Word

שָׁחַח

shâchach · H7817 · Hebrew · 24 occurrences

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Meanings

to become low

Process by which an elevated place loses its elevation

Examples
Habakkuk 3:6 He stood and caused the earth to shudder; He looked and caused the nations to jump. Yes, the everlasting mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His paths are everlasting.
to be in distress

Literally: (one's) self is low; hence: process by which humans experience grief

Examples
Lamentations 3:20 My soul certainly remembers, And is bent over within me.
to be brought down, to be humbled

Literally: to be brought low; hence: process by which human pride is brought to an end, which often becomes visible in their attitude and appearance

Examples
Isaiah 2:11 The proud look of humanity will be brought low, And the arrogance of people will be humbled; And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.
Isaiah 2:17 And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day,
to bring down

Literally: to bring low; hence: causative action by which deities cause high and imposing objects to become low by making them fall or collapse; associated with a loss of status

Examples
Isaiah 25:12 The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.
to humble, to humiliate

Literally: to bring low; hence: causative process by which humans or deities cause (other) humans to lose their high status within a community

Examples
Isaiah 26:5 “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
to be humbled, to be humiliated

Literally: to be brought low; hence: process by which humans lose their high status within a community

Examples
Psalm 107:39 When they become few and lowly Because of oppression, misery, and sorrow,
Isaiah 2:9 So the common person has been humbled And the person of importance has been brought low, But do not forgive them.
Isaiah 5:15 So the common people will be humbled and the person of importance brought low, The eyes of the haughty also will be brought low.
to become low, to fade away

Literally: to become low; hence: process by which an event is reduced in intensity

Examples
Ecclesiastes 12:4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.
Isaiah 29:4 Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust.
to sink down

Literally: to become low; hence: process by which humans are unable to maintain a standing position and are forced down to the ground

Examples
Job 9:13 “God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him the helpers of Rahab cower.
Psalm 10:10 Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers; And unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
to lie down, to crouch

Literally: to make oneself low; hence: action by which animals assume a horizontal position

Examples
Job 38:40 When they crouch in their hiding places, And lie in wait in their lair?
to bow down

Literally: to lower oneself; hence: action by which humans bend the upper body as a sign of mourning or submission

Examples
Psalm 35:14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
Psalm 38:6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go in mourning all day long.
Proverbs 14:19 The evil will bow down before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

How it’s used In 3 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

23 occurrences in 14 groups

נֶפֶשׁsoul, life 3
Not stated: you (one person) 3
Not stated: he, she or it 3
Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

2 occurrences in 2 groups

יָשַׁבto dwell, to live, to sit 1
מִבְצָרfortress 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

11 occurrences in 10 groups

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

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 10 words

כָּנַע kânaʻ · H3665 · to humble oneself, to humble: Both describe acts of humbling or bringing low, with substantial overlap in the senses of humbling, bringing down and subduing. Both can substitute in contexts of humbling or lowering.
כָּרַע kâraʻ · H3766 · to collapse, to slump down, to kneel: This is a true near-synonym pairing—two distinct Hebrew roots for closely related bodily postural actions.
קָרַס qâraç · H7164 · to stoop, to bow down: Both words denote postures of bending or stooping downward, and could be used in contexts of bodily posture.
קָדַד qâdad · H6915 · to bow down: Both denote bowing or stooping the body or head. קָדַד (qâdad, H6915) focuses on bowing the head, whereas שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817) has broader application, including bending, stooping, bringing low and humbling.
שָׁחָה shâchâh · H7812 · to tell, to inform, to impart: Both denote physical postures of bowing or stooping. שָׁחָה (shâchâh, H7812) emphasizes worship and reverence, whereas שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817) includes humbling and being brought low.
שָׁקַע shâqaʻ · H8257 · to sink, to press down: Both describe downward movement or position, such as sinking and pressing down.
נָטָה nâṭâh · H5186 · to be bowed, to be leaning, to bend: Both denote physical bending, bowing or inclining, with overlapping senses such as bow down, incline, bend and stoop. נָטָה (nâṭâh, H5186) has broader figurative extensions, but the core physical sense overlaps closely with שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817).
כָּפַף kâphaph · H3721 · to be bowed down, to bow oneself: Both denote physical postures of bowing or bending down.
שָׁפֵל shâphêl · H8213 · to become low, to be low: Both words denote bringing down, abasing or humbling, verbs of lowering that could substitute in many contexts.
צָעַר tsâʻar · H6819 · little, young, to be small: צָעַר (tsâʻar, H6819) emphasizes smallness and reduction in status or size; שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817) emphasizes physical bowing/stooping posture extended metaphorically to humiliation or being brought low.

In the other Testament 1 word

ταπεινόω tapeinóō · G5013 · to make low, to level off, to make level: ταπεινόω (tapeinóō, G5013) ταπεινόω specifically captures the humiliation/humbling aspect of שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817) שָׁחַח, but does not cover the broader physical bowing or stooping senses that שָׁחַח (shâchach, H7817) encompasses; ταπεινόω (tapeinóō, G5013) is register-restricted to the moral/social humbling domain.

Semantic domains 8 entries

Low002001001040: The word describes a lowered position, as in Job 38:40's "when they crouch in their hiding places" — a posture pressed down close to the ground.
Grieve002001002013: The word can describe a bowed posture of mourning, as in Psalm 35:14's "I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother."
End002003003010: This nuance is not directly shown by this entry's own sampled citations, which describe physical lowering rather than an event's conclusion; it may reflect a downfall or humbling that brings something to an end elsewhere in the text.
Impact002001001024: The word can describe a violent pressing down, as in Psalm 10:10's "he crushes the needy one, who cowers" — force that brings a person low.
Insignificant002001002015: The word's "humble self, be low" sense describes a lowered standing or significance, an extension of the physical bowing this root names.
Lax002001003012: This nuance is not directly shown by this entry's own sampled citations; a stooped, bowed posture may be associated elsewhere with a weakened or slackened physical state.
Stance002001001061: The word names a bodily posture of crouching or cowering, as in Job 9:13's "the helpers of Rahab cower" beneath God's unrelenting power.
Bow002001001008: This is the word's core physical sense, bending or bowing the body low, shared with the closely related root שָׁחָה (shâchâh, H7812).

Word family 2 words

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

שָׁחַחshâchach · H7817שַׁח shach · H7807 · humble, modest · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7817. shachach [שָׁחַח] verb bow, be bowed down, crouch (Late Hebrew id.; Tel Amarna…

H7817. shachach
[שָׁחַח] verb bow, be bowed down,
crouch (Late Hebrew id.; Tel Amarna ša—âhu (WklTelAm. Vocab.), prostrate oneself, probably Canaanism; Assyrian ša—â—u is oppress, torment); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular consecutive וְשַׁח Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17, Isa 2:1singular שַׁחִ֫וֺתִי Psa 38:7, שַׁחֹ֫תִי Psa 35:14, Psa 35:3plural שׁחֲחוּ Job 9:13, שַׁחוּ Hab 3:6; Pro 14:19; Imperfect3masculine singular יָשֹׁחַ Psa 10:10, Psa 10:3masculine plural יָשֹׁ֫חוּ Job 38:40, וַיָּשֹׁ֫חוּ Psa 107:39; Infinitive construct (= absolute, as adverb, Ges§ 118q Köii. 2, §§ 221, 402 d compare also BaNB 164) שְׁחוֺחַ Isa 60:14; —
1 be bowed down, prostrated, humbled, by ׳י, Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17 (both || שָׁפֵל), Hab 3:6 (of hills), Job 9:13 (שׁ ׳תַּחְתָּו), Psa 107:39 (+ מָעַט); by man Psa 10:10.
2 bow in homage, לִפְנֵי person Pro 14:19; שְׁחוֺחַ אֵלַיִח וְהָֽלְבוּ Isa 60:14 (|| הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ).
3 bow, of mourner (קֹדֵר), Psa 35:14; Psa 38:7.
4 crouch, of wild beast in lair Job 38:40.
Niph`al Imperfect be prostrated, humbled: אָדָם וַיִּשַּׁח Isa 2:9 (|| שָׁפֵל) = Isa 5:15 (|| id.); be reduced, weakened, הַשִּׁיר כָּלבְּֿנוֺת יִשַּׁ֫חוּ Ecc 12:4; = proceed humbly, of words מֵעָפָר Isa 29:4 (|| שָׁפֵל).
Hiph`il prostrate, lay low, city, walls, etc.; Perfect3masculine singular הֵךְַ Isa 25:12; Isa 26:5 (both || הִשְׁמִּיל).
Hithpo`el be cast down, despairing: Imperfect3feminine singular תִּשְׁתּוֺחָ֑ח Psa 42:7, Psa 42:2feminine singular תִּשְׁתּוֺחֲחִי Psa 42:6; Psalm 42:12; Psa 43:5 (all with subject נַפְשִׁי).

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

Topical studies with this word 8 entries

Bow4 occurrences Impact1 occurrence Low1 occurrence Stance3 occurrences Grieve1 occurrence Insignificant4 occurrences Lax2 occurrences End2 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