שׂוּם
𐤔𐤅𐤌
sûwm
H7760 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To set, place, or put something in a location or position, either concretely (objects, persons) or abstractly (thoughts, intentions, honor, blame, laws, boundaries). The verb is highly versatile, expressing a range from literal physical placement to figurative acts of appointing, assigning value, ascribing action or reputation, planning, imposing, or designating. Its usage can span from setting a physical object in place, through the allocation of responsibility or decision, to the attribution of qualities, states, or purposes.
Semantic Range
to place, to set, to put, to appoint, to ascribe (a name or quality), to impose, to establish, to assign, to determine, to lay (down), to impose (a law, punishment, etc.), to take (an attitude or stance), to set aside, to impose (a condition), to ascribe, to consider, to regard, to bestow, to charge, to designate
Root / Etymology
From the root שׂוּם (שׂ-ו-ם), a primary or primitive verb meaning 'to place, set, put.' The root expresses the idea of positioning or assigning, but the lexical verb's applications broaden to the transfer or allocation of qualities, identities, responsibilities, and more. No clear cognates with the same function exist elsewhere in Semitic languages, but related roots may have similar semantics of placing or establishing.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שׂוּם is one of the most broadly used and flexible verbs in Biblical Hebrew, appearing throughout narratives, legal texts, poetry, and prophetic literature. Its literal usage includes physical placing (e.g., Genesis 3:15, setting enmity), while figurative applications are widespread: imposing laws (Exodus 21:1), assigning names (Genesis 2:19), ascribing blame or honor (2 Samuel 19:19), determining fates or judgments (Isaiah 53:6), or placing thoughts or feelings in someone's heart (Nehemiah 2:12). In later periods, particularly exilic and post-exilic literature, the verb sometimes takes on constructions reflecting Aramaic influence, including causative nuances. English translations often render שׂוּם with a wide variety of verbs (place, set, appoint, consider, impose, make, etc.) depending on context, but may not fully convey the full semantic breadth or the nuance between personal, legal, or official acts the original carries. שׂוּם sometimes overlaps in meaning with נתן (to give), especially in cases of assigning or bestowing, but נתן commonly has a stronger emphasis on the transfer of possession.
Translation Consistency
"Set" is the most natural, versatile choice for שׂוּם. It covers literal placement and the wide range of figurative senses (establish, appoint, impose, ascribe, assign, lay down) and is also the most frequent rendering in the corpus. More specific senses like "appoint" or "ascribe" can be handled by context or compounds, while "set" preserves consistency and readability.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or שִׂים; a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically); [idiom] any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, [phrase] disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, [phrase] name, [idiom] on, ordain, order, [phrase] paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), [phrase] regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, [phrase] stedfastly, take, [idiom] tell, [phrase] tread down, (over-)turn, [idiom] wholly, work.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
שׂום (Yeshimael) — to place, set, put, establish
Word Forms
108 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7760-67 |
וַ/יָּ֤שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he set | and he placed | and he set | 84 |
H7760-21 |
שָׂ֤ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
he put | the one who places | the one who sets | 39 |
H7760-68 |
וַ/יָּשִׂ֨ימוּ֙ | vayasimu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they put | and they set | and they set | 35 |
H7760-44 |
שִׂ֥ים | sim | HVqv2ms |
set | Place | Set | 27 |
H7760-87 |
וְ/שַׂמְתִּ֣י | vesameti | HC/Vqq1cs |
and-I-will-make | and I will set | and I will set | 26 |
H7760-16 |
לָ/שׂ֤וּם | lasum | HR/Vqc |
to put | to set, to place | to set | 25 |
H7760-01 |
אָשִֽׂים | asim | HVqi1cs |
I will make | I will set | I will set | 21 |
H7760-103 |
יָשִׂ֔ים | yasim | HVqi3ms |
he sets | he places | he places | 21 |
H7760-83 |
וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֥ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set | 20 |
H7760-48 |
שִׂ֔ימוּ | simu | HVqv2mp |
put | Place! | Set, all of you! | 15 |
Occurrences in Scripture
586 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7760-27 |
Exodus 2:14 | שָֽׂמְ/ךָ֞ | samekha | HVqp3ms/Sp2ms |
appointed you | he placed you | he set you |
H7760-86 |
Exodus 3:22 | וְ/שַׂמְתֶּ֗ם | vesametem | HC/Vqq2mp |
and you shall put them | and you (masculine plural) will set/place | and you (masculine plural) will set |
H7760-21 |
Exodus 4:11 | שָׂ֣ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
has made | the one who places | the one who sets |
H7760-105 |
Exodus 4:11 | יָשׂ֣וּם | yasum | HVqi3ms |
makes | he will set | he will set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 4:15 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֥ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-33 |
Exodus 4:21 | שַׂ֣מְתִּי | sameti | HVqp1cs |
I have put | I placed | I set |
H7760-54 |
Exodus 5:8 | תָּשִׂ֣ימוּ | tasimu | HVqi2mp |
you shall lay | you shall place | you shall set |
H7760-40 |
Exodus 5:14 | שָׂ֣מוּ | samu | HVqp3cp |
had set | they placed | they set |
H7760-21 |
Exodus 8:8 | שָׂ֥ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
he had set | the one who places | he had set |
H7760-87 |
Exodus 8:19 | וְ/שַׂמְתִּ֣י | vesameti | HC/Vqq1cs |
And I will put | and I will set | and I will set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 9:5 | וַ/יָּ֥שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
And set | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-21 |
Exodus 9:21 | שָׂ֛ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
set | the one who places | set |
H7760-33 |
Exodus 10:2 | שַׂ֣מְתִּי | sameti | HVqp1cs |
I have put | I placed | I set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 14:21 | וַ/יָּ֥שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and made | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-21 |
Exodus 15:25 | שָׂ֥ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
he appointed | the one who places | he set |
H7760-33 |
Exodus 15:26 | שַׂ֤מְתִּי | sameti | HVqp1cs |
I have put | I placed | I set |
H7760-01 |
Exodus 15:26 | אָשִׂ֣ים | asim | HVqi1cs |
I will put | I will set | I will set |
H7760-68 |
Exodus 17:12 | וַ/יָּשִׂ֥ימוּ | vayasimu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they put | and they set | and they set |
H7760-95 |
Exodus 17:14 | וְ/שִׂ֖ים | vesim | HC/Vqv2ms |
and put | and set | and set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 18:21 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֣ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall place | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 19:7 | וַ/יָּ֣שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and set | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-53 |
Exodus 21:1 | תָּשִׂ֖ים | tasim | HVqi2ms |
you shall set | you will set | you will set |
H7760-87 |
Exodus 21:13 | וְ/שַׂמְתִּ֤י | vesameti | HC/Vqq1cs |
and-I-will-appoint | and I will set | and I will set |
H7760-57 |
Exodus 22:24 | תְשִׂימ֥וּ/ן | tesimun | HVqi2mp/Sn |
you shall charge | you (masc. pl.) will place | you (masc. pl.) will set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 24:6 | וַ/יָּ֖שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and put | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 26:35 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֤ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
And you shall set | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 28:12 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֞ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 28:26 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֣ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 28:37 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֤ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 29:6 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֥ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 29:24 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֣ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-48 |
Exodus 32:27 | שִׂ֥ימוּ | simu | HVqv2mp |
put | Place! | Set, all of you! |
H7760-89 |
Exodus 33:22 | וְ/שַׂמְתִּ֖י/ךָ | vesametikha | HC/Vqq1cs/Sp2ms |
and I will put you | and I will place you | and I will set you |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 39:7 | וַ/יָּ֣שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
And he put | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-68 |
Exodus 39:19 | וַ/יָּשִׂ֕ימוּ | vayasimu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they put | and they set | and they set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 40:3 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֣ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
And you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 40:5 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֛ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and you shall put | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-83 |
Exodus 40:8 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֥ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
And you shall set | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:18 | וַ/יָּ֨שֶׂם֙ | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and set up | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:19 | וַ/יָּ֜שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he put | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:20 | וַ/יָּ֥שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and set | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:21 | וַ/יָּ֗שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he set up | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:24 | וַ/יָּ֤שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he placed | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:26 | וַ/יָּ֛שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he placed | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:28 | וַ/יָּ֛שֶׂם | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
And he put | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-21 |
Exodus 40:29 | שָׂ֕ם | sam | HVqp3ms |
he put | the one who places | he placed |
H7760-67 |
Exodus 40:30 | וַ/יָּ֨שֶׂם֙ | vayasem | HC/Vqw3ms |
And he set | and he placed | and he set |
H7760-83 |
Leviticus 2:15 | וְ/שַׂמְתָּ֥ | vesameta | HC/Vqq2ms |
and lay | and you shall set | and you shall set |
H7760-103 |
Leviticus 5:11 | יָשִׂ֨ים | yasim | HVqi3ms |
shall he put | he places | he will set |
H7760-93 |
Leviticus 6:3 | וְ/שָׂמ֕/וֹ | vesamo | HC/Vqq3ms/Sp3ms |
and he shall put it | and he set him | and he shall set it |