שָׁחַק
to pulverize
‘to pulverize’ is one of 3 main senses 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
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
Form
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
Person
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
Gender
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H7833 appears in the Book of Exodus — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Exodus
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.
“to pulverize” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb שחק (shâchaq). With only 4 verses it sits in the long tail of Hebrew Bible vocabulary. It concentrates in Exodus, which alone accounts for 25% of its uses. First canonically at Exodus 30:36, it enters the text early. Catalogued under 3 senses, its meaning is not single-sense. See the sense tree, 4-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7833 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 →
- 4
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 4 distinct verses.
- 4 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 4 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,696
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,696 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 4 occurrences in the concordance →
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 4 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 2 verses · 50%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 25%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 25%
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).
- King James Version: Did i beat 2×
- American Standard Version: Did i beat 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: I ground them 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: I beat them 1×, I beat them fine 1×, Wear down 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7833 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H7833 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H7833 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7833 across 4 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in BDB
The 3 senses BDB distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- to rub away, beat fine, pulverise
(Qal)
- of incense, stones
- of enemies (figuratively)
Word origin
[ שָׁחַק ] vb. rub away, beat fine, pulverize
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
שָׂחַק
- to be bright; to laugh, jest, play. Tosef. B. Kam. II, 2 ס׳ בין הבקר וכ׳ ed. Zuck. (Var. צחבין, צהבין, read: צחק בין) if he (the ox) sported among the herd three times (doing no harm). Deut. R. s. 3, end ראה … שׂוֹחַקַת לעבד the king saw her smile at one of his servants. Y. Kidd. III, 63ᵈ מימי לא ש׳ וכ׳ never did a person have his sport with me, except this man. Tanḥ. Naso 5 באותו שבפנים שָׂחַקְתָּ אבל … לִשְׂחוֹק thou didst fool him (the watchman) that was inside, but thou canst not fool me. Der. Er. Zuṭṭa ch. V ולא בוכה בין השׂוֹחֲקִים ולא שׂוֹחֵק וכ׳ nor should one weep among those who laugh, nor laugh among those who weep; a. fr.—Trnsf. (of fingers) to be spread, opp. עצב. Succ. 7ᵃ טפח שוחק (Ms. M. a. Ar. ס׳); Erub. 3ᵇ שׂוֹחֲקוֹת, v. אַמָּה; a. e.
- same. Tanḥ. l. c. באישך את מְשַׂחֶקֶת וכ׳ thou canst fool thy husband, but thou canst not fool me. Ib. ואני יושב ומְשַׂחֵק על וכ׳ but I sit laughing at my creatures. Tosef. Keth. IX, 2 מְסַחֵק הוא בה ed. Zuck. (Var. מְצַ׳) he may laugh at her (and take the sham sale seriously); (Keth. 79ᵃ רצה מצחק), v. פִּיסְטִין. Tanḥ. Noah 5 והיו משחקין ממנו they laughed at him (Noah). Ber. 7ᵇ, a. e. השעה משחקת לו the hour smiles on him, i.e. he is in luck; a. fr.
- to cause to laugh, lead to sport. Gen. R. s. 22 אם בא … להַשְׂחִיקְךָ שמחהו וכ׳ if thy inclination comes to incite thee to merriment, rejoice it with words of the Law; Yalk. Is. 296.
שַׂחַק
- , v. שְׂחוֹק
שָׁחַק
- (b. h.) to rub, grind, pound. Midr. Till. to Ps. XVIII ולמה … שחקים שהן שׁוֹחֲקִין אלו באלו why are the clouds named sh’ḥaḳim? Because they rub against one another. Gen. R. s. 13, a. e., v. שַׁחַק II. Bets. II, 8 שוחקין את הפלפלין וכ׳ you may grind pepper on the pepper-mill (on the Holy Day). Y. Ber. VI, 10ᵃ top שְׁחָקָן וכ׳ if he mashed them (the turnips), he must say the benediction &c., opp. אם בעיינן הן if they are in their natural shape; a. fr.—[Yalk. Cant. 988 שחק, v. שָׁחַץ.]—Part. pass. שָׁחוּק; f. שְׁחוּקָה; pl. שְׁחוּקִים, שְׁחוּקִין; שְׁחוּקוֹת a) ground, pounded, mashed. Y. Ber. l. c. ויין לאו ש׳ הוא is wine not a product gained by pounding?; ib. ופת לאו ש׳ היא is not bread a product &c.?; ib. שאר … אע"פ שש׳ הן וכ׳ all other things, although produced by pounding (like olive-oil &c.) are ritually treated as if in their natural state; a. e.—b) (cmp. שָׁחַף) lean, meagre. Y. Dem. II, beg. 22ᵇ שחוקה היא (R. S. to Dem. II, 1 שְׁחִיקָא ch.) the fig of Bozrah is stunted.
- 1. same; same; part. pass. מְשׁוּחָק; pl. מְשׁוּחָקִים, מְשׁוּחָקִין rubbed, worn-out, threadbare. Tosef. Men. I, 8; Zeb. 18ᵃ, v. רָשַׁל; ib. 18ᵇ; a. e.
- 2. to curse the memory of a person, v. next w.
- to be ground. Ab. d’R. N. ch. I נִשְׁחֲקוּ עצמותיו his bones were ground, i.e. his memory is cursed, v. next w.
שְׁחַק
- Targ. O. Ex. XXX, 36.—Y. Sabb. VII, 10ᵃ bot. ההן דש׳ תומא he that grinds garlic. Ib. 10ᵇ bot. B. Bath. 146ᵃ שַׁחְקֵי, v. מַרְגְּנִיתָא; a. fr.—Midr. Sam. ch. I, v. infra.—Part. pass. שְׁחִיק.—ש׳ טמיא, v. טַמְיָא; (in Hebr. dict.) ש׳ עצמות. Gen. R. s. 49, beg.; a. e.—Y. Sabb. VI, 8ᵃ top הוות רגליה שחקה (read: שְׁחִיקָא) his foot was sore from rubbing.—Y. Dem. II, beg. 22ᵇ שחיקא (R. S. to Dem. II, 1), v. שָׁחַק
- to mention the name of a dead person with the imprecation שחיק טמיא (his bones be ground), to curse. Lev. R. s. 32, end מדכרין ומְשַׁחְקִין there are those whose names are mentioned with a curse, opp. ומניחין, v. נוּחַ h.; Yalk. Ex. 411 (Hebr.) מזכירין ומְשַׁחֲקִים; Tanḥ. Vayaḳhel 4; Ex. R. s. 48 (mixed dict.) מדכרין ומשחקים; Midr. Sam. ch. I ושָׁחְקִין (Pe.).
שַׁחַק I
- (preced.), pl. שְחָקִים, שְׁחָקִין worn garments, thin clothes. Sifra Thazr., Neg., Par. 4, ch. XV בקרחתו אלו הש׳ ‘in its baldness’ (Lev. XIII, 55), that means old clothes (whose nap is worn off). Keth. V, 8 אין נותנין לה … ולא ש׳ וכ׳ we must not give her new garments for summer and worn-out (thin) garments for winter; ib. והש׳ שלה and the discarded garments remain hers; v. בְּלָאוֹת. Zeb. 18ᵇ; a. e. e.g. Leviticus 13:55
שַׁחַק II
- [dust,]; pl. שְׁחָקִים clouds, heaven, sh’ḥaḳim, name of one of the seven heavens. Ḥag. 12ᵇ ש׳ שבו רחיים וכ׳ it is named sh’ḥaḳim, for in it stands a mill and grinds manna for the righteous. Gen. R. s. 13 למה … ש׳ שהן שוחקין וכ׳ why are they (the clouds) called sh’ḥaḳim? Because they grind the water … like a stomach (grinding the food); Tanḥ. Mick. 1; Koh. R. to I, 7. Ib. איכן … בש׳, v. נָזַל. Midr. Till. to Ps. XVIII, v. שָׁחַק; a. e.
שַׁחַק
- Targ. Ps. LXXXIX, 38.—Pl. שְׁחָקיָּא, שְׁחָקִין, שְׁחָקֵי. Ib. 7 (ed. Wil. שַׁחֲקֵי). Ib. LXXVII, 18. Targ. Job XXXVI, 28; a. e.
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 4 distinct written forms H7833 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/אֶשְׁחָקֵ֖/ם | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | 2 Samuel 22:43 | 1 |
| וְ/שָֽׁחַקְתָּ֣ | Verb, Qal, Sequential Perfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular | Exodus 30:36 | 1 |
| וְֽ/אֶשְׁחָקֵ֗/ם | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Psalms 18:42 | 1 |
| שָׁ֥חֲקוּ | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural | Job 14:19 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7833, 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.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 3 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 4 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.
