שָׁחַט
shâchaṭ · H7819 · Hebrew · 80 occurrences
Meanings
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to slaughter
The action by which humans kill animals or humans, normally by cutting their throats, for ritual purposes or for food
ExamplesGenesis 22:10 And Abraham reached out with his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Genesis 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;
Exodus 12:6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight.
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to slaughter, to kill
Causative action by which humans kill other humans as a deed of aggression, usually with the sword
ExamplesJudges 12:6 then they would say to him, “Just say, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he was not prepared to pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the crossing places of the Jordan. So at that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.
1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
2 Kings 10:7 When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.
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Causative process by which deities cause humans to die an untimely death (to cause (someone) to die)
ExamplesNumbers 14:16 ‘Since the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
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deadly
State in which an object can cause a violent death
ExamplesJeremiah 9:8 “Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.
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to offer
Literally: to slaughter blood; hence: causative action by which humans slaughter an animal to be sacrificed to a deity
ExamplesExodus 34:25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning.
How it’s used In 7 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
78 occurrences in 17 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 33
- Not stated: they 19
- Not stated: you (one person) 5
- Not stated: you (more than one) 4
- מֶלֶךְking 3
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
66 occurrences in 25 groups
- עֹלָהburnt offering 9
- וֹhim 9
- בֵּןson 8
- פֶּסַחpassover 6
- פַּרbull 5
- הֶםthem 5
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20
Second objectAs in “call him Lord”
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- זֶבַחsacrifice 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
38 occurrences in 25 groups
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 10
- בin/on/with+ מָקוֹםplace 5
- עַלon, upon, over, against+ מַיִםwater 3
- לto/for+ עַיִןeye, sight 3
- Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25
With adverbsAdverbs
5 occurrences in 3 groups
- לֹאnot 2
- שָׁםthere 2
- אַחַרafter, behind 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- נָכָהto strike, to strike down 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 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 2 words
- הֲרֵגָה hărêgâh · H2028 · slaughter, butchery
- שָׁחַט (shâchaṭ, H7819) has broader application (includes cultic sacrifice), but the core slaughter sense overlaps.
- קֶטֶל qeṭel · H6993 · killing
- Both refer to killing. קֶטֶל (qeṭel, H6993) is a noun meaning "slaughter" and occurs only once, whereas שָׁחַט (shâchaṭ, H7819) is a verb meaning to kill or slaughter, including both cultic and general killing.
In the other Testament 2 words
- σφάζω spházō · G4969 · to slaughter, to kill
- Greek σφάζω renders Hebrew שָׁחַט as its standard translation equivalent for ritual slaughter and killing, particularly in sacrificial contexts where both terms denote the act of butchering animals for offerings or food preparation.
- θύω thýō · G2380 · to sacrifice, to make a sacrifice, to slaughter
- שָׁחַט (shâchaṭ, H7819) שָׁחַט denotes the physical act of killing/slaughtering (particularly for sacrifice but also general slaying), while θύω (thýō, G2380) θύω specifically denotes the cultic act of sacrificing (with emphasis on the ritual offering aspect); both terms overlap substantially in sacrificial contexts where the Greek renders the Hebrew's slaughter-for-sacrifice sense.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Dead002001001018
- The verb names ritual and violent slaughter, as in Genesis 22:10's "took the knife to slaughter his son" and Genesis 37:31's "slaughtered a male goat" — the ending of an animal's or person's life.
- Sacrifice002003002021
- The verb is the standard term for slaughtering an offering, as in Exodus 12:6's Passover instruction to "slaughter it at twilight" and Exodus 29:11's "you shall slaughter the bull before the LORD."
- Shape002001001052
- This nuance is not directly shown by this entry's own sampled citations, which describe the act of slaughter itself rather than shaping; it may reflect the physical cutting and dividing of the carcass that follows slaughter.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7819. shachat שָׁחַט verb slaughter, beat (originally beat, flay? compare Assyrian…
שָׁחַט verb slaughter, beat (originally beat, flay? compare Assyrian ša—â‰u, flay, take off dress; Arabic slay (but = —; is this loan-word in Arabic ?); Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew, especially in ritual); —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳שׁ Jer 39:6 +, suffix וּשְׁחָטוֺ consecutive Lev 3:2, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִשְׁחַט Lev 4:24 +, 2 feminine singular וַתִּשְׁחֲטִי Eze 16:21, Eze 16:3masculine plural suffix וַיִּשְׁחָט֫וּהוּ Jdg 12:6; Imperative masculine plural שַׁחֲטוּ Exo 12:21; 2Ch 35:6; Infinitive absolute שָׁחֹט Isa 22:13; construct לִשְׁחֹט Gen 22:10, וֺט- Eze 40:39, suffix שַׁחֲטָם (Ges§ 64a) Eze 23:39; Participle active שׁוֺחֵט Isa 66:3, etc.; passive שָׁחוּט 1Ki 10:16 +, etc.; — slaughter:
1 beast for food 1Sa 14:32, 1Sa 14:34 (twice in verse); Isa 22:13 (|| הָרַג), compare Lev 17:3 (twice in verse), for blood Gen 37:31 (E).
2 usually (51 t.; Hexateuch only P, 38 t.) technical term of killing sacrifice (BJacobZAW xvii (1897), 5i), 1Sa 1:25; Exo 29:11; Lev 1:5, Lev 1:11; Lev 4:24; Lev 9:8; Num 19:3; 2Ch 29:22 (twice in verse); 2Ch 29:24 +; absolute Eze 40:41 (אֶל location); bird Lev 14:5-6, Lev 14:50, Lev 14:51; beast in illicit sacrifice Isa 66:3; with accusative of sacrifice (חַטָאת אָשָׁם, עוֺלָה,, etc.) Eze 40:39 (אֶל location), Eze 40:42; Eze 44:11; Lev 4:24; Lev 7:2; Lev 14:13 +; passover lamb Exo 12:6, accusative הַמֶּסַח Exo 12:21; 2Ch 30:15; 2Ch 35:1, 2Ch 35:6, 2Ch 35:11; Ezr 6:20.
3 slaughter person Jdg 12:6; 1Ki 18:40; 2Ki 10:7, 2Ki 10:14 (אֶל location), 2Ki 25:7 = Jer 39:6a = Jer 52:10a, Jer 39:6b = Jer 52:10b, 41:7; ׳י subject Num 14:16 (JE); in human sacrifice Gen 22:10 (E), to false gods Eze 16:21; Eze 23:39; Isa 57:5.
4 passive participle = beaten, hammered, שָׁחוּט זָהָב 1Ki 10:16-17, 2Ch 9:15a 2Ch 9:16, of shekels 2Ch 9:15; so also Jer 9:7 Qr חֵץשָׁחוּט (> Kt שׁוֺחֵט) hammered (i.e. sharpened) arrow.
Niph`al Imperfect3masculine singular יִשָּׁחֵט Num 11:22 (J) be slaughtered for food (subject beast); 3 feminine singular תִּשָּׁחֵט Lev 6:18 (twice in verse) (P) be slain, of sacrifice.
שְׁחֲטָה noun feminine (
Qal Infinitive construct Köi. 263) doubtful word; — ׳וְשׁ הֶעְמִיקוּ שֵׂטִים Hos 5:2 RV (compare AV) the revolters are gone deep in slaughtering ['Opferschlächterei' Köii. 1. 590, n. 1], Ew Now (formerly), Che in corrupting (read then שַׁחֲתָה); We Now GASm Marti הַשִּׁטִּים שַׁחַת have made deep the pit of Shittim (as place of idolatry).
שְׁחִין see שׁחן. שְׁחִיף see [ שָׂחִיף]. below,
שָׁחִיס Isa 37:30 = סָחִישׁ (in || 2Ki 19:29), q. v.
שׁחל (√ of following; DlProl.34 compare Assyrian ša—âlu, call, proclaim; perhaps both onomatopoetic, as Arabic bray (of ass), compare NöZMG xi (1886), 725).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
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
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