McDowell County, NC

Probably the most well-known Hebrew word in the United States is shalom. Most people think of the word as meaning “peace.” Although “peace” is certainly one of its definitions, there are several other definitions also. In my article today, I would like to take a look at other definitions as well as examine their spelling to see if the original intent of the word shalom can be determined.

Indeed, we find the word shalom translated as “peace” several times throughout the Old Testament. Shalom has been defined by the Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon as “completeness, welfare, soundness, peace, safety, health, prosperity.” For example, in Job 21:9, we read, “Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them.” In this verse, the word translated “safe” is from the Hebrew shalom.

The word has also become a common greeting and farewell. In Israel, the word shalom is often used when greeting a person, similar to “hello” in the United States. Shalom is also used upon departure, similar to “good-bye.” In the Hebrew language, if I were to ask a man, “How are you doing?” I would say, “Ma-Schlome-cha?” Schlome-cha is a derivative of the word shalom. It’s like, instead of asking, “How are you?” I would be asking a more sincere question, such as, “How is your peace?” or “How is your health?”

As we take our investigation into shalom one step further, looking for the original meaning of the word, we find another amazing bit of information. When I do such research, one of the first things I do is look at the Hebrew spelling of the word. Before there was a Hebrew alphabet, the system of writing was composed of what is known as “pictographs.” These were pictures that represented thoughts or ideas, similar to hieroglyphics. The pictographs for the word shalom, over time, have become the four Hebrew letters Sheen, Lamed, Vav, and Mem.

The meanings of these pictographs have been explained by author Frank Seekins in his book Hebrew Word Pictures and Jeff Benner in his manuscript called Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible as follows:

Sheen – represents teeth, to destroy
Lamed – staff, authority
Vav – hook, nail, establish
Mem – water, chaos

When you put these symbols together, starting in the middle, we have what could have been the original intent and meaning of the word shalom: “With authority (the Hebrew letter Lamed), to destroy (Sheen) that which establishes (Vav) chaos (Mem).”

If you compare this with the definitions of “completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace,” you can see similarities, but I also think you can note a subtle difference. The common definitions imply a condition that has been achieved, whereas the pictographs seem to imply a condition that is created. By “with authority, to destroy that which establishes (causes) chaos,” something has to be done first before peace can result.

Think of it like this: when David said in Psalm 29:11, “The LORD gives strength to His people; the LORD blesses His people with peace” (ESV), it seems that David was saying that people can have a state of completeness, welfare, and peace, but before that occurs, the LORD is involved. He blesses His people. He provides them with the power and strength to destroy and overcome those who cause chaos.

And who is the foremost cause of chaos today? The adversary, Satan. With the assistance, guidance, and peace provided by the Holy Spirit, we have the power to overcome, and therefore, we can enjoy peace, soundness, and completeness. When we are born of God, we can overcome the world and the archdeceiver, and then we can have peace.

Shalom

Tom Thorne, Th. D.

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Tom Thorne recently completed his Doctor of Theology in Old Testament Studies from Andersonville Theological Seminary.  Tom and his wife Amy are fellowship coordinators for Avdai El Elyon, Servants of the Most High God Ministries. We invite anyone who would like to attend a Sabbath service to join us. We meet on Saturday’s at 12:00 p.m. For further details, please give us a call at 704-993-1974 or contact us at [email protected].

Read more by Thomas Thorne.

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