Difference between revisions of "To Be Desolate"

To Be Desolate <ref name="term_76274" />  

<p> <em> Shâmêm </em> ( שָׁמֵם, Strong'S #8074), “to be desolate, astonished, appalled, devastated, ravaged.” This verb is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 90 times in the text of the [[Hebrew]] Old Testament. <em> Shâmêm </em> does not occur until Lev. 26:22: “Your high ways shall be desolate.” Interestingly, the word occurs 25 times in the Book of Ezekiel alone, which may reflect either Ezekiel’s times or (more likely) his personality. </p> <p> Just how the meanings “be desolate,” “be astonished,” and “be appalled” are to be connected with each other is not clear. In some instances, the translator must make a subjective choice. For example, after being raped by her half-brother, [[Tamar]] is said to have remained in her brother Absalom’s house, “desolate” (2 Sam. 13:20). However, she surely was “appalled” at what [[Amnon]] had done. Also, the traditional expression, “to be desolated,” sometimes means much the same as “to be destroyed” (cf. Amos 7:9; Ezek. 6:4). </p> <p> <em> Shâmêm </em> often expresses the idea of to “devastate” or “ravage”: “I will destroy her vines” (Hos. 2:12). What one sees sometimes is so horrible that it “horrifies” or “appalls”: “Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth [i.e., be speechless]” (Job 21:5). </p>

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