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שַׁמּוֹת

𐤔𐤌𐤅𐤕

Shamot

H8054 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁמם to be desolate, to be appalled, to be waste

Definition

Proper name referring to an individual named Shammoth, an Israelite associated as a warrior or officer under King David. Not a common noun in biblical usage, but rather a personal name drawn from the same root as 'devastation' or 'waste place,' yet functioning solely as a name in this context.

Semantic Range

(as a noun) ruins, wastes, devastations; (as a proper name) Shammoth, personal name of an Israelite warrior

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root שָׁמֵם (sh-m-m), meaning 'to be desolate' or 'to be appalled'; the form שַׁמּוֹת is a plural abstract noun meaning 'wastes' or 'ruins.' In this case, used as a theophoric or descriptive personal name. The full etymology as a name is uncertain, but the underlying root carries the sense of barrenness or devastation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

שַׁמּוֹת (Shammoth) occurs only as a personal name, specifically as a warrior associated with David's mighty men (see 1 Chronicles 11:27). Despite its form being a plural of an abstract noun (“devastations, waste places”), in biblical narrative it functions exclusively as a personal name. The choice of such nouns as personal names was not uncommon in ancient Israelite naming practices, which often drew on geographic features or conditions. The LXX and later translations sometimes render it as 'Samoth' or closely related variants. Shammoth is notable for reflecting naming patterns wherein the meaning of the root is not always directly intended in the life of the individual, but may have connoted a location or hoped-for transformation. The word is distinct from the feminine plural noun שַׁמּוֹת ('ruins'); as a proper name, it carried no negative connotation in the social context of its bearer.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

plural of שַׁמָּה; ruins; Shammoth, an Israelite; Shamoth.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שׁמם (sh-m-m) — to be desolate, to be appalled, to be waste

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4923 מְשַׁמָּה to desolations
H8047 שַׁמָּה for utter desolation
H8049 שַׁמְהוּת Shamhuth
H8060 שַׁמַּי Shammay
H8064 שָׁמַיִם in the lofty-heights

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8054-01 שַׁמּוֹת֙ shamot HNp Shammoth Shammoth 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8054-01 1 Chronicles 11:27 שַׁמּוֹת֙ shamot HNp Shammoth Shammoth
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