green" suggests the presence of sap, symbolizing the ongoing spiritual vitality and fruitfulness of the righteous who are rooted in God.
2.
Job 14:7-9 : "For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail. If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling."
· This passage highlights the resilience and regenerative power of trees, akin to the spiritual renewal and hope found in God. The "scent of water" can be seen as a metaphor for divine grace that revives and sustains life.
3.
Ezekiel 17:24 : "All the trees of the field will know that I, the LORD, bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it."
· The imagery of trees being made to flourish or wither at God's command underscores His sovereign power over life and spiritual vitality, akin to controlling the flow of sap within a tree.
Theological Implications:Sap, as a metaphor for spiritual life, emphasizes the necessity of remaining connected to God, the source of all life and strength. Just as sap nourishes and sustains a tree, so does God's presence and Word nourish and sustain believers. This connection is vital for spiritual growth, resilience, and fruitfulness.
Practical Application:Believers are encouraged to remain rooted in their faith and in the Word of God, much like a tree planted by streams of water (
Psalm 1:3). This ensures a continual flow of spiritual "sap," enabling them to withstand trials and bear fruit in their lives. Regular prayer, study of Scripture, and fellowship with other believers are practical ways to maintain this vital connection.
Symbolism in Christian Life:In Christian symbolism, sap can represent the Holy Spirit, who indwells believers and empowers them to live godly lives. The Spirit is the source of spiritual vitality, much like sap is to a tree, enabling believers to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices or circulating fluid essential to nutrition.
2. (n.) The sapwood, or alburnum, of a tree.
3. (n.) A simpleton; a saphead; a milksop.
4. (v. t.) To subvert by digging or wearing away; to mine; to undermine; to destroy the foundation of.
5. (v. t.) To pierce with saps.
6. (v. t.) To make unstable or infirm; to unsettle; to weaken.
7. (v. i.) To proceed by mining, or by secretly undermining; to execute saps.
8. (n.) A narrow ditch or trench made from the foremost parallel toward the glacis or covert way of a besieged place by digging under cover of gabions, etc.
Greek
5200. hugros -- wet, moist, of wood sappy... of wood sappy. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: hugros Phonetic Spelling:
(hoo-gros') Short Definition: moist, green, full of
sap Definition: moist
...4551. Sapphire -- Sapphira, a Christian woman
... Sapphira, a Christian woman. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: Sapphire
Phonetic Spelling: (sap-fi'-ray) Short Definition: Sapphira Definition...
4550. sapros -- rotten, worthless
... rotten, worthless. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: sapros Phonetic Spelling:
(sap-ros') Short Definition: rotten, useless, corrupt Definition: rotten...
250. aloe -- aloe
... 250 -- "The strongly aromatic, quick-dryingsap of a tree (the ) -- mixed with myrrh
and used for embalming" (); "the true aloe plant (, , 1:99)....
4552. sapphiros -- sapphire, perhaps lapis lazuli
... sapphire, perhaps lapis lazuli. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
sapphiros Phonetic Spelling: (sap'-fi-ros) Short Definition: a sapphire...
Strong's Hebrew
1879. dashen -- fat... 1878, 1879. dashen. 1880 . fat. Transliteration: dashen Phonetic Spelling:
(daw-shane') Short Definition:
sap. Word Origin adjective
...5597. sappachath -- an eruption, scab
... 5596, 5597. sappachath. 5598 . an eruption, scab. Transliteration: sappachath
Phonetic Spelling: (sap-pakh'-ath) Short Definition: scab....
7373. ratob -- moist, juicy, fresh
... moist, juicy, fresh. Transliteration: ratob Phonetic Spelling: (raw-tobe') Short
Definition: green. green From ratab; moist (withsap) -- green. see HEBREW ratab...
5601. sappir -- a sapphire
... 5600, 5601. sappir. 5602 . a sapphire. Transliteration: sappir Phonetic
Spelling: (sap-peer') Short Definition: sapphire. Word Origin...
Library
Chapter i.
... Thus the writer of Wisdom knows and uses not only Exodus (Sap. xvi.22 = Exodus
9:24, and perhaps alsoSap. xii.8 = Exodus 23:28) and Deuteronomy (Sap....
The vine and the Branches
... on the ground, I graft just where it emerges from the soil; I watch over every bud
which the old nature could possibly put forth until the flow ofsap from the...
Abide
... Then there is the second process, in which thesap of the vine enters the new structure,
and uses it as a passage through whichsap can flow up to show itself...
Death to Sin is the Way Out into a Life of Holiness.
... vigour. Thesap"the will"the "ego""is withdrawn from the former existence,
its aims and desires, and is sent into the new....
The Cleansing
... And why? Because it would consume too much of thesap to fill all the long shoots
of last year's growth: thesap must be saved up and used for fruit alone....
The Work of Regeneration.
... But that little graft has the wonderful power of converting thesap and vital forces
into something good, causing that wild trunk to bear noble fruit and rich...
Similitude of the vine and Branches. --The Law of Love. (John,
... The fructifyingsap flows from the vine-stock through all the branches, and without
it they can produce no fruit; so the followers of Christ can only obtain...
"Ye are the Branches"
... due time, bears fruit. It has no responsibility except just to receive
from the root and stemsap and nourishment. And if we only...
The Life that Can Pray
... Just as the vine only and solely and wholly lives to produce thesap that makes
the grape, so the branch has no other aim and object but this alone, to receive...
"And we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind...
... But now Lord, we are like a tree in the fall of the leaf, sin hath obstructed the
influence of heaven, hath drawn away thesap of thy presence from among us...
Thesaurus
Sap (6 Occurrences)... Multi-Version Concordance
Sap (6 Occurrences).
... Job 8:16 He is full of
sap before
the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden; (DBY).
...Olive-tree (17 Occurrences)
... By such a process thesap of the good olive, by pervading the branch which
is "graffed in," makes it a good branch, bearing good olives....
Olivetree
... By such a process thesap of the good olive, by pervading the branch which
is "graffed in," makes it a good branch, bearing good olives....
Bleeding (9 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Bleed. 2. (a.) Emitting, or appearing
to emit, blood orsap, etc.; also, expressing anguish or compassion....
Run (147 Occurrences)
... 14. (v.) To flow, as a liquid; to ascend or descend; to course; as, rivers run
to the sea;sap runs up in the spring; her blood ran cold. 15....
Fresh (41 Occurrences)
... Adj.: The translation of hadhash, "new," "fresh" (Job 29:20, "My glory is fresh
in me"); of leshadh, "sap," "moisture" (Numbers 11:8, of the manna, "as the...
Vigorous (9 Occurrences)
... Those who hate me without reason are numerous. (WEB NAS NIV). Psalms 92:14 They
are still vigorous in old age, they are full ofsap and green; (DBY)....
Undermine (1 Occurrence)
... 1. (vt) To excavate the earth beneath; to subvert by indirect, secret, or underhanded
means; to form a mine under; tosap; as, to undermine a wall....
Juice (8 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The characteristic fluid of any vegetable or animal substance; thesap or
part which can be expressed from fruit, etc.; the fluid part which separates...
Leaf (20 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) A colored, usually green, expansion growing from the side of a stem or
rootstock, in which thesap for the use of the plant is elaborated under the...
Resources
Who was King Lemuel in Proverbs 31? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about gray hair? | GotQuestions.orgSap: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
