What does שַׁמָּה (shammah) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew noun can refer to desolation or the horror and dismay associated with devastation. Jeremiah 25:11 speaks of the land becoming a desolate wasteland in a named judgment involving Babylon.
Hebrew · H8047
שַׁמָּה
Ruin ; by implication, consternation
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שַׁמָּהH8047
Pronunciationshammah
What does שַׁמָּה (shammah) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew noun can refer to desolation or the horror and dismay associated with devastation. Jeremiah 25:11 speaks of the land becoming a desolate wasteland in a named judgment involving Babylon.
Reader summary
Full entry for שַׁמָּה (H8047) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H8047?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a desolation (11), an object of horror (6), a horror (3), laid waste (3), waste (3).
Where does שַׁמָּה (shammah) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Deuteronomy 28:37. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (24), Isaiah (3), 2 Chronicles (2), Psalms (2).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew noun can refer to desolation or the horror and dismay associated with devastation. Jeremiah 25:11 speaks of the land becoming a desolate wasteland in a named judgment involving Babylon. Isaiah 5:9 describes impressive houses left unoccupied after the denunciation of those accumulating houses and fields. The surrounding passages identify their settings and reasons; the noun itself does not diagnose the cause of every ruined place.
Psalm 46:8 invites hearers to see the Lord's works of devastation, and the next verse describes Him bringing wars to an end and breaking weapons. Jeremiah 8:21 gives another perspective through a lament over the people's brokenness: horror grips the speaker who mourns. These contexts keep desolation from becoming either an empty figure of speech or an occasion for delight in others' pain. A teacher can name the severity of judgment and the reality of grief while refusing to announce an unspoken divine explanation for a contemporary disaster.
source_lexiconPassage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Desolated land, emptied houses, the overthrow of war, a named prophetic warning and a lament of horror present devastation through judgment, divine power and grief.
- Jer.25.11
And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
The land's desolation and the nations' service to Babylon belong to this stated prophetic judgment. The following verses also announce judgment upon Babylon, preventing its role from becoming blanket approval of its conduct.
- Isa.5.9
I heard the Lord of Hosts declare: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great mansions left unoccupied.
The empty houses follow the denunciation of accumulating house upon house and field upon field. Read the warning with its stated injustice rather than claiming that every vacant building has the same explanation.
- Ps.46.8
Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation upon the earth.
The invitation to see devastation is followed by the Lord making wars cease and breaking weapons. The full movement celebrates His power and refuge without inviting readers to glorify destruction for its own sake.
- Jer.29.18
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
The warning names horror and desolation among the consequences announced to the specified people. The next verse states their refusal to listen, which belongs to the prophet's declared case rather than a general license to explain other people's suffering.
- Jer.8.21
For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.
The first-person lament says the people's brokenness crushes the speaker and brings mourning and horror. The emotional force is essential here; the passage is not merely describing an empty landscape.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita desolation11×2 Kings 22:19, Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 18:16, Jeremiah 19:8
an object of horror6×Deuteronomy 28:37, 2 Chronicles 30:7, Jeremiah 25:9, Jeremiah 25:18
a horror3×Jeremiah 44:22, Jeremiah 50:23, Jeremiah 51:41
laid waste3×Psalms 73:19, Jeremiah 46:19, Hosea 5:9
waste3×Jeremiah 2:15, Jeremiah 4:7, Joel 1:7
desolate2×Isaiah 5:9, Jeremiah 48:9
horror2×2 Chronicles 29:8, Jeremiah 8:21
[and] horror1×Jeremiah 44:12
A horrible1×Jeremiah 5:30
a ruin1×Zephaniah 2:15
and horror1×Jeremiah 42:18
devastation1×Psalms 46:8
in ruins1×Isaiah 24:12
into a desolation1×Zechariah 7:14
of devastation1×Ezekiel 23:33
wasteland1×Jeremiah 25:11
Show sample aligned rows
Deuteronomy 28:37לְשַׁמָּ֔הtoan object of horrorPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular2 Kings 22:19לְשַׁמָּה֙toa desolationPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular2 Chronicles 29:8לְשַׁמָּ֣הtohorrorPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular2 Chronicles 30:7לְשַׁמָּ֔הtoan object of horrorPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularPsalms 46:8שַׁמּ֣וֹתtodevastationNoun - feminine pluralPsalms 73:19לְשַׁמָּ֣הtolaid wastePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularIsaiah 5:9לְשַׁמָּ֣הtodesolatePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularIsaiah 13:9לְשַׁמָּ֔הtoa desolationPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularIsaiah 24:12שַׁמָּ֑הtoin ruinsNoun - feminine singularJeremiah 2:15לְשַׁמָּ֔הtowastePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowDeuteronomy 28:37
Aligned rows39
Books represented12
Deuteronomy12 Kings12 Chronicles2Psalms2Isaiah3Jeremiah24Ezekiel1Hosea1Joel1Micah1Zephaniah1Zechariah1
Source forms
לְשַׁמָּ֔ה10xlə·šam·māhDeuteronomy 28:37, 2 Chronicles 30:7, Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 2:15
לְשַׁמָּ֣ה7xlə·šam·māh2 Chronicles 29:8, Psalms 73:19, Isaiah 5:9, Jeremiah 25:9
לְשַׁמָּ֖ה3xlə·šam·māhJeremiah 18:16, Jeremiah 19:8, Jeremiah 51:29
לְשַׁמָּ֛ה3xlə·šam·māhJeremiah 25:18, Jeremiah 50:23, Jeremiah 51:41
וּלְשַׁמָּה֙2xū·lə·šam·māhJeremiah 29:18, Jeremiah 42:18
לְשַׁמָּ֑ה2xlə·šam·māhJeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 49:17
לְשַׁמָּ֗ה2xlə·šam·māhMicah 6:16, Zephaniah 2:15
וּלְשַׁמָּ֧ה1xū·lə·šam·māhJeremiah 44:22
Parsing patterns
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular30xDeuteronomy 28:37, 2 Kings 22:19, 2 Chronicles 29:8, 2 Chronicles 30:7
Noun - feminine singular5xIsaiah 24:12, Jeremiah 5:30, Jeremiah 8:21, Jeremiah 51:37
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular3xJeremiah 29:18, Jeremiah 42:18, Jeremiah 44:22
Noun - feminine plural1xPsalms 46:8
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respond to loss with lament and appropriate help before speculating about its hidden purpose.
- Teach judgment with seriousness and compassion rather than delight in the suffering of others.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that this noun identifies the divine cause of every ruined city, home or life.
- Do not claim that hope in God's renewal removes the need to grieve or promises immediate material restoration.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Desolation as both physical ruin and the psychological terror it inspires in observers
Strong'sH8047
Lexical occurrences40 versesWord forms1 form7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkHosea 5:8-15Source Gloss
ruin ; by implication, consternation
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Desolation as both physical ruin and the psychological terror it inspires in observers
ruin; by implication, consternation BDB: waste Usage: astonishment, desolate(-ion), waste, wonderful thing.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups1Aligned forms7
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action1×
PerfectZech 7:141×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
waste, devastation
Ruination or devastation resulting in astonishment.
Ruined or laid waste.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 40 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שַׁמָּה is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
It underscores the visible and humiliating consequences of covenant infidelity.Hosea 5:8-15
It underscores that restoration does not erase the moral seriousness of sin.Micah 6:9-16
Outcome of covenant breach.Micah 7:11-13
Canonical Themes
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Psalm 46:8 calls the hearer to look at the Lord's works. The next verse matters: He makes wars cease, breaks the bow and shatters the spear. The psalm has already confessed the God of Jacob as a fortress. Devastation is therefore not offered as a spectacle detached from the claim that God rules over the powers that threaten His people. The surrounding verses give the word its theological direction.
The lament in Jeremiah over the people's brokenness also guards the teacher's tone. Horror and mourning belong within the witness, even when prophetic warnings speak clearly of judgment. A present ruin does not hand an observer the prophet's authority to name its hidden cause. Faithful application can resist injustice, grieve real loss and look toward God's promised renewal without celebrating casualties or promising that every damaged home and community will be restored on a schedule of our choosing.
Anchor passage
Ps.46.8
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 46:7-10 joins God's presence and refuge with the ending of wars and breaking of weapons.
- Isaiah 5:7-10 connects the warning about empty houses with the failure of justice and the accumulation of property.
- Jeremiah 25:9-13 names Babylon's role and also its accountability to divine judgment.
- Jeremiah 29:16-20 identifies the people addressed and their refusal to hear the prophetic word.
- Jeremiah 8:21-22 gives voice to mourning and horror over the people's brokenness.
- Revelation 21:3-5 promises God's dwelling with His people and the removal of death, mourning and pain.
The noun can describe devastation or the dismay it evokes. Jeremiah 8:21 makes the experiential sense especially visible. Context must determine whether the focus rests on a ruined condition, an object of horror or the speaker's response.
From Old to New Testament
Revelation 21:3-5 provides a thematic comparison through the promised end of death, mourning and pain in God's renewed dwelling with His people. It supplies hope beyond devastation, not a timetable for reconstructing any particular present place. The prophetic warnings and laments keep their own identified contexts.
Book contextCanonical parallelPastoral application