← H7721 H7723 →

שׁוֹא

𐤔𐤅𐤀

shôwʼ

H7722 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁוא to devastate, to rush over, to lay waste

Definition

A ruinous storm, devastation, or desolation; conveys a scene or state of violent ruin brought about by catastrophe, typically by overwhelming force or upheaval (natural or military). The term is used to denote catastrophe, destruction, utter ruin, or waste, particularly in the aftermath of a tumultuous event.

Semantic Range

devastation, sudden ruin, desolation, destruction, ruinous event, tempest (metaphorical), wasteness

Root / Etymology

שורש שׁוּא (uncertain root, possibly reflects an unused verb meaning 'to rush, devastate, lay waste'), with the noun formed to indicate the resultant state or the phenomenon itself.

Historical & Contextual Notes

שׁוֹא (with its feminine variant שׁוֹאָה/שֹׁאָה) appears in poetic and prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible, signifying complete devastation often likened to a tempest or catastrophic force. Its usage is generally metaphorical, describing the overwhelming ruin brought by military conquest, divine judgment, or natural calamity (e.g., Job 30:3, Isaiah 47:11, Psalm 35:8), rather than a storm in the literal meteorological sense. English translations often render it as 'desolation,' 'devastation,' or 'waste,' but these can understate the dynamic, violent force implied in the Hebrew term. The term is closely related to other Hebrew words for destruction (e.g., חָרְבָּה), but שׁוֹא tends to emphasize the sudden, overwhelming, and ruinous character of the event, rather than only the state that remains. In post-biblical Hebrew and especially in modern Ivrit, שׁוֹאָה has come to denote the Holocaust, but this is a specialized, much later development without bearing on biblical usage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (feminine) שׁוֹאָה; or שֹׁאָה; from an unused root meaning to rush over; a tempest; by implication, devastation; desolate(-ion), destroy, destruction, storm, wasteness.

Bantu Hebrew

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

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

שוא (š-w-ʾ) — to devastate, to rush over, to lay waste

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H7723 שָׁוְא in emptiness
H8663 תְּשֻׁאָה crashing uproars

Word Forms

8 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7722-06 שׁוֹאָ֖ה shoah HNcfsa desolation ruinous devastation 6
H7722-07 וּ/לְ/שׁוֹאָ֖ה uleshoah HC/R/Ncfsa and in desolation and to devastation 1
H7722-05 מִ/שֹּׁאֵי/הֶ֑ם mishoeyhem HR/Ncmpc/Sp3mp from their destructions their devastations 1
H7722-01 בְּ֝/שׁוֹאָ֗ה beshoah HR/Ncfsa in destruction in ruinous devastation 1
H7722-03 כְ/שׁוֹאָ֨ה kheshoah HR/Ncfsa like a storm like a devastation 1
H7722-02 כַּ/שֹּׁאָ֣ה kashoah HRd/Ncfsa like-a-storm like devastation 1
H7722-04 לְ֭/שׁוֹאָה leshoah HR/Ncfsa to ruin to devastation 1
H7722-08 וּ/מִ/שֹּׁאַ֥ת umishoat HC/R/Ncfsc nor of the desolation and from devastation-of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

13 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7722-07 Isaiah 10:3 וּ/לְ/שׁוֹאָ֖ה uleshoah HC/R/Ncfsa and in desolation and to devastation
H7722-06 Isaiah 47:11 שׁוֹאָ֖ה shoah HNcfsa desolation ruinous devastation
H7722-02 Ezekiel 38:9 כַּ/שֹּׁאָ֣ה kashoah HRd/Ncfsa like-a-storm like devastation
H7722-06 Zephaniah 1:15 שֹׁאָה֙ shoah HNcfsa of destruction ruinous devastation
H7722-06 Psalms 35:8 שׁוֹאָה֮ shoah HNcfsa destruction ruinous devastation
H7722-01 Psalms 35:8 בְּ֝/שׁוֹאָ֗ה beshoah HR/Ncfsa in destruction in ruinous devastation
H7722-05 Psalms 35:17 מִ/שֹּׁאֵי/הֶ֑ם mishoeyhem HR/Ncmpc/Sp3mp from their destructions their devastations
H7722-04 Psalms 63:10 לְ֭/שׁוֹאָה leshoah HR/Ncfsa to ruin to devastation
H7722-03 Proverbs 1:27 כְ/שׁוֹאָ֨ה kheshoah HR/Ncfsa like a storm like a devastation
H7722-08 Proverbs 3:25 וּ/מִ/שֹּׁאַ֥ת umishoat HC/R/Ncfsc nor of the desolation and from devastation-of
← H7721 Hebrew Lexicon H7723 →