שָׂחַק
sâchaq · H7832 · Hebrew · 36 occurrences
Meanings
-
to laugh, to smile
Action by which humans give expression to a friendly attitude, joy and amusement with the gestures and sounds that normally accompany it; this is normally regarded as a good thing, especially when done with restraint, whereas a lack of restraint is often associated with foolishness
ExamplesJob 29:24 “I smiled at them when they did not believe, And they did not look at my kindness ungraciously.
Proverbs 29:9 When a wise person has a controversy with a foolish person, The foolish person either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.
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to make merry, to play, to joke
Action by which humans engage in activities associated with joy and contentment by leaping, dancing, celebrating, and even engaging in games
ExamplesJudges 16:25 It so happened when they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars.
Judges 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the governors of the Philistines were there. And about three thousand men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was entertaining them.
1 Samuel 18:7 The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”
-
to laugh at, to be confident in the face of
Literally: to laugh (at something); hence: state in which humans or animals have no fear for a certain situation
-
Literally: to laugh (at someone); hence: action by which humans or deities express their lack of respect for (other) humans, often accompanied by laughter (to laugh (at someone), to scoff (at someone))
Examples2 Chronicles 30:10 So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed at them with scorn and mocked them.
Job 30:1 “But now those who are younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
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
32 occurrences in 18 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 7
- Not stated (participle) 4
- Not stated: they 3
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (20) 20
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
24 occurrences in 21 groups
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 5
- Other words · 20 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21
With adverbsAdverbs
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- לֹאnot 1
- שָׁםthere 1
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
- רָאָהto see 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- לִוְיָתָןgiant croccodile 1
- עֵתtime, moment, period 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- בin/on/with 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- מָחוֹלdance, dancing 1
- סוֹדcouncil 1
- קוֹלvoice, sound 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
- לָעַב lâʻab · H3931 · to mock
- שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has a broader semantic range (rejoicing, playing, sporting) but includes "mock" and "deride" senses that genuinely overlap with לָעַב (lâʻab, H3931)'s core sense. This is a real near-synonym relationship in the mocking/deriding sense.
- צָחַק tsâchaq · H6711 · to laugh, to bring laughter
- Both words denote overlapping senses of laughing, mocking, playing and sporting, with substitutable contexts.
- קָלַס qâlaç · H7046 · to scorn, to disdain, to jeer
- שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has a broader range, including laughing, rejoicing and playing, but it overlaps with the other word in the sense of mockery and derision.
- בָּזָה bâzâh · H959 · to despise, to disdain, to scorn
- Both express contempt or scorn through different modes: שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) centers on mocking, deriding laughter and scornful play, whereas בָּזָה (bâzâh, H959) centers on despising or disdaining as contemptuous rejection.
- הָתַל hâthal · H2048 · to mock, to deceive
- שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has a broader range, including rejoicing, playing and laughing, but it overlaps with the narrower sense of הָתַל (hâthal, H2048), mockery and deception, in the sense of mocking or deriding.
- שָׂמַח sâmach · H8055 · to rejoice, to cause to rejoice
- Both can mean "rejoice" and "make merry." שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has a broader range, including derision, mockery and play, whereas שָׂמַח (sâmach, H8055) is more focused on gladness and joy.
- עָלַז ʻâlaz · H5937 · to rejoice, to exult
- עָלַז (ʻâlaz, H5937) focuses on exultant rejoicing and triumph; שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) (in its positive sense) includes playful merriment and laughter alongside rejoicing, but also extends to negative senses (mockery, derision) in other contexts.
- לָעַג lâʻag · H3932 · to mock, a mocking tongue
- לָעַג (lâʻag, H3932) focuses on scornful mocking and derision (18×); שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has broader range including playful laughter and rejoicing alongside mocking/scorn (36×).
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Rejoice002001002022
- The word names joyful celebration, as in 1 Samuel 18:7's women who "sang as they played" in victory and 2 Samuel 6:5's "David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD."
- Confident002001002003
- The word can name a bold display of skill or contest, as in 2 Samuel 2:14's proposal to "hold a martial skills match" between the young men.
- Revile002004001009012
- The word can also name derisive mockery, as in Judges 16:25's captive Samson called out "that he may amuse us," a humiliating spectacle made of him for entertainment.
Word family 2 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H7832. sachaq שָׂחַק verb laugh (|| צהק, q. v.; Late Hebrew סָחַק שָׂחַק,; Ethiopic ); —…
שָׂחַק verb laugh (|| צהק, q. v.; Late Hebrew סָחַק שָׂחַק,; Ethiopic ); —
QalPerfect3masculine singular ׳וְשׂ consecutive Pro 29:9; Pro 29:3plural שָֽׂחֲקוּ Lam 1:7; Job 30:1; Imperfect3masculine singular יִשְׂחַק Job 39:7 +, etc.; Infinitive construct שְׂחוֺק Jdg 16:24; Ecc 3:4; —
1. a. laugh at, usually in contempt, derision, with עַל person Job 30:1; Psa 52:8; עַל of thing Lam 1:7 with ל person God subject Psa 37:13; Psa 59:9 (|| לָעַג); with ל of thing or person= have no fear of, Hab 1:10; Job 5:22; Pro 31:25 also, figurative, of noble animals Job 39:7, Job 39:18, Job 39:22; Job 41:21; absolute, Pro 29:9 (opposed to רָגַז), of ׳י Psa 2:4 (|| לָעֵג), of wisdom Pro 1:26 (ב temporal; || id.).
b. with אֶל person, apparently of friendly laugh Job 29:24; in General Ecc 3:4 (opposed to בָּכָה).
2 sport, play, Jdg 16:27.
Pi`el Perfect1singular וְשִׂחַקְתִּ֫י 1Sa 6:21; Imperfect3masculine singular וַיְשַׂחֶקֿ Jdg 16:25, etc.; Infinitive construct לְשֵׂחֶקֿ Psa 104:26; Participle מְשַׂחֵק Pro 26:19; 1Ch 15:29, feminine מְשֵׂחֶ֫קֶת Pro 8:30-31, plural מְשַׂחֲקִים 2Sa 6:5 +, מְשַׂחֲקוֺת 1Sa 18:7; —
1 make sport, Jdg 16:25 (ל person) 2Sa 2:14 (לִפְנֵי person; in tournament), Pro 8:30 (לִפְנֵי), Pro 8:31 ב loc).
2 jest, Pro 26:19.
3 play: including instrumental music, singing and dancing 1Sa 18:7, c י ׳לִפְנֵי. 2Sa 6:5 (ב instrumental), = 1Ch 13:8; 2Sa 6:21; 1Ch 15:29 ( + מְרַקֵּד); of merry-making Jer 15:17 (|| עָלַז), Jer 30:19; Jer 31:4; of children's sport Zec 8:5; of beasts Job 40:20; Psa 104:25; of man, play with (ב) crocod, Job 40:29.
Hiph`il (declar.) Participle. plural מַשְׂחִיקִים2Ch 30:10 they uttered mockery עֲלֵיהֶם (|| מַלְעִנִים).
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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