StrongerBible

shephet

שֶׁפֶט

HebrewH8201judgments, punishments

Appears 16 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 6:6Exo 7:4Exo 12:12Num 33:42Ch 24:24Pro 19:29Ezk 5:10Ezk 5:15Ezk 11:9Ezk 14:21Ezk 16:41Ezk 25:11Ezk 28:22
Root family
Word studySHEH-fetnoun

What shephet means

acts of judgment: punishments actually carried out on the guilty

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This word does not name the idea of justice or a courtroom verdict. It names the punishments themselves, the concrete blows that fall on the guilty once judgment is decided. It appears almost entirely in the plural, "acts of judgment," because it pictures a series of decisive strokes rather than a single ruling.

Almost every time, God is the one carrying them out. He redeems Israel "with great acts of judgment" against Egypt, and "against all the gods of Egypt" he says, "I will execute judgments." The book of Ezekiel returns to the phrase again and again as the LORD announces punishment on Jerusalem, Moab, Sidon, and Egypt, usually adding that these acts are how people come to know who he is. Occasionally the blows fall through human hands: an invading army becomes the instrument that "executed judgment" on a faithless king.

The related noun מִשְׁפָּט is the broad word for justice, a ruling, or a legal custom. This word is narrower and more physical: it is that justice put into effect as punishment. So in Proverbs, penalties are said to be "prepared for scoffers," the fitting consequences held ready for those who mock correction.

Exo 6:6Exo 7:4Exo 12:12Num 33:42Ch 24:24Pro 19:29Ezk 5:10Ezk 5:15Ezk 11:9Ezk 14:21Ezk 16:41Ezk 25:11

What scholars say about shephet

The lexica treat שֶׁפֶט as a noun of the root שׁפט built on the concrete, punitive side of judging: BDB glosses it "judgments," chiefly of God's acts against Egypt and, in Ezekiel, against Israel and the nations, while HALOT gives "punishment, acts of judgment." It occurs overwhelmingly in the plural and is regularly the object of עשׂה "to do, execute" (Ezekiel's recurring formula), marking it as the enacted penalty rather than the abstract מִשְׁפָּט "justice, judicial decision." Ezekiel pairs the phrase with the recognition formula "and they shall know that I am the LORD," so the executed judgments function as self-revelation of God.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. שֶׁפֶטlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. שֶׁפֶטlexicon
  • TWOT, s.v. שׁפט (2443)theological-dictionary

All attested forms of שֶׁפֶט

m p absolute

שְׁפָטִים

Exo 6:6, Exo 7:4, Exo 12:12, Num 33:4, 2Ch 24:24, Pro 19:29, Ezk 5:10, Ezk 5:15

m p construct

שְׁפָטַי

Ezk 14:21