שִׁלֵּם
𐤔𐤋𐤌
shillêm
H8005 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
An act of making full payment, compensation, or restitution; the act of paying back, settling accounts, or requiting, whether in the context of justice, obligation, or recompense for either good or ill. The term fundamentally relates to the concept of restoration or making whole in social, legal, or interpersonal relations.
Semantic Range
to repay, to compensate, to make restitution, to fulfill, to requite, to restore, to pay back
Root / Etymology
שִׁלֵּם (shillêm) is a Piʽel (intensive) verbal noun (infinitive or perfect) from the root שָׁלַם (שׁ־ל־ם), which in its basic sense means 'to be whole, complete, sound.' The Piʽel stem typically intensifies or causatively applies the root action, thus 'to make whole, repay, restore.' The noun form suggests the act or occasion of making a payment or settling an obligation, whether concrete or abstract.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, שִׁלֵּם appears primarily in legal and ritual contexts, describing the act of making restitution for theft, loss, or injury (e.g., Exodus 22:3, 5–6). It can refer to the giving of compensation for offenses, or fulfilling an obligation (including fulfilling a vow or returning what is owed). Over time, the verb is also used more broadly to denote returning favors, acts of kindness (good or evil), or carrying out what justice demands. In poetic and prophetic contexts (e.g., Psalms, Isaiah), the sense can become metaphorical, referring to the principle of retributive justice (repaying each according to their deeds). Unlike related terms such as פָּרַע (to pay, especially a debt) or גָּמַל (to repay, often with a nuance of reward or requital), שִׁלֵּם focuses on completion, wholeness, or fulfillment of an obligation, not just a transaction. English translations typically render it as 'recompense,' 'repay,' 'requite,' or 'restore,' but these do not always capture the nuance of restoration to wholeness implied by the Hebrew.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שָׁלַם; requital; recompense.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שלם (š-l-m) — wholeness, completion, restitution, restoration
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3824 | לֵבָב | whole, intact |
| H4919 | מְשִׁלֵּמוֹת | Recompenses |
| H4920 | מְשֶׁלֶמְיָה | and to Yahweh-has-made-whole |
| H4921 | מְשִׁלֵּמִית | Recompensing Woman |
| H4922 | מְשֻׁלֶּמֶת | Recompensed Woman |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8005-01 |
וְ/שִׁלֵּ֔ם | veshilem | HC/Ncmsa |
and recompense | and restitution | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H8005-01 |
Deuteronomy 32:35 | וְ/שִׁלֵּ֔ם | veshilem | HC/Ncmsa |
and recompense | and restitution |