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shakhar

שָׁכַר

HebrewH7937“drunk, make drunk, ...”

Appears 19 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 9:21Gen 43:34Deu 32:421Sa 1:142Sa 11:13Sng 5:1Isa 29:9Isa 49:26Isa 51:21Isa 63:6Jer 25:27Jer 48:26Jer 51:7Jer 51:39Jer 51:57Lam 4:21Nam 3:11Hab 2:15Hag 1:6
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradeshah-KHARverb

What shakhar means

to be or become drunk; to drink to the full, and (as a causing action) to make someone drunk

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintyStrong

At its plainest this verb names becoming drunk on wine or fermented drink: Noah after his vineyard, or the woman Eli wrongly accuses of it. Turned into a causing action it means plying someone with drink until they are drunk, as David does to Uriah to cover his crime, or as the tyrant does to shame his neighbor.

The same verb has a warmer pole. It can simply mean drinking one's fill, drinking freely to the point of satisfaction, with no hint of disgrace. Joseph's brothers "drank and were merry" with him, and the lovers of the Song are urged to "drink deep." Here the idea is fullness and delight, and it sits close to the verb for being drenched or satisfied (רוה).

The prophets seized on the image and built from it one of their great pictures of judgment. God hands the nations a cup of his wrath and "makes them drunk" so that they stagger, fall, and cannot defend themselves. Jerusalem is "drunk, but not with wine"; Babylon, once the golden cup that made the whole earth drunk, is forced to drink in turn. A related picture has swords and scavengers "drunk with blood" after slaughter, sated with killing as a drinker is sated with wine.

Nuances

1ato become drunk on wine or fermented drink
TranslatabilityDirect
Gen 9:211Sa 1:14
1bto make another person drunk; to ply someone with drink until intoxicated
2Sa 11:13Hab 2:15
1cto drink one's fill; to drink freely to the point of satisfaction
Gen 43:34Sng 5:1Hag 1:6
1dto be made to reel as if drunk under God's judgment; to be given, or made to drink, the cup of his wrath
Isa 29:9Isa 51:21Isa 63:6Jer 25:27Jer 48:26Jer 51:7Jer 51:39Jer 51:57Lam 4:21Nam 3:11
Isa 63:6

Whether the received text reads "I made them drunk in my fury" or an emended "I broke them in pieces".

  • majorityRetain the received Hebrew "I made them drunk", keeping the wine-of-wrath image consistent with the surrounding oracle.; J. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55 (Anchor Bible, 2002); Goldingay & Payne, Isaiah 40-55 (ICC, 2006)
  • minorityEmend to "I broke them in pieces", following some manuscripts and older critical editors.; BDB, s.v. שָׁכַר, p. 1016 (noting the variant)
1eto be drunk with blood; to be sated with slaughter
Deu 32:42Isa 49:26

What scholars say about shakhar

The root is pan-Semitic (Akkadian šakāru "become drunk" beside šikaru "barley beer"; Ugaritic škr; Aramaic and Syriac šikrā), pointing to a Proto-Semitic verb "be drunk" alongside a noun for grain- or date-based fermented drink (Kogan; CAD Š/II). The lexica agree on the stem distribution: an ingressive Qal "become drunk" (Gen 9:21; Isa 29:9), a causative Piel and Hiphil "make drunk" concentrated in the prophetic cup-of-wrath oracles (Deut 32:42; Isa 63:6; Jer 25; 48; 51), and a lone Hithpael at 1 Sam 1:14. DCH (vol. 8) isolates a non-pejorative "drink one's fill / be satiated" sense (Hag 1:6; Song 5:1) that BDB subsumes under "become drunk"; the Ugaritic pairing of škr with "satiety" in KTU 1.114 supports treating satiation as part of the range. The prophetic cup of divine wrath has a substantial monographic literature (Brongers; McKane; Seidl; Raabe), which reads intoxication as loss of self-mastery and public shame fitting a conquered people.

Where scholars disagree about shakhar

Whether "drink one's fill / be satiated" is a distinct sense of the verb or merely the ordinary "become drunk" sense used loosely.

  • minorityA distinct, non-pejorative "drink one's fill / be satiated" sense, seen at Haggai 1:6 and Song of Songs 5:1 and supported by the Ugaritic pairing of the root with "satiety".; DCH, ed. D. J. A. Clines, vol. 8, s.v. שׁכר
  • majorityThese occurrences are the ordinary "become drunk" sense used loosely, not a separate meaning.; BDB, s.v. שָׁכַר, p. 1016
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. שָׁכַר, p. 1016lexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. שׁכרlexicon
  • DCH, ed. D. J. A. Clines, vol. 8, s.v. שׁכרlexicon
  • TDOT, vol. XIV, s.v. שָׁכַר / שֵׁכָרdictionary
  • Theodor Seidl, Der Becher in der Hand des Herrn (ATSAT 70, 2001)monograph
  • Paul R. Raabe, Obadiah (Anchor Bible), excursus on the cup of wrath, pp. 206-242commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of שָׁכַר

hiphil consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְהִשְׁכַּרְתִּי

Jer 51:39, Jer 51:57

qal imperative 2mp

שִׁכְרוּ

Sng 5:1, Jer 25:27

qal imperfect 2fs

תִּשְׁכְּרִי

Lam 4:21, Nam 3:11

f s construct

שְׁכֻרַת

Isa 51:21

hiphil imperative 2mp

הַשְׁכִּירֻ

Jer 48:26

hiphil imperfect 1cs

אַשְׁכִּיר

Deu 32:42

hithpael imperfect 2fs

תִּשְׁתַּכָּרִי

1Sa 1:14

piel conjunctive-imperfect 1cs

וַאֲשַׁכְּרֵ

Isa 63:6

piel consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיְשַׁכְּרֵ

2Sa 11:13

piel infinitive-construct construct

שַׁכֵּר

Hab 2:15

piel participle f s absolute

מְשַׁכֶּרֶת

Jer 51:7

qal consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיִּשְׁכְּרוּ

Gen 43:34

qal consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיִּשְׁכָּר

Gen 9:21

qal imperfect 3mp

יִשְׁכָּרוּ

Isa 49:26

qal infinitive-construct construct

שָׁכְרָה

Hag 1:6

qal perfect 3cp

שָׁכְרוּ

Isa 29:9