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שָׁדַד

𐤔𐤃𐤃

shâdad

H7703 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To devastate, lay waste, plunder; to cause ruin or great destruction, often by violence. The verb denotes acts of violent despoiling, ruining property or settlements, or making areas uninhabitable through destruction. It can be used in both military contexts (enemies or invaders ravaging land or people) and in reference to general calamity or violence. In some contexts, it may also signify the act of oppressing, ravaging, or violently stripping away possessions, often as a result of conquest.

Semantic Range

to devastate, to destroy violently, to lay waste (typically land or settlements), to ravage, to plunder, to oppress or despoil, to bring to ruin

Root / Etymology

Root שׁ־ד־ד (שָׁדַד). The root meaning is 'to violently destroy or devastate.' The verb derives directly from this root and reflects intensive action, often involving violence or forceful deprivation. The actual lexical usage centers on the consequences of such violence—ruin, desolation, and loss by force.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Across the Hebrew Bible, שָׁדַד is primarily used to describe the actions of enemies, invaders, or oppressors who bring ruin to cities, lands, or peoples, often in the context of warfare or judgment. The word can be used of individual banditry or large-scale acts of devastation. In poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah), it frequently appears in descriptions of foreign nations laying waste to Israelite territory or, conversely, Israelite armies destroying enemy lands. The nuance may also include the suffering of individuals through violent dispossession. The derived noun forms (like שֹׁד, 'destruction, devastation') and participles (like שֹׁדֵד, 'destroyer, ravager') reinforce this violent aspect. English translations sometimes render the term too narrowly as 'rob' or 'spoil',' but the word encompasses wider senses of destruction and calamity. The concept is similar but distinct from roots like בזז (to plunder, H962), which focuses more directly on looting or seizure of goods, whereas שָׁדַד places stronger emphasis on the resulting devastation or ruin. During the exilic and post-exilic periods, the term retains its forceful and negative connotations, and it is not used to describe formalized expropriation or legal confiscation, but rather violent deprivation.

Translation Consistency

primary "devastate" 31 occurrences

Matches the SILEX range (to lay waste, ravage, plunder, cause ruin) and is the most natural, common English rendering in the existing P2 data. 'Devastate' covers violent destruction and despoiling in military and calamity contexts better than the narrower 'plunder' and sounds more natural and consistent than rarer synonyms like 'ravage.'

Alternatives (19 occurrences):
"devastator" (14x) "devastators" (1x) "plunder" (1x) "lay waste" (1x) "laid waste" (1x) "robbers of" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to be burly, i.e. (figuratively) powerful (passively, impregnable); by implication, to ravage; dead, destroy(-er), oppress, robber, spoil(-er), [idiom] utterly, (lay) waste.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

שׁדד (shâdad) — to devastate, to destroy, to lay waste, to ravage, to plunder

Root שׁדד to devastate, to destroy, to lay waste, to ravage, to plunder

Word Forms

29 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H7703-12 שׁוֹדֵ֑ד shoded HVqrmsa destroyer the devastator the devastator 13
H7703-15 שֻׁדַּ֨ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated 11
H7703-10 שָׁד֔וּד shadud HVqsmsa destroyed devastated one devastated one 3
H7703-19 שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה shudedah HVPp3fs is destroyed she was devastated it was devastated 3
H7703-14 שֹֽׁדְדִ֔ים shodedim HVqrmpa destroyers devastating ones devastating ones 2
H7703-17 שֻׁדָּֽדְנוּ shudadenu HVPp1cp we are ruined we were devastated we were devastated 2
H7703-24 וְ/שָֽׁדְדוּ֙ veshadedu HC/Vqq3cp and plunder and devastate! and devastate! 2
H7703-01 הַ/שְּׁד֫וּדָ֥ה hashedudah HTd/Vqsfsa you devastated one the devastated one the devastated one 1
H7703-02 הַ/שֹּׁדֵ֖ד hashoded HTd/Vqrmsa the destroyer the devastator the devastator 1
H7703-03 הַ/שּׁוֹדְדִ֖ים hashodedim HTd/Vqrmpa the destroyers the devastators the devastators 1

Occurrences in Scripture

58 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H7703-10 Judges 5:27 שָׁדֽוּד shadud HVqsmsa destroyed devastated one devastated one
H7703-15 Isaiah 15:1 שֻׁדַּ֨ד shudad HVPp3ms was laid waste was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-15 Isaiah 15:1 שֻׁדַּ֥ד shudad-2 HVPp3ms was laid waste was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-12 Isaiah 16:4 שׁוֹדֵ֑ד shoded HVqrmsa destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-23 Isaiah 21:2 וְ/הַ/שּׁוֹדֵ֣ד vehashoded HC/Td/Vqrmsa and the destroyer and the devastator and the devastator
H7703-12 Isaiah 21:2 שׁוֹדֵ֔ד shoded HVqrmsa destroys the devastator the devastator
H7703-15 Isaiah 23:1 שֻׁדַּ֤ד shudad HVPp3ms it is laid waste was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-15 Isaiah 23:14 שֻׁדַּ֖ד shudad HVPp3ms is laid waste was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-12 Isaiah 33:1 שׁוֹדֵ֗ד shoded HVqrmsa O destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-10 Isaiah 33:1 שָׁד֔וּד shadud HVqsmsa destroyed devastated one devastated one
H7703-12 Isaiah 33:1 שׁוֹדֵד֙ shoded-2 HVqrmsa destroying the devastator the devastator
H7703-22 Isaiah 33:1 תּוּשַּׁ֔ד tushad HVQi2ms you will be destroyed you will be devastated you will be devastated
H7703-17 Jeremiah 4:13 שֻׁדָּֽדְנוּ shudadenu HVPp1cp we are ruined we were devastated we were devastated
H7703-19 Jeremiah 4:20 שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה shudedah HVPp3fs is devastated she was devastated it was devastated
H7703-20 Jeremiah 4:20 שֻׁדְּד֣וּ shudedu HVPp3cp are devastated they were violently devastated they were devastated
H7703-10 Jeremiah 4:30 שָׁד֜וּד shadud HVqsmsa O despoiled-one devastated one devastated one
H7703-26 Jeremiah 5:6 יְשָׁדְדֵ֔/ם yeshadedem HVqi3ms/Sp3mp will ravage them he will devastate them he will devastate them
H7703-02 Jeremiah 6:26 הַ/שֹּׁדֵ֖ד hashoded HTd/Vqrmsa the destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-17 Jeremiah 9:18 שֻׁדָּ֑דְנוּ shudadenu HVPp1cp we are ruined we were devastated we were devastated
H7703-15 Jeremiah 10:20 שֻׁדָּ֔ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-14 Jeremiah 12:12 שֹֽׁדְדִ֔ים shodedim HVqrmpa destroyers devastating ones devastating ones
H7703-12 Jeremiah 15:8 שֹׁדֵ֣ד shoded HVqrmsa a destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-12 Jeremiah 25:36 שֹׁדֵ֥ד shoded HVqrmsa is destroying the devastator the devastator
H7703-05 Jeremiah 47:4 לִ/שְׁד֣וֹד lishedod HR/Vqc to destroy to devastate to devastate
H7703-12 Jeremiah 47:4 שֹׁדֵ֤ד shoded HVqrmsa is destroying the devastator the devastator
H7703-16 Jeremiah 48:1 שֻׁדָּ֔דָה shudadah HVPp3fs it is devastated she was violently ravaged it was devastated
H7703-12 Jeremiah 48:8 שֹׁדֵ֜ד shoded HVqrmsa destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-15 Jeremiah 48:15 שֻׁדַּ֤ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-12 Jeremiah 48:18 שֹׁדֵ֤ד shoded HVqrmsc destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-15 Jeremiah 48:20 שֻׁדַּ֖ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-12 Jeremiah 48:32 שֹׁדֵ֥ד shoded HVqrmsa the spoiler the devastator the devastator
H7703-19 Jeremiah 49:3 שֻׁדְּדָה shudedah HVPp3fs it-is-destroyed she was devastated it was devastated
H7703-15 Jeremiah 49:10 שֻׁדַּ֥ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-24 Jeremiah 49:28 וְ/שָׁדְד֖וּ veshadedu HC/Vqv2mp and plunder and devastate! and devastate!
H7703-03 Jeremiah 51:48 הַ/שּׁוֹדְדִ֖ים hashodedim HTd/Vqrmpa the destroyers the devastators the devastators
H7703-14 Jeremiah 51:53 שֹׁדְדִ֛ים shodedim HVqrmpa destroyers devastating ones devastating ones
H7703-12 Jeremiah 51:55 שֹׁדֵ֤ד shoded HVqrmsa is destroying the devastator the devastator
H7703-12 Jeremiah 51:56 שׁוֹדֵ֔ד shoded HVqrmsa destroyer the devastator the devastator
H7703-24 Ezekiel 32:12 וְ/שָֽׁדְדוּ֙ veshadedu HC/Vqq3cp and they will spoil and devastate! and they will plunder
H7703-28 Hosea 10:2 יְשֹׁדֵ֖ד yeshoded HVmi3ms will destroy he will lay waste he will lay waste
H7703-29 Hosea 10:14 יוּשַּׁ֔ד yushad HVQi3ms shall be destroyed he will be laid waste will be laid waste
H7703-15 Joel 1:10 שֻׁדַּ֣ד shudad HVPp3ms is wasted was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-15 Joel 1:10 שֻׁדַּ֣ד shudad-2 HVPp3ms is ruined was violently devastated was violently devastated
H7703-13 Obadiah 1:5 שׁ֣וֹדְדֵי shodedey HVqrmpc robbers devastators of robbers of
H7703-09 Micah 2:4 שָׁד֣וֹד shadod HVqa We are utterly to devastate to devastate
H7703-07 Micah 2:4 נְשַׁדֻּ֔נוּ neshadunu HVNp1cp ruined we have been devastated we have been devastated
H7703-08 Nahum 3:7 שָׁדְּדָ֣ה shadedah HVPp3fs devastated was violently devastated is devastated
H7703-18 Zechariah 11:2 שֻׁדָּ֑דוּ shudadu HVPp3cp have been destroyed they were ravaged have been devastated
H7703-19 Zechariah 11:3 שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה shudedah HVPp3fs is destroyed she was devastated it was devastated
H7703-15 Zechariah 11:3 שֻׁדַּ֖ד shudad HVPp3ms is destroyed was violently devastated was violently devastated
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