שָׂמַח
sâmach · H8055 · Hebrew · 154 occurrences
Meanings
-
to rejoice
State in which humans and deities feel and show great joy
ExamplesLeviticus 23:40 ‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and branches of trees with thick branches and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
Deuteronomy 12:7 “There you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man takes a new wife, he is not to go out with the army, nor be assigned any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall make his wife whom he has taken happy.
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
153 occurrences in 69 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 22
- Not stated: they 18
- Not stated: he, she or it 11
- Not stated: I 8
- עַםpeople 7
- Not stated: you (more than one) 7
- Other words · 50 groups that occur once or twice (60) 60
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
27 occurrences in 17 groups
- הֶםthem 5
- לֵבheart, mind 4
- אָבfather 3
- אֹיֵבenemy 3
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
79 occurrences in 58 groups
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 6
- בin/on/with+ יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 5
- בin/on/with+ וֹhim 5
- לto/for+ נִיme 5
- בin/on/with+ ךָּyou 4
- Other words · 53 groups that occur once or twice (60) 60
With adverbsAdverbs
16 occurrences in 5 groups
- אַלnot, do not 8
- לֹאnot 4
- שָׁםthere 2
- אָזat that time 1
- מְאֹדvery 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- תִּירוֹשׁmust 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- כlike/as 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 6 words
- עָלַז ʻâlaz · H5937 · to rejoice, to exult
- Both words denote rejoicing and joy, and can substitute for one another in expressing happiness or gladness.
- עָלַס ʻâlaç · H5965 · to enjoy, to act joyously
- Both are verbs of emotion, both expressing rejoicing or joy.
- שׂוּשׂ sûws · H7797 · to rejoice, to be glad, to delight
- Both denote the inner experience of joy or gladness, with the shared sense "rejoice" or "be glad," and can substitute for each other in context.
- חָדָה châdâh · H2302 · to be pleased, to be happy, to be glad
- Both lexemes denote rejoicing and gladness, sharing the same semantic space of joy — a real near-synonym pairing within the joy field.
- גִּיל gîyl · H1523 · to rejoice, to be glad
- Both lexemes are action verbs of rejoicing/gladness with highly overlapping semantic ranges, clearly substitutable in many contexts, paradigmatic near-synonyms.
- שָׂחַק sâchaq · H7832 · to laugh, to smile, to make merry
- 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.
In the other Testament 2 words
- εὐφραίνω euphraínō · G2165 · to make glad, to cheer up, to cause to be happy
- εὐφραίνω emphasizes the experiential state of being in good spirits or frame of mind, while שָׂמַח covers a broader semantic range including causative joy-making and festive celebration; both center on gladness/rejoicing but εὐφραίνω is more consistently internal-affective.
- χαίρω chaírō · G5463 · to rejoice, to be glad, hail
- Greek χαίρω (chaírō) serves as the standard Greek translation equivalent of Hebrew שָׂמַח (sāmaḥ), both denoting joy, gladness, and rejoicing across the semantic range from emotional state to active celebration.
Semantic domains 1 entry
- Rejoice002001002022
- This verb denotes feeling or expressing gladness, as in Leviticus 23:40's instruction to rejoice before the LORD for seven days at the Feast of Booths.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H8055. samach שָׂמֵ֑ח שָׂמַח,154 verb rejoice, be glad (Late Hebrew id.; compare perhaps…
שָׂמֵ֑ח שָׂמַח,154
verb rejoice, be glad (Late Hebrew id.; compare perhaps Assyrian šamâ—u, flourish, Arabic be high, proud; Punic proper name, feminine שמחת); —
Qal126 Perfect3masculine singular שָׂמַח Psa 16:9; וְשָׂמֵ֑חַ consecutive Pro 29:6; Pro 29:3feminine singular שָׂמֵ֑חָה Est 8:15; Est 8:2masculine singular וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֫ Deu 12:18 +; 3 masculine plural שָׂמֵ֑חוּ Neh 12:43, etc.; Imperfect יִשְׂמַח Isa 9:16 +, 3 masculine plural יִשְׂמָ֑חוּ Isa 65:13; Psa 69:33, Psa 69:3feminine plural תִּשְׂמַחְנָה 2Sa 1:20, etc.; Imperative masculine singular שְׂמַח Deu 33:18 +, feminine singular שִׂמְחִי Zep 3:14 +, שְׂמָ֑חִי Joe 2:21, etc.; Infinitive construct שְׂמֹחַ Eze 35:14 +, etc.; Participle see שָׂמֵחַ adjective; — 24 t. || גיל, less often || שִׂישׂ עָלַז, רָנַן,, etc.; —
1 in common life:
a. rejoice, with ב person or of thing take pleasure in Jdg 9:19 (twice in verse); Deu 33:18; Ecc 3:22 Ecc 3:7t. + (probably) בְּכָליָֿמֵינוּ Psa 90:14 (others ב temporal), compare Ecc 11:8; עַל person Isa 39:2 + || 2Ki 20:13 (וישׂמח for וישׁמע ᵑ0 Vrss modern), עַל of thing Jon 4:6; 2Ch 15:15; with temporal clause Jer 41:13 Jer 41:6t. + (of heart) Pro 23:15, in one's heart Exo 4:14 (J); with כִּי because Isa 14:29 Isa 14:3t.; with אֵת with Isa 66:10; with מִן person get pleasure from Pro 5:18; absolute 1Sa 11:9; Ecc 3:12; Pro 13:9 (figurative of prosperity; subject אוֺר; opposed to דָּעַךְ), + 8 t.; with ל of thing at Job 21:12.
b. rejoice arrogantly, exult at, ל person, Mic 7:8; Isa 14:8; Obadiah 12; Psa 35:19; Psa 35:24; Psa 38:17, with אֶלֿ of thing Eze 25:6, ב of thing Job 31:29; Psa 35:15; Pro 24:17; absolute Hos 9:1 (+ אֶלגִּֿיל), 2Sa 1:20 2Sa 1:3t., + (said of righteous by Eliphaz) Job 22:19.
2. a. rejoice religiously, with ב of thing 1Sa 2:1; Deu 12:7; Psa 21:2 Psa 21:7t.; with ׳בי, etc., Joe 2:23; Psa 32:11 Psa 32:10t. Psalms + Psa 9:3 (+ בָ֑ךְ אֶעֶלְצָה); with עַל of thing 2Ch 29:36, עַל infinitive 1Ch 29:9 a; with לְמַעַן of thing Psa 48:12; with כִּי because Psa 119:74; absolute Zechariah 2:14; Zec 4:10; Joe 2:21; 1Ch 29:9b (with accusative of congnate meaning with verb), 1Ch 16:31 (of heavens) = Psa 96:11; Psa 97:1 (isles) + 18 t. (12 t. Psalms), + (of heart) Zec 10:7 a Psa 16:9; 1Ch 16:10, בְּכָללֵֿב Zep 3:14 (compare Exo 4:14 1a above); with י ׳לִפְנֵי Isa 9:2 and (of joyous feasting etc., at sanctuary) Lev 23:40 (H), Deu 12:12, Deu 12:18; Deu 16:11; Deu 27:7, compare Deu 14:26; 1Sa 11:15.
b. subject ׳י, with עַל person Isa 9:16 (|| רחם; PerlesRÉJ xxxiv. 63 be Gentle, Arabic ), ב of thing Psa 104:31.
Pi`el Perfect3masculine singular וְשִׂמַּח consecutive Deu 24:5, suffix שִׁמְּחָהוּ Jer 20:15, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יְשַׂמַּח Psa 104:15 +, etc.; Imperative masculine singular שַׂמֵּחַ Psa 86:4, שַׂמַּח Pro 27:11, etc.; Infinitive absolute שַׂמֵּחַ Jer 20:15; Participle מְשַׂמֵּחַ Jdg 9:13, plural construct מְשַׂמְּחֵי Psa 19:9; — cause to rejoice, gladden, with accusative of person (or equivalent ), subject person Deu 24:5; Jer 20:15 (+ Infinitive absolute), Pro 10:1; Pro 15:20; Pro 27:11; Pro 29:3 (Hos 7:3 see משׁח 2); especially subject ׳י (God) Jer 31:13 (with מִן separ.) Isa 56:7; 2Ch 20:27 (with מִן of source, see Qal 1 a), Ezr 6:22; Neh 12:43 (+ accusative of congnate meaning with verb) Psa 86:4; Psa 90:15; Psa 92:5 (ב instrumental), also, with ל person cause to exult at Psa 30:2, id. with עַל person Lam 2:17; subject of thing Jdg 9:13; Psa 19:9; Psa 45:9; Psa 46:5; Psa 104:15; Ecc 10:19; Pro 12:25; Pro 15:30; Pro 27:9.
Hiph`il = Pi`el Perfect2masculine singular הִשְׂמַחְתָּ Psa 89:43 (subject ׳י).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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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