saraph

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A form of seraph — A burning serpent, often winged, with human hands and sometimes feet; one of God's entourage. On Earth, they strike with burning poison; in Heaven, with burning coal.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounsaraph (plural seraphim)

plural seraphim

  1. rareRare form of seraph.

    Indeed, if any angel dares to approach the chabod, then a saraph, i.e. one of the seraphim, immediately burns him.

    2008, “The Commentary on the Daily Prayers by Menaḥem Recanati as interpreted by Flavius Mithridates”, in Giacomo Corazzol, editor, Commentary on the Daily Prayers: Flavius Mithridates’ Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English Version (The Kabbalistic Library of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola; 3), Turin: Nino Aragno Editore, →OCLC, page 663
    2 more examples

    He then felt the great weight of his own imperfections—but a saraph (singular for seraphim) brought Isaiah a burning coal from God’s altar, touched his lips with it, and removed the man’s sin.

    2015, Shane Wall, The Supernatural Guide to Understanding Angels, Orangeburg, S.C.: Godly Writes Publishing, →ISBN, page 20

    God sends seraphim to attack the liberated yet ungrateful Israelites, and a saraph (singular) fashioned by Moses at God’s instruction would save them again.

    2021, Kristin Swenson, A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 62

Origin

  1. Biblical Hebrewשָׂרָף
  2. Englishsaraph

From Biblical Hebrew שָׂרָף (śārāp̄).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

saraph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saraph

MLA

“saraph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saraph. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saraph,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saraph.

Source: saraph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.