שָׁוֵה
level plain
BDB lists 2 entries for ‘level plain’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H7740 appears — 2 distinct verses across 1 book. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 2 verses
- Genesis 14:5 בְּ/שָׁוֵ֖ה prep + n Proper In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
- Genesis 14:17 שָׁוֵ֔ה n Proper The king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (the same is the King's Valley).
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew name שוה centers on the idea of “level plain.” It is rare — just 2 verses in the entire Hebrew Bible. The word gravitates to Genesis (100%). It first appears in Genesis 14:5. Dig into 2-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7740 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 2
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 2 distinct verses.
- 1 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 1 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,807
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,807 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 2 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Genesis 2 verses 100%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 2 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 2 verses · 100%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Shaveh 1×
- American Standard Version†: Vale of shaveh 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Shaveh 1×, Shaveh-kiriathaim 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Shaveh 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7740 across 1† tagged occurrence — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H7740 across 1† tagged occurrence — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H7740 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7740 across 2† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 0 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
שוה I [m.] level plain
שוה II in n.pr.loc. עֵמֶק שׁ׳ Gn 14
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.[m.] level plain;—in שָׁוֵה קִרְיָתַיִם Gn 14:5 (v. ק׳ p. 900a; ק׳ appos. according to Ol§ 277 c LagBN 43; ? read שְׁוֵה); Σαυη.
II. in n.pr.loc. עֵמֶק שׁ׳ Gn 14:17 (v. ע׳); Σαυη.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from שוה (shâvâh) (H7737) — to be like.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
שְׁהֵי
- 1. same, to stand still; to tarry, gaze, be astonished. Targ. Y. Gen. XLIII, 10. Targ. Y. Ex. XII, 39. Targ. O. Gen. XXIV, 21. Targ. Is. XXIX, 9; a. fr.—Targ. Hab. I, 5 שְׁוָהוּ (ed. Lag. שְׁהוּ).—Ḥull. 75ᵇ מִשְׁהָא הוה שָׁהֵי ליה וכ׳ (איכא דאמרי) some say, he (Resh Laḳish) gazed at him (when R. Joḥ. gave his opinion) and was silent (and in the meanwhile R. Asi left the college room); Shebu. 40ᵃ; 45ᵇ. Ḥull. 9ᵃ זימנין דשהי ודריס וכ׳ sometimes he may pause in slaughtering or press the knife without knowing it; a. e. e.g. Habakkuk 1:5
- 2. to be vacant, lie waste. Targ. II Kings XIX, 25 Mus. (ed. דשְׁחוֹ; ed. Wil. דיִשְׁחוּ); Targ. Is. XXXVII, 26 (ed. דשחו).—[Ber. 6ᵃ ברכי דשהיי Ar., v. שַׁלְהֵי II.]
- to be delayed, tarry. Targ. Y. Gen. XIX, 16. Ib. XXXII, 5; 25. Targ. I Chr. XIII, 14; a. e.—Bets. 6ᵃ לא אמרן אלא דא׳ … מַשְׁהִינָן ליה they allow burial on the second festive day only when the corpse has been lying for some time, but if it was not, we postpone its burial. Yeb. 80ᵇ אִשְׁתְּהוּיֵי הוא דא׳ its birth was delayed. Ib. מִשְׁתְּהָא a birth may be delayed (beyond the time of maturity). Ib. וא׳ עד תריסר וכ׳ and he (the husband) tarried (was away from home) as much as twelve months; a. e.
- to delay, be slack. Targ. Y. Deut. VII, 10. Ib. XXII, 22 לֹא תַשְׁהוּנָהּ (ed. Vien. תִשְׁהוֹנֵיה, corr. acc.) do not delay her execution.—Bets. l. c., v. supra.
שָׁוָה
- , v. שוי
שָׁוֶה
- (שָׁוָה) joined, even; fitting, equal; equivalent, worth. Succ. 19ᵃ נראה מבחוץ וש׳ מבפנים if the post is visible from the outside, but even with the wall from within. Num. R. s. 93 הוי ש׳ לבני אדם be like other men (do not consider thyself exempt from the laws of morality). B. Kam. III, 9 שור ש׳ מנה וכ׳ an ox worth a Maneh that gored an ox worth two hundred Zuz. Ib. I, 3 שום כסף וש׳ כסף valuation of damages is done on the basis of money, and collected from money’s worth; ib. 14ᵇ ש׳ כסף מלמד וכ׳ ‘money’s worth’, this means that the court attaches only landed estate (v. אַחֲרָיוּת), but if the claimant anticipating the action of the court seized movable chattel &c.; מאי משמע … דבר הש׳ כל כסף how is this to be learned from the expression ‘money’s worth’?… A thing which is worth any money (which you pay for it, i.e. concerning which there is no redress for overreaching); ib. (another defin.) ש׳ כסף ולא כסף ‘money’s worth’ you may attach, but not cash.—ש׳ פרוטה, v. פְּרוּטָה. Bicc. II, 6 ש׳ לאילן is like (comes under the category of) trees. Ib. 8, sq.; a. v. fr.—גזרה ש׳, v. גְּזֵרָה.—הצד הש׳, v. צַד.—Ab. d’R. N. ch. XVI ש׳ לי המות משתתנני וכ׳ death would have been more acceptable to me than thy giving me away to this man, i.e. I should have chosen death rather than be married to this man.—Pl. שָׁוִים; שָׁוִין; שָׁוִו׳; שָׁווֹֹת. Yoma VI, 1 מצותן שיהיו שניהן ש׳ וכ׳ it is proper that they two be alike in appearance &c. Bets. 11ᵃ, a. fr. וש׳ וכ׳ both agree that &c. Pes. III, 4; a. fr.—B. Bath. IX, 10 (158ᵇ), a. e. את הש׳ that on which they agree, v. חָלַק.—בַּשָּׁוֶה a) at equal shares. Y. Keth. X, 33ᵈ bot. חולקות בש׳ divide it equally; a. fr.—b) for what it is worth, at a reasonable price. Snh. 106ᵃ, v. שְׁוִי h.
שָׁוֵה
- ; בש׳ on equal terms. Targ. Y. Deut. XVIII, 8 (ed. Vien. בְּשָׁוֶה).
שְׁוַהּ
- , v. שְׁוַוח
שְׁוָה
- , Targ. Hab. I, 5 שְׁוָהוּ, v. שְׁהֵי e.g. Habakkuk 1:5
שוי
- (b. h.) [to join, combine,]
- 1. to be even, equal, alike. M. Kat. 9ᵇ (ref. to Prov. III, 15) כל חפצך … הא חפצי שמים יִשְׁווּ בה all thy affairs are not of equal value with her (the Torah), but heaven’s affairs (pious deeds) are of equal value with her (you may interrupt study for pious works); וכתיב … חפצי שמים לא ישוו בה but it is also written (ib. VIII, 11), ‘and all affairs &c.’ (which implies that) even heaven’s affairs are not equal to her! Y. Peah I, 15ᵈ bot. חפציך וחפצי לא ישוו בה I sent thee something with which thy affairs and my affairs cannot compare; a. e.—Denom. שָׁוֶה, q. v. e.g. Proverbs 3:15
- 2. (denom. of שָׁוֶה) a) to be of value. Meg. 15ᵇ (ref. to Esth. V, 13) מלמד … כל זה איננו שֹׁוֶה לי this indicates that all that wicked man’s treasures were engraven (registered) in the tablet on his heart, but when he saw Mordecai, he said, ‘all this is of no value to me’.—b) to value, weigh, consider. Ib. 16ᵃ (ref. to Esth. VII, 4) צר זה אינו שוה בנזק וכ׳ this enemy has no consideration for the king’s loss &c. e.g. Esther 5:13
- 1. to place side by side. Y. Ber. I, 2ᶜ top זה … צריך להַשְׁווֹת את רגליו he that stands up to pray must set his feet together.
- 2. to make even, smooth, level. Tosef. B. Kam. XI, 14 אם עתיד להַשְׁווֹתוֹ וכ׳ if the hatcheller has to make the web even (cut away the protruding threads), he may take even a handbreadth (they belong to him); מַשְׁוֵיהוּ לאורכו וכ׳ he must shear it lengthwise, but not widthwise; B. Kam. 119ᵇ. Erub. 93ᵃ ה׳ פצימיה if he made the posts even, i.e. made walls to connect them in one line. Succ. 19ᵃ כשה׳ את קירויו when he made its ceiling even, i.e. extended it in a horizontal direction over the whole building; a. e.
- 3. to compare, make alike, place on a level standard. B. Bath. VIII, 5 וה׳ להן את חבכור and made the first-born alike with them, i.e. assigned to him an equal share with his brothers. Nidd. 46ᵇ ה׳ הכתוב הקטן כגדול וכ׳ the Scriptural text places the minor on a level with the adult as regards the laws of &c. Y. Kidd. I, 61ᵇ bot. ה׳ הכתוב מצוה … מצוה וכ׳ the Scripture puts the lightest command on a level with the most difficult (as regards reward). B. Kam. 15ᵃ; a. fr.
- 4. to harmonize, find in harmony. Gen. R. s. 34 שה׳ דעתו לדעת וכ׳ for he found his (Antoninus’) opinion in harmony with the Scriptural intimation; ib. שהִשְׁוָהּ לדעת וכ׳ for he found it in harmony &c. Lev. R. s. 4; Yalk. Gen. 137 we are the majority עמנו לע"א (עצמיכם) מפני מה אינכם מַשְׁוִים why do you not accommodate yourselves to us with regard to idolatry? Ib. ומַשְׁוֶה אתה עמהן and dost thou create harmony among them (thy sons)? עד … להשוות עמך והַשְׁוֵה עם בניך instead of asking me to agree with thee, go and make harmony among thy sons; Lev. R. l. c. עד שאתה משוה אותנו לך והשוה את בניך; a. e.
- to be compared, be equal. Yalk. Ex. 244 להִשָּׁווֹת, v. נָוָה.
- 1. to place. Midr. Till. to Ps. CXIX, 9 (ref. to Ps. XVI, 8, sq.) ובשביל ששִׁוִּיתִי וכ׳ and because I placed the Lord before me continually, therefore my heart rejoices &c.; a. e.— e.g. Psalms 16:8
- *2. [to level obstacles, overcome temptations,] to achieve. Tanḥ. Naso 28 (ref. to מצליח, Gen. XXXIX, 2) שִׁוִּיתָ מה שלא ש׳ וכ׳ thou hast achieved what Adam could not achieve (to resist temptation), v. שְׁוִיָּה. e.g. Genesis 39:2
- to be made alike; to join. Num. R. s. 1620 שאלו לא נִשְׁתַּוּוּ וכ׳ for if they had not joined the spies &c.; Tanḥ. ed. Bub. Sh’laḥ 20; (Tanḥ. ib. 11 שמעו).
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 2 distinct written forms H7740 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ/שָׁוֵ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Genesis 14:5 | 1 |
| שָׁוֵ֔ה | Noun, Proper | Genesis 14:17 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7740, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- ישוה Yishvâh H3438 Ishuai
- ישוי Yishvîy H3440 Ishui
- שוה קריתים Shâvêh Qiryâthayim H7741 Shaveh Kiriathaim
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 2 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 2 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
