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Hebrew Word Study · H7965 · Old Testament
שָׁלוֹם Shalom
Wholeness · Completeness · Welfare · Health · Prosperity · Safety
Nothing missing. Nothing broken.
H7965 237 OT occurrences Root: שָׁלֵם LXX: εἰρήνη
The Word at a Glance
Script שָׁלוֹם
Transliteration Shalom
Strong's Number
H7965 Root שָׁלֵם (shalem) — H7999
Root Meaning To be complete, to be whole, to make restitution/restore
Part of Speech Masculine noun
OT Occurrences 237 times
Primary Sources Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) p. 1022 · TWOT #2401 · HALOT · Strong's Hebrew
LXX Equivalent εἰρήνη (eirēnē) — G1515
NT Equivalent εἰρήνη (eirēnē) — G1515
Core Meaning
Shalom Is Not the Absence of Conflict
In English, peace is primarily a negative concept — the absence of conflict, the absence of trouble, the absence of noise. Take away the conflict and peace is what remains.
In biblical Hebrew, shalom is a positive concept. It describes the presence of something, not the absence of something. Shalom means:
- Wholeness — every part in right relationship with every other part
- Completeness — nothing lacking, nothing deficient
- Welfare — the total well-being of a person, community, or nation
- Health — physical, emotional, relational, spiritual soundness
- Prosperity — flourishing in material and non-material dimensions
- Safety — freedom from threat, harm, and instability
The most compact summary: nothing missing, nothing broken.
When God gives shalom, He is not simply removing your anxiety. He is installing a totality of well-being — in your body, your relationships, your finances, your spirit, your environment — that reflects the fullness of His own character.
The Root
שָׁלֵם (Shalem) — To Be Complete, To Restore
שָׁלֵם
Shalem H7999
The root of shalom is the verb shalem (H7999), which means to be complete, to be whole, and — remarkably — to make payment, to restore what was owed.
This root appears in the Hebrew word for making restitution (shillem) — the act of restoring what was broken, damaged, or taken. This is precisely why shalom is the right word to describe what Jesus accomplished at the cross: He paid the debt that sin created, restoring what was broken to its original wholeness.
Peace is not merely calm; it is a state of things having been made right, debts paid, what was broken restored to completeness.
Key Appearances
Shalom in the Old Testament
Isaiah 26:3 NIV
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
The doubled shalom — shalom shalom — for the mind fixed on God.
Numbers 6:26 NIV
"The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
The Aaronic Blessing ends with shalom — the last word God speaks over His people.
Isaiah 54:10 NIV
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you."
The covenant of shalom — more permanent than mountains.
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Shalom purchased at the cross — the punishment absorbed so your wholeness could be restored.
Psalm 119:165 NIV
"Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble."
Rav shalom — abundant, great shalom — for those who love the Word of God.
Isaiah 9:6 NIV
"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Sar Shalom — the Commander of Peace — the messianic title given to Jesus.
Defining Verse
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
Isaiah 26:3 · NIV
The Hebrew is שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם — shalom shalom. The word doubled. In Hebrew, repetition signals intensity. This is not ordinary peace but layered, complete, overflowing wholeness for the person whose mind is fixed on God.
The word translated "steadfast" is samuk — leaning, supported, resting against something. The mind that rests against God — through trust, through His Word, through prayer — receives the doubled shalom. The access point is posture: lean into Him.
How Shalom Is Used
Four Dimensions of Shalom in the Old Testament
1
Shalom as Personal Greeting and Blessing
The most common everyday use of shalom was as a greeting — asking about a person's wholeness and well-being. When characters ask "Is all well?" the Hebrew is often shalom. The greeting implied genuine concern for the full welfare of the person, not a polite formality. (1 Samuel 16:4-5; 2 Kings 4:26)
2
Shalom as National and Territorial Peace
Shalom describes the state of a nation or land when it is at rest — free from war, stable, prosperous, and under God's blessing. It is environmental as well as internal: God grants shalom over territory, removing threats, creating safety, allowing rest. (2 Chronicles 20:30; Leviticus 26:6)
3
Shalom as Covenant
God established a formal "covenant of peace" (berit shalom) with His people — sealed in blood, unbreakable, more permanent than mountains. It is God's shalom as a legally-binding, eternally-valid declaration over those who belong to Him. (Isaiah 54:10; Ezekiel 34:25; Ezekiel 37:26)
4
Shalom as Messianic Promise
The prophets consistently announced a coming shalom attached to a Person. Isaiah named Him Sar Shalom — the Commander of Peace. Isaiah 53:5 describes how He would purchase that shalom: through substitutionary suffering. The punishment that produced our wholeness was placed on Him. (Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 53:5; Micah 5:5)
Shalom → Eirēnē
The Bridge to the New Testament
The Septuagint (LXX) — the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by the early church — consistently translates שָׁלוֹם as εἰρήνη (eirēnē). This means that every New Testament use of eirēnē carried the full covenantal weight of shalom for readers familiar with the LXX, which is to say virtually every NT reader and writer.
When Paul writes "grace and peace" in every epistle, he is releasing the full covenantal freight of Hebrew shalom over his readers. When Jesus says "My eirēnē I give you" in John 14:27, He is giving His shalom — wholeness, completeness, nothing missing — not merely a feeling of calm.
When Romans 5:1 says we have eirēnē with God, it means we have shalom with God — the total restoration of wholeness in the relationship between humanity and its Creator.
Where Shalom Appears
Shalom in the Cross-Reference Groups
All Hebrew definitions sourced from Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (BDB), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) #2401, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT), and Strong's Hebrew Concordance (H7965).