StrongerBible

shamad

שָׁמַד

HebrewH8045“destroy, annihilate, ...”

Appears 90 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 34:30Lev 26:30Num 33:52Deu 1:27Deu 2:12Deu 2:21Deu 2:22Deu 2:23Deu 4:3Deu 4:26 (2×)Deu 6:15Deu 7:4Deu 7:23Deu 7:24Deu 9:3Deu 9:8Deu 9:14Deu 9:19Deu 9:20Deu 9:25Deu 12:30Deu 28:20Deu 28:24Deu 28:45Deu 28:48Deu 28:51Deu 28:61Deu 28:63Deu 31:3Deu 31:4Deu 33:27Jos 7:12Jos 9:24Jos 11:14Jos 11:20Jos 23:15Jos 24:8Jdg 21:161Sa 24:21(22)2Sa 14:72Sa 14:112Sa 14:162Sa 21:52Sa 22:381Ki 13:341Ki 15:291Ki 16:122Ki 10:172Ki 10:282Ki 21:9
Word studysha-MADverb

What shamad means

to destroy completely: to wipe out a people, place, or thing so that nothing remains

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

The word describes total, irreversible destruction, not damage, defeat, or exile, but the complete elimination of something from existence. When peoples are destroyed, their presence is erased from the land. When cultic objects or high places are destroyed, they are brought to ruin so they can no longer function. The word carries a finality that most synonyms lack.

It is used most heavily in Deuteronomy, both as a warning of what God will do to Israel's enemies and as a covenant curse against Israel itself if it abandons its commitments. The two grammatical voices, active (bringing about destruction) and passive (undergoing it), describe two sides of the same event: an agent who acts and a recipient who ceases to exist.

Nuances

1ato destroy, annihilate (active: an agent wipes out a people, nation, or cultic site)
Num 33:52Deu 2:12Deu 7:24Deu 9:3Deu 28:48Deu 28:63Jos 24:81Ki 13:34Est 3:6Isa 13:9Amo 2:9 (2×)Amo 9:8 (3×)
1bto be destroyed, be wiped out (passive: a people or thing ceases to exist)
Gen 34:30Deu 4:26 (2×)Deu 7:23Deu 28:20Deu 28:24Deu 28:45Jdg 21:16Psa 37:38Psa 83:10(11)Psa 92:7(8)Jer 48:42Hos 10:8

What scholars say about shamad

Lexicographers consistently treat שָׁמַד as a single root meaning complete destruction or annihilation, with no significant dispute about its core semantics. HALOT identifies the root as meaning "to be destroyed, to destroy" with the hiphil as its most common stem. BDB similarly notes the word describes extermination and utter destruction of peoples. The verb is especially concentrated in Deuteronomy, where it appears both in the promise of what God will do to Canaan's inhabitants and as a covenant curse for Israel's disobedience. TDOT observes that the word belongs to a cluster of Hebrew annihilation vocabulary that includes אָבַד, כָּלָה, and חָרַם, but distinguishes itself by the totality of the destruction it names, not decline, reduction, or exile, but elimination. NIDOTTE notes the word rarely if ever describes partial harm; its appearance is typically eschatological or judicial in force.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. שׁמדlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. שׁמדlexicon
  • TDOT, vol. 15, s.v. שׁמדdictionary
  • NIDOTTE, vol. 4, s.v. שׁמדdictionary
  • TWOT, s.v. שׁמד (2415)dictionary

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

All attested forms of שָׁמַד

hiphil infinitive-construct construct

הַשְׁמִיד, הַשְׁמִידָ, הִשְׁמִדְ, הִשְׁמִדָ, הִשְׁמִיד, הַשְׁמִידֵ, שְׁמִד

Deu 9:8, Deu 9:19, Deu 9:20, Deu 9:25, Deu 28:63, Jos 9:24, Jos 23:15, 2Sa 14:16

niphal infinitive-construct construct

הִשָּׁמְדָ, הִשָּׁמֵד, הִשָּׁמֶדְ

Deu 7:23, Deu 12:30, Deu 28:24, Deu 28:45, Deu 28:51, Deu 28:61, Psa 92:7, Deu 4:26

hiphil perfect 3ms

הִשְׁמִיד, הִשְׁמִד

Deu 2:22, Deu 4:3, Deu 31:4, 2Ki 10:17, 2Ki 21:9, 1Ch 5:25, 2Ch 33:9, 1Ki 15:29

hiphil consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּי

Lev 26:30, Ezk 14:9, Amo 9:8, Mic 5:14, Hag 2:22

hiphil imperfect 3ms

יַשְׁמִיד, יַשְׁמִידֵ

Deu 31:3, Psa 145:20, Isa 13:9, Deu 9:3

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 1cs

וָאַשְׁמִידֵ, וָאַשְׁמִיד

Jos 24:8, 2Sa 22:38, Amo 2:9

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיַּשְׁמֵד, וַיַּשְׁמִידֵ

1Ki 16:12, 2Ki 10:28, Deu 2:21

hiphil imperfect 1cs

אַשְׁמִיד, אַשְׁמִידְ

Ezk 34:16, Amo 9:8, Ezk 25:7

hiphil perfect 3cp

הִשְׁמִידוּ, הִשְׁמִידֻ

2Ch 20:10, Psa 106:34, Deu 2:23

niphal consecutive-perfect 3ms

וְנִשְׁמַד

Jer 48:8, Jer 48:42, Ezk 32:12

hiphil consecutive-perfect 3ms

וְהִשְׁמִידְ

Deu 6:15, Deu 7:4

hiphil imperfect 2mp

תַּשְׁמִידוּ

Num 33:52, Jos 7:12

hiphil infinitive-absolute absolute

הַשְׁמֵד, הַשְׁמֵיד

Isa 14:23, Amo 9:8

niphal imperfect 3ms

יִשָּׁמֵד

Pro 14:11, Isa 48:19

niphal perfect 3cp

נִשְׁמְדוּ

Psa 37:38, Psa 83:10

hiphil cohortative 1cp

נַשְׁמִידָה

2Sa 14:7

hiphil conjunctive-imperfect 1cs

וְאַשְׁמִידֵ

Deu 9:14

hiphil conjunctive-imperfect 2ms

וְתַשְׁמִידֵ

Lam 3:66

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 2ms

וַתַּשְׁמִידֵ

Isa 26:14

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיַּשְׁמִידוּ

Deu 2:12

hiphil imperative 2ms

הַשְׁמֵד

Deu 33:27

hiphil imperfect 2ms

תַּשְׁמִיד

1Sa 24:21

hiphil imperfect 3mp

יַשְׁמִידוּ

2Sa 14:11

hiphil perfect 1cs

הִשְׁמַדְתִּי

Amo 2:9

niphal consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְנִשְׁמַדְתִּי

Gen 34:30

niphal consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְנִשְׁמְדוּ

Hos 10:8

niphal imperfect 2mp

תִּשָּׁמֵדוּ

Deu 4:26

niphal perfect 1cp

נִשְׁמַדְנוּ

2Sa 21:5

niphal perfect 3fs

נִשְׁמְדָה

Jdg 21:16