שְׁכֶם
shoulder
‘shoulder’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 18 times (86%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 3 times (14%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 21 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H7926 appears — 21 distinct verses across 9 books. 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 6 verses
- Genesis 9:23 שְׁכֶ֣ם n c ms cs Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn't see their father's nakedness.
- Genesis 21:14 שִׁכְמָ֛/הּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
- Genesis 24:15 שִׁכְמָֽ/הּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs It happened, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.
- Genesis 24:45 שִׁכְמָ֔/הּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs Before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'
- Genesis 48:22 שְׁכֶ֥ם n c ms Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow."
- Genesis 49:15 שִׁכְמ/וֹ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms He saw a resting-place, that it was good, The land, that it was pleasant; He bows his shoulder to the burden, And becomes a servant doing forced labor.
Exodus 1 verse
Joshua 1 verse
Judges 1 verse
1 Samuel 3 verses
- 1 Samuel 9:2 מִ/שִּׁכְמ֣/וֹ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
- 1 Samuel 10:9 שִׁכְמ/וֹ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs happened that day.
- 1 Samuel 10:23 מִ/שִּׁכְמ֖/וֹ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms They ran and fetched him there; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
Job 1 verse
Psalms 2 verses
Isaiah 5 verses
- Isaiah 9:4 שִׁכְמ֔/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.
- Isaiah 9:6 שִׁכְמ֑/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 10:27 שִׁכְמֶ֔/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms It shall happen in that day, that his burden shall depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness.
- Isaiah 14:25 שִׁכְמ֖/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder.
- Isaiah 22:22 שִׁכְמ֑/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms The key of the house of David will I lay on his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Zephaniah 1 verse
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.
שכם — transliterated shᵉkem — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “shoulder.” Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 9:23. Spanning 21 verses in 9 books, it ranks among the uncommon words of the Hebrew Bible. Its uses concentrate in Genesis (29% of all occurrences). The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7926 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 →
- 21
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 21 distinct verses.
- 9 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 9 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #1,462
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 1,462 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 21 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 21 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 11 verses · 52%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 7 verses · 33%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 3 verses · 14%
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†: Shoulder 10×, Shoulders 3×, Consent 2×
- American Standard Version†: Shoulder 10×, Shoulders 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Shoulder 9×, Shoulders 7×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Shoulder 18×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7926 across 22† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 7 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 H7926 across 22† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 9 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 H7926 across 19† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7926 across 22† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
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 6 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.
שכם I
- 1. shoulder (sometimes incl. back of neck; כתף = shoulder-blade):
- a. as bearing burdens, וַיֵּט שׁ׳ לִסְבֹּל Gn 49:15 (poem in J; Issach. under fig. of ass), cf. 21:14 (E), 24:15, 45; Ex 12:34, also Gn 9:23 (all J), Jos 4:5 (E), Ju 9:48; Is 10:27 (‖ צַוָּאר), 14:25 (both fig.), ψ 81:7, so, metaph., of responsibility of rule Is 9:5; 22:22 (symbolized by key), of accusation as (easy) burden Jb 31:36; fig. also לְעָבְדוֹ שׁ׳ אֶחָד Zp 3:9 to serve him (with) one shoulder (as one man), cf. Syriac ܚܰܕ ܟܰܬܦܳܐ. e.g. Genesis 49:15
- b. in statement of Saul’s height, מִשִּׁכְמוֹ וָמַ֫עְלָה גָּבֹהַּ מִכָּל־הָעָם 1 S 9:2, cf. 10:23 and (with play on n.pr.loc. שְׁכֶם) נָתַתִּי לְךָ שׁ׳ אַחַד עַל־אַחֶיךָ Gn 48:22 (E; cf. Dr). e.g. 1 Samuel 9:2
- 2. in gen. back: כְּהַפְנֹתוֹ שִׁכְמוֹ לָלֶכֶת מֵעִם 1 S 10:9; so תְּשִׁיתֵמוֹ שׁ׳ ψ 21:13, i.e. make them turn (in flight; cf. וְאוֹיְבַי נָתַתָּה לִי עֹרֶף 18:41); as beaten מַטֵּה שׁ׳ Is 9:3 (‖ שֵׁבֶט הַנֹּגֵשׂ בּוֹ); more anatom. כְּתֵפִי מִשּׁ׳ תִפּוֹל Jb 31:22 let my shoulder-blade fall from its back.—Ho 6:9 v. ii. שְׁכֶם. e.g. 1 Samuel 10:9
שכם II loc.49 et m.14 (Συχεμ
- 1. district in N. Palestine (prob. shoulder (saddle?) of mount.);—מְקוֹם שׁ׳ Gn 12:6, שְׁכֶ֑מָה 37:14; = city (שְׁכֶם, שְׁכֶ֑מָה, Ho 6:9 שֶׁ֑כְמָה) Jos 24:1; עִיר שׁ׳ Gn 33:18; Ju 8:31 + 20 times Ju 9 (בַּעֲלֵי שׁ׳ v 2 + 12 times, ב׳ מִגְדַּל־שׁ׳ v 46, 47), Ho 6:9 + 21 times (עִיר שׁ׳ Gn 33:18); city of refuge Jos 20:7; 21:21; 1 Ch 6:52.—WMMAs. u. Eur. 394, cp. Egypt. Sa-ka-mà (cf. Jen ZA x (1895) 356); mod. Nablûs (from Rom. name Neapolis); v. BuhlG 200 f. GASmG 332 ff. 345 WilsonHast. DB shechem. e.g. Genesis 12:6
- 2. n.pr.m. (on connexion with 1 cf. Ju 9:28), ‘son’ of Ḥamor, also Gn 33:19; 34:2 + 10 times 34, Jos 24:32. e.g. Judges 9:28
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.Zp 3:9 shoulder;—abs. שׁ׳ Gn 48:22 +, שְׁכֶ֑ם 33:19 +, שֶׁ֑כֶם ψ 21:13 (whence orig. *šakm inferred Ol§ 147 a ad fin. Sta§ 199 a; but—ֶ der. from—ִ before ב, BaNB 104 Köii. 1, 67, 506); cstr. שְׁכֶם Gn 9:23; sf. שִׁכְמוֹ 49:15 +, שִׁכְמָה (for שִׁכְמָהּ Ges§ 91 e) Jb 31:22, etc.;—
II. n.pr.loc.49 et m.14 (Συχεμ; 𝔊L often Σίκιμα LagBN 57):
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from שכם (shâkam) (H7925) — to rise early.
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.
שָׂכַם
- , Hif. הִשְׂכִּים, v. סָכַם.
שָׁכַם
- , Hif. הִשְׁכִּים (b. h.; [to load, v. Ges. Thes. s. v.,] to rise early; to do a thing early. Ber. 30ᵃ ה׳ לצאת לדרך if one rises early (before sunrise) to go on the road; Tosef. ib. III, 19. Cant. R. to V, 11 (play on שחרות כעורב, ib.; cmp. שׁחַר) מַשְׁכִּים ומעריב (Lev. R. s. 19 משחיר), v. עָרַב II. B. Mets. VII, 1 if one hired working men, ואמר להן להַשְׁכִּים וכ׳ and told them that he expected them to come to their work earlier and go later (than the customary time). Ber. 47ᵇ לעולם יַשְׁכִּים אדם וכ׳ a man should always go early to the house of prayer, that he may succeed in being counted among the earliest ten &c. Ib. 16ᵇ; Y. ib. IV, 7ᵈ bot. ונַשְׁכִּים ונמצא וכ׳ that we may early (in life) obtain &c., v. יִחוּל. B. Kam. 92ᵇ הַשְׁכֵּם ואכול take an early breakfast. Gitt. 7ᵃ הַשְׁכֵּם והערב עליהן והם וכ׳ (omit לבה"מ) pray against them (the tormentors) early and late, and they shall cease of themselves; a. fr.—Bicc. III, 2 ולִמַשְׁכִּים היה וכ׳ and at rising time &c.
שְׁכֶם I
- (b. h.)
- 1. shoulder. Gen. R. s. 53 (ref. to Gen. XXI, 14) שכן דרך עבדים … על שִׁכְמָם for such is the manner of slaves, to carry their filled pitchers on their shoulder; a. e. e.g. Genesis 21:14
- 2. load; trnsf. (cmp. מַשָּׂא, סִבָּלוֹן) portion, share. Gen. R. s. 97, end (ref. to Gen. XLVIII, 22) ש׳ זו הבכורה by sh’khem is meant the share of the first-born; B. Bath. 123ᵃ; a. e. e.g. Genesis 48:22
- 3. mountain range, v. next w.
שְׁכֶם II
- (b. h.)
- 1. pr. n. m. Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite. Macc. 11ᵃ, a. e., v. גְּזַר. Sot. 22ᵇ, v. שִׁיכְמִי; a. fr.
- 2. pr. n. pl. Shechem in Mount Ephraim. Gen. R. s. 97, end (ref. to Gen. XLVIII, 22, v. preced.) זו ש׳ ודאי it means Shechem in reality. Ib. (in a corrupt passage) לפיכך תהא הש׳ בחלקך therefore shall the district of Sh. (or the mountain range, v. preced.) be in thy share. Ib. בש׳ נפרצה וכ׳ in Sh. did unchastity break out, and thou didst fence it in (setting the example of chastity), therefore &c. Num. R. s. 23, v. נִיפּוֹלִין; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 48:22
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 15 distinct written forms H7926 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.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7926, 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
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 2 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 21 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 21 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
- Genesis 9:23
- Exodus 12:34
- Joshua 4:5
- Judges 9:48
- 1 Samuel 9:2
- Job 31:36
- Psalms 21:12
- Isaiah 9:4
- Zephaniah 3:9
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.
