Word

שָׁאַף

shâʼaph · H7602 · Hebrew · 14 occurrences

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Meanings

to gasp, to pant

Process by which humans or animals strain for breath with an open mouth, caused by exhaustion or pain

Examples
Ecclesiastes 1:5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hurrying to its place it rises there again.
Isaiah 42:14 “I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.
to sniff the air

The action by which animals draw up air through the nose in an audible way, out of hunger or a desire to mate, in order to detect the smell of food or of a mate, associated with longing and desire

Examples
Jeremiah 2:24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. Who can turn her away in her mating season? None who seek her will grow weary; In her month they will find her.
Jeremiah 14:6 “The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes fail Because there is no vegetation.
to pant after, to long for

Literally: to pant after something; hence: state in which humans wish strongly for something to happen

Examples
Job 5:5 “The hungry devour his harvest And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.
Job 7:2 “As a slave pants for the shade, And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,
Job 36:20 “Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their places.
to press

Causative action by which humans violently press an object against or into another object

Examples
Amos 2:7 “These who trample the head of the helpless to the dust of the earth Also divert the way of the humble; And a man and his father resort to the same girl So as to profane My holy name.
to oppress

Pattern of actions by which humans subject individuals or entire communities to cruelty and/or injustice

Examples
Psalm 56:1 Be gracious to me, God, for a man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.
Psalm 56:2 My enemies have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.
Psalm 57:3 He will send from heaven and save me; He rebukes the one who tramples upon me. Selah God will send His favor and His truth.

How it’s used In 6 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

13 occurrences in 9 groups

Not stated (participle) 3
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

8 occurrences in 7 groups

רוּחַspirit, wind 2
חַיִלarmy, wealth, strength 1
אֶבְיוֹןpoor 1
לַיִלnight 1
צֵלshadow, shade 1
נִיme 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

6 occurrences in 8 groups

לto/for+ עָלָהto go up 2
אֵלto, toward+ מָקוֹםplace 1
מִןfrom+ סָבִיבround about, around, on every side 1
עַלon, upon, over, against+ עָפָרdust, dirt 1
בin/on/with+ אַוָּהdesire 1
בin/on/with+ רֹאשׁhead, top, chief 1

With adverbsAdverbs

2 occurrences in 2 groups

יַחַדtogether 1
אַלnot, do not 1

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

נִיme 1

What is done to itIt is the object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

חָרַףto reproach 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 8 words

חָשַׁק châshaq · H2836 · to connect with a rod, to love, to desire: Both include desire among their senses. חָשַׁק (châshaq, H2836) centers on attachment, love and delight, whereas שָׁאַף (shâʼaph, H7602) has a broader range and conveys a more physical longing, such as panting or earnest desire.
אָוָה ʼâvâh · H183 · to crave, to desire, to long for: Both words are Hebrew verbs for desiring and longing.
נָשַׁף nâshaph · H5398 · to blow, to cause to blow: נָשַׁף (nâshaph, H5398) means simply to blow, while שָׁאַף (shâʼaph, H7602) covers a broader range, including violent breathing and snuffing actions and metaphorical extensions such as desire and devour. The two overlap narrowly, in breath-related actions of blowing.
כָּמַהּ kâmahh · H3642 · to pine (for someone): Both denote longing: כָּמַהּ (kâmahh, H3642) "long" and שָׁאַף (shâʼaph, H7602) "desire earnestly, pant."
פּוּחַ pûwach · H6315 · to blow upon, to stir up (an area): Both describe breath-related actions such as blowing, puffing, panting and snuffing, and both have a figurative extension toward desire or wish.
כָּסַף kâçaph · H3700 · to desire, to long for, to be eager: Both denote intense desire or longing, such as being greedy, being eager and longing earnestly.
בָּקַשׁ bâqash · H1245 · to search, to seek, to look for: Both denote desire. בָּקַשׁ (bâqash, H1245) is a broad verb meaning to seek, request or desire, whereas שָׁאַף (shâʼaph, H7602) conveys intense desire, such as panting or desiring earnestly, and is rarer.
תָּאַב tâʼab · H8373 · to long, to desire, to hate: Both can express intense yearning. שָׁאַף (shâʼaph, H7602) has a wide range, including panting, devouring and desiring, but earnest desire is a core sense, whereas תָּאַב (tâʼab, H8373) specifically means to long.

Semantic domains 4 entries

Blow002002001002: Job 7:2 compares the sufferer to "a slave pants for the shade," directly attesting the heavy, panting breath this word denotes.
Wish002004002001001: Job 5:5 describes the schemer who "is eager for their wealth," and Job 36:20 warns, "do not long for the night," both attesting the earnest craving this word denotes.
Impact002001001024: Job 5:5 pictures "the hungry devour his harvest," attesting the consuming, devouring force this word can describe.
Unsafe002003003022: Psalm 56:2-3 describes enemies who "have trampled upon me all day long... fight proudly against me," a hostile, devouring threat consistent with this word's "swallow up" sense, met with the psalmist's trust "when I am afraid."

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7602. sha 'aph I. שָׁאַף verb gasp, pant, pant after, long for (so ᵑ7 Job 7:2); — Qal…

H7602. sha
'aph I. שָׁאַף verb gasp, pant, pant after, long for (so ᵑ7 Job 7:2); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular וְשָׁאַף consecutive Job 5:5, Job 5:3feminine singular שָֽׁאֲפָה Jer 2:24, Jer 2:3plural שָֽׁאֲפוּ Jer 14:6; Imperfect3masculine singular יִשְׁאַף Job 7:2, etc.; Participle active שׁוֺאֵף Ecc 1:5; —
1 gasp, as a woman in travail, figurative of ׳י, Isa 42:14 (|| נָשַׁם); pant after, snuff up the wind (accusative), of wild ass Jer 2:24; Jer 14:6; construction praegn.שׁ ׳וְאֶלמְֿקוֺמוֺ Ecc 1:5 unto his place he panteth (comes panting), of sun under figure of racer.
2 gasp or pant with desire Psa 119:131 (|| יָאַב); pant after, be eager for, with accusative Job 5:5 (compare צַמִּים p. 855:b), Job 7:2 (|| יְקַוֶּה), Job 36:20 (but obscure in context).
II. [שָׁאַף] verb crush, trample upon (|| form of שׁוּף (q. v.), if pointing right, compare Köi. 439; We Now read שָׁאפִים, etc., from שׁוּף, compare Ges§ 72p; perhaps originally pulverize by rubbing, but also apparently by pounding, stamping, treading, LevyChWB שׁוּף, JastrDict.שׁאף שׁוּף,; — most make = I. שׁאף, but Vrss render as above); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular suffix שְׁאָפַ֫נִי Psa 56:2-3,plural שָֽׁאֲפוּ Psa 56:3; ,Infinitive absolute שָׁאֹף Eze 36:3; Participle suffix שֹׁאֲפִי Psa 57:4; plural שֹׁאֲפִים Amo 2:7; Amo 8:4; — trample upon, crush (the poor, etc.), figurative, with accusative of person Amo 8:4; strangely Amo 2:7 (We Now Marti strike out לְַעֲֿפַראֶֿרֶץ, which TorreyJBL xv (1896), 152 explained as old doublet, compare ᵑ6 ᵐ5; AV RV pant after the dust, etc., hyperb. for extreme avarice, compare Hi Dr; but Dr thinks ᵑ9 possibly original: crush the heads of the poor upon the dust [compare Isa 3:15], in any case strike out בְּ after ׳שׁ crush); וְשׁ ׳שַׁמּוֺת מִסָּבִיב אֶתְכֶם Eze 36:3; Psa 56:2; Psa 57:4 and (accusative omitted) Psa 56:3.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 4 entries

Impact1 occurrence Blow4 occurrences Unsafe5 occurrences Wish4 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0