שַׁכּוּל
shak.kul
childless
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analytical Synthesis of H7909 (שַׁכּוּל) The Hebrew word *shakkul* carries the specific meaning of "childless," denoting the condition of being without children. This is not a general term for infertility or barrenness, but rather a direct descriptor of someone's state—having no offspring. The term appears seven times across the biblical text, suggesting it held enough significance to merit repeated use when describing this particular human condition. The limited frequency of occurrence (seven instances) indicates that *shakkul* served a focused purpose in biblical discourse, likely appearing in contexts where the absence of children carried particular emotional, social, or theological weight. The precision of the term—specifically naming childlessness rather than using broader concepts—suggests that in the world of the biblical text, this condition was distinct enough to warrant its own vocabulary. The fact that Hebrew speakers maintained this specific lexical item reveals that childlessness was a recognizable and notable state in ancient Israelite society, whether viewed as a misfortune, a curse, or a circumstance deserving attention in narrative or legal contexts.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences across the text
Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
Song of Solomon 4:2Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock, which have come up from the washing, where every one of them has twins. None is bereaved among them.
Song of Solomon 6:6Your teeth are like a flock of ewes, which have come up from the washing, of which every one has twins; not one is bereaved among them.
Isaiah 49:21Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’ ”
Jeremiah 18:21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become childless and widows. Let their men be killed and their young men struck by the sword in battle.
Hosea 13:8I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animal will tear them.
2 Samuel 17:8Hushai said moreover, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are fierce in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.