# Seraphim/shirufa



## Shirufa

Hi!

We are making a quilt as a present for the parents of a newborn boy. They called him Seraphin, which is derived from Seraph (or Seraphim, pl.), which is a term used for angels with six wings (mostly in conjunction with Cherub/Cherubim). Some googling brought news on it's origins. It most probably developed from the hebrew term "shirufa" (hence my nick ;-)) which means "the flaming/burning one". It is translated to Greek as "dracon" which ultimately means, well, dragon.

Coming back to the quilt... we want to put the Name in Hebrew, Greek and Latin on it, but after some research I don't think I can find the right transcription from Latin to Hebrew. All those dots, no vowels...argh! Can't do it. 

Would be nice, if someone here could correct any errors in my understanding of this term and post a transcription of "shirufa" and/or "seraphim". I don't know, if it is possible to transcript 1:1 from Latin to Hebrew (probably not...). If it is, the transcription of the real name "Seraphin" would be nice too...

Thanks in advance. If it works out, I will post a picture of the quilt later.

D.


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## Gadyc

I don't know any Sharifa in Hebrew.
"Serufa" means burned and I definitely wouldn't give this name to any baby !!
The root is Sh.R.F (yes, no voyels hehe) that means burning. 

"Seraphim" (plural) or "Saraf" (single) can be an angel.
But it is also a venomous snake, as its bite "burns".
Seraphim are linked to burning because they are so holy and so "close" to the divine throne that any human or phisycal body cannot approach them.

"Cherub" or rather "Keruv" is another kind of angel with baby face (as keruv is also a baby)

Seraphin is not a Hebrew name and I do not think that Hebrew speaker would give it to their baby. I never met anyone called like this. 
Maybe in christian environment, it has a little different meaning and context, thus, it is a more common name. Matter of culture, you know.

Blessings to your friends and their newborn. May they grow him with joy and abundance.

GC


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## Outsider

According to this site, Seraphin does exist as a person's name in English.


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## cfu507

The Hebrew word "saraf" (saraph) means angel we write it: שרף. It is from the Bible. שרופים serufim is the plural form of saraf.
The word seraph is in English.

You were right, the Hebrew word saraf also means he burned something.
There is no word shirufa in Hebrew, maybe serufa, which has nothing to do with angels.

Back to the name: Seraphin might be written as שרפין. 
shirufa = שירופה
seraphim = שרפים

You can ask the moderator to move your post to forums where pepole speak Greek and Latin.


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## בעל-חלומות

If you want the dotted version for Seraphin, it's: שֶׂרָפִין

In Italy I met a guy called Seraphino once. I had no idea it's from Hebrew.


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## Gadyc

cfu507 said:


> שרופים serufim is the plural form of saraf.


 
שרפים - (serafim) is the plural of saraf

(*שְׂרָפִים* עֹמְדִים מִמַּעַל לוֹ, שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם לְאֶחָד (ישעיה 6 ב

שרופים - is the plural of saruf - burned


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## Shirufa

Thank you all!

Just to get it straight..

Seraphin is transcripted

*שֶׂרָפִין*

Sin-Resh(Kamatz)-Pe(Hiriq)-Yud-Nun? I'm new at this, but where is the "Yud" coming from? Shouldn't there be a "He" between "Pe" and "Sin" (Srphn)? Or I could be reading it wrong... or is it one of those Segol-Thingies? It could indicate a long vowel "i", but shouldn't it have a point beneath it in that case?

יִ

Or is there some rule, that if you set a Hiriq in front of a long vowel "i" the point is not to be set?

Just throwing in my enormous Wikipedia knowledge ^^
en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Hebrew_alphabet

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Coming back to the history of the word itself...

I found several pages mentioning "shirufa" as a hebrew word (just google it yourself). It most probably is connected with those flying, burning (venomous, maybe causing inflammation or fever)) snakes mentioned in the Old Testament by Isaiah. From there to dragons is just a small step. 

www(dot)jewishencyclopedia(dot)com/view.jsp?artid=488&letter=S

I think I will use the fiery, winged snake image... 

D.


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## Gadyc

Shirufa said:


> Shouldn't there be a "He" between "Pe" and "Sin" (Srphn)?


 
Ph = F - matter of phonetic translation. There is no "he" there.



> It could indicate a long vowel "i", but shouldn't it have a point beneath it in that case?
> Or is there some rule, that if you set a Hiriq in front of a long vowel "i" the point is not to be set?


 
Exactly. It is a long vowel. In Hirik Male, the point is under the punctuated consonant. 
Differs from Holam Male or Shourouk.




> I found several pages mentioning "shirufa" as a hebrew word (just google it yourself). It most probably is connected with those flying, burning (venomous, maybe causing inflammation or fever)) snakes mentioned in the Old Testament by Isaiah. From there to dragons is just a small step.


 
Googling, you found only
שרופה - for "2 bodies found in a burned car" or "The meat was served too burned" or "the girl is burned-on this singer" = she is a fan of him.
This is not a person name.



> I think I will use the fiery, winged snake image...


 
Here is the symbol of IDF paratroopers. No flames indeed..


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## Shirufa

> Ph = F - matter of phonetic translation. There is no "he" there.


 
Ah, that's it. And "Pe" is the same letter as "Fe"...tricky ;-)



> Exactly. It is a long vowel. In Hirik Male, the point is under the punctuated consonant. Differs from Holam Male or Shourouk.


 
Hehe, getting the hang of it. But, hey, German has a lot of rules and even more exceptions...I'm just used to it ^^



> Googling, you found only
> שרופה - for "2 bodies found in a burned car" or "The meat was served too burned" or "the girl is burned-on this singer" = she is a fan of him.


 
Well googling "shirufa" I get 380+ hits. Most of them are family names and nicks. A lot of German and Russian pages dealing with music and a few concerning angels. On those I find repeatedly, that Seraphim ist derived from or connected with the hebrew word "shirufa". OK, if there is no such word, just "serufa", it is most probably an error. On Wiki it reads: "Seraph is translated "fiery flying serpent" from the Hebrew and is the word used for the serpents that bit the Israelites in the wilderness.", so the root of the words has something to do with "burning". If this means the burning sensation of venom or of flame can not be proven. We are talking symbol and allegory here, not hard facts and science ;-)



> Here is the symbol of IDF paratroopers. No flames indeed.


 
Yeah, but I think it would spice it up a little bit ;-) And they will like it, since we are deep into fantasy roleplaying games. Lets call it artistic licence...^^

Thanks again,
D.


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