Word

שָׁוָה

shâvâh · H7737 · Hebrew · 21 occurrences

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Meanings

to be alike, to be like, to compare with

Process by which an object or event is considered similar to another object or event

Examples
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Proverbs 27:15 A constant dripping on a day of steady rain And a contentious woman are alike;
Psalm 18:33 He makes my feet like deer’s feet, And sets me up on my high places.
Literally: to be made equal; hence: process by which humans are punished in a way that is proportional to the offense (to be paid back (for something))

Examples
Job 33:27 “He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.
to cause to be quiet, to cause to be at ease, to calm

Literally: to make (one's) inner person equal; hence: action by which humans make an effort to calm down emotions such as anger and discontent

Examples
Psalm 131:2 I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, My soul within me is like a weaned child.
to cry for help

Action by which humans raise their voice in times of hardship, hoping to received help from God or someone else

Examples
Isaiah 38:13 “I composed my soul until morning. Like a lion—so He breaks all my bones, From day until night You make an end of me.
to level, to make smooth

Literally: to make (something) equal; hence: causative action by which humans use a tool to make a rough surface more smooth

Examples
Isaiah 28:25 Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cumin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?
to be acceptable, to be tolerable

Literally: to be equal (to someone); hence: state in which a situation is acceptable to someone and does not need to be altered

Examples
Esther 3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not comply with the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain.
Esther 5:13 “Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
to grant

Literally: to place (a quality or activity) upon (someone); hence: process by which humans receive a certain quality from God, or become the beneficiary of a divine action

Examples
Psalm 21:5 His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
Literally: to place (before oneself); hence: action by which humans constantly keep a certain object or event at the back of their minds (to be aware (of), to think (of))

Examples
Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your judgments before me.

How it’s used In 4 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

21 occurrences in 12 groups

Not stated: I 7
Not stated: he, she or it 3
Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

10 occurrences in 10 groups

Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

15 occurrences in 13 groups

Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17

With adverbsAdverbs

8 occurrences in 3 groups

לֹאnot 4
אַיִןthere is no, not 3
תָּמִידalways 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 1 word

חָשַׁב châshab · H2803 · to think about, to consider, to plan: Both share a sense of mentally weighing or equating things, with partial overlap in thinking, considering and planning.

Semantic domains 10 entries

Similar002001001056: This lexeme's genuine tagged occurrences (Proverbs 3:15, "nothing you desire compares with her"; Proverbs 8:11; Esther 7:4, "if we had only been sold... it was equal") illustrate the verb "to be equal, comparable, like," directly supporting this Similar domain code.
Chastise002003002005: This nuance is not directly shown by this entry's own sampled citations, which instead illustrate the word's more common senses of worth and fitness; the connection to discipline reflects another attested extension of this broad root.
Compare002004002003: The word is used to weigh one thing against another, as in 2 Samuel 22:34's image of feet "made like deer's feet" — a comparison expressed through equivalence.
Patient002001002020: This nuance is not directly shown by the sampled citations here, which center on questions of worth and adequacy rather than patience specifically.
Shape002001001052: שָׁוָה (shâvâh, H7737) means "to make equal, be suitable/fitting," as in occurrences glossed "[is] appropriate"/"[is] adequate." This sense does not independently attest the "Shape" domain; that classification is bundle-shared with שָׁוָה (shâvâh, H7738) and שְׁוָה (shᵉvâh, H7739) in the source data and is not confirmed by this lexeme's own occurrences.
Well002001003018: The word repeatedly expresses worth or benefit in Esther, as in Esther 3:8's "it is not in the king's interest [lit. not worthwhile] to let them remain" and Esther 7:4's "the distress would not be sufficient reason [lit. not worth it] to burden the king."
Engage002003003011: This nuance is not directly shown by the sampled citations, which concern worth and comparison rather than undertaking an activity.
Think002004002013: The word can describe a matter being reckoned or weighed in the mind, as in Job 33:27's confession that a course of action "is not proper for me" — a judgment reached by reckoning.
Shout002004001009005: This nuance is not directly shown by the sampled citations here; it reflects another attested but less common extension of this root.
Stage002001001060: This nuance is not directly illustrated by the sampled citations, which do not show the word marking a stage or phase of an event.

Word family 2 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

שָׁוָהshâvâh · H7737שְׁוָה shᵉvâh · H7739 · make like · 2×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7737. shavah I. שָׁוָה verb (be even, smooth, see Pi`el, hence) agree with, be like,…

H7737. shavah
I. שָׁוָה verb (be even, smooth, see
Pi`el, hence) agree with, be like, resemble (Arabic II. make even, flat, uniform (with something else); Aramaic שְׁוָא (derived species) be like, be equal, fit, like, Pa`el lay out smoothly, Aph`el make plain, fit, worthy); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular שׁ ׳לֹא לִי Job 33:27 (si vera lectio) it was not equalled to me, i.e. (see infra; according to most) not requited (so De Di Da, and Isa 16:6 ᵑ7); Bu שִׁוָּה לֹא אֵל God did not requite (or שִׁלֵּם for שׁוה); Du כַעֲוֺנִי שִׁוָּה לֹא (compare ᵐ5); Imperfect1singular of אֶשְׁוֶה ֗֗֗ אֶלמִֿי ׳י, Isa 40:25 to whom shall I be like ? (|| תְּדַמְּיוּנִי), implying that he is incompare; 3 masculine plural יִשְׁווּבָֿהּ לֹא Pro 3:15 are not comparable with her (wisdom), so Pro 8:11; Pro 8:2masculine singular מֶּןתִּֿשְׁוֶהלֿוֺ Pro 26:4 lest thou be like him (a fool); Participle בְּ שֹׁוֶה Est 7:4 is not an equivalent for; with לִ, suitable for Est 3:8, so Est 1:22 Hi Or RyKau (reading עִמּוֺ שֹׁוֶה כֹּל for עַמּוֺ כִּלְשׁוֺן, but see Siegf.); adequate for Est 5:13.
Pi`el Perfect3masculine singular שִׁוָּה Isa 28:25 he hath levelled its (the ground's) surface; 1 singular נַפְשִׁי וְדוֺמַמְתִּי שִׁוִּיתִי Psa 131:2 I have smoothed (composed) and stilled my soul; so, that is נַפְשִׁי Isa 38:13 ᵑ9 Ges De and others; Houb Lo Che Du and others read שִׁוַּעְתִּי I cried; accusative מִשְׁמָּטִים Psa 119:30 accounted suitable, meet (|| בָּחָ֑רְתִּי אֱמוּנָח דֶּרֶךְ), Hi, compare Gr Psa 119:128 (see
Qal Est 3:8); We inserts לְנֶגְדִּי (II. ׳שׁ, compare Psa 16:8); Zenner Du אִזִּיתִי.
Hiph`il make like: Imperfect1singular אַשְׁוֶחלָֿךְ מָח Lam 2:13 (|| אֲדַמֶּה); 2 masculine plural וְתַשְׁווּ תְדַמְּיוּנִי לְמִי Isa 46:5 (compare
Qal Isa 40:25).
Nithp. (apparently) Perfect3feminine singular נִשְׁתָּ֑וָה (for נִשְׁתְּוָה) Pro 27:15 are alike, but read probably Niph`al 3 feminine singular נִשְׁוָ֑תָה Ges§ 75x Toy and others — תשׁוה Job 30:22 Kt see II. שׁוא.
II. [שָׁוָה] verb Pi`el set, place (Biblical Aramaic Hithpa. שְׁוָא ᵑ7 Pa`el set, make (often ᵑ7 = שׁית שׁום,); Thes and others below I. ׳שׁ, originally set, place, then set together, compare, < weakened from original make even, right, compare Vulgar Arabic II. make (Wahrm, compare also BaES 66)); — Perfect1singular שִׁוִּיתִי Psa 16:8 I have set ׳י before me (לְנֶגְּדִּי); ׳שׁ עַל עֵזֶר Psa 89:20 I have placed strength upon a hero, compare Psa 21:6; Participle כְּ רַנְלַי מְשַׁוֶּח 2Sa 22:34 setting my feet like hinds = Psa 18:34 (compare כְּ שַׁוִּי ᵑ7 Gen 48:20; Jer 29:22, for כְּ שׂים); — Isa 38:13 see I. שׁוה; — Imperfect = make, produce, 3 masculine singular לוֺ יְשַׁוֶּה מְּרִי Hos 10:1 (Israel as vine), si vera lectio, see We Now (|| מְּרִי עשׂת Hos 9:16, compare Hos 8:7).
I. [שְׁוָה] verb become like (Biblical Hebrew I. שָׁוָה); —
Pa`el Perfect3masculine plural שַׁוִּי Qr (see וְ following; >
Pe`îl שְׁוִי Kt, see K§ 47 Beisp. 3, and p. 175) Dan 5:21, accusative of thing, with עִם.

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

Topical studies with this word 10 entries

Shape1 occurrence Similar9 occurrences Stage1 occurrence Patient1 occurrence Well2 occurrences Chastise1 occurrence Engage2 occurrences Shout1 occurrence Compare2 occurrences Think2 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