שָׁכַן
sha.khan
to dwell
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word שָׁכַן (sha.khan) is defined as "to dwell." This verb is found 129 times in the Bible, indicating its significant importance in the Hebrew text. Its semantic domain is Construction & Crafts, suggesting that it is often used in contexts related to building, settling, or inhabiting a place. In its primary sense, sha.khan implies a sense of permanence and stability, as it describes the act of dwelling or residing in a location. This can range from a physical structure, such as a house or a city, to a more abstract sense of dwelling in a particular state or condition. The word's frequency in the Bible suggests that it is a fundamental concept in Hebrew thought, perhaps reflecting the importance of home, community, and belonging in ancient Israelite culture. The significance of sha.khan lies in its ability to convey a sense of rootedness and continuity. When used in the context of God's relationship with his people, sha.khan can imply a deep and abiding presence, as seen in the phrase "I will dwell among them" (e.g., Leviticus 26:11-12). This concept is central to the Hebrew understanding of God's nature and his relationship with humanity, highlighting the importance of dwelling, presence, and connection in the biblical narrative.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
129 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.’
Genesis 49:13“Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.
Job 3:5Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own. Let a cloud dwell on it. Let all that makes black the day terrify it.
Job 4:19How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth!
Job 11:14If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away. Don’t let unrighteousness dwell in your tents.
Job 15:28He has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabited, which were ready to become heaps.
Job 18:15There will dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur will be scattered on his habitation.
Job 29:25I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners.
Job 30:6So that they dwell in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
Psalms 68:18You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among people, yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there.
Job 37:8Then the animals take cover, and remain in their dens.
Job 38:19“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
Job 39:28On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
Psalms 78:60so that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men,
Psalms 7:5let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust.
Psalms 15:1Yahweh, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill?
Psalms 16:9Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.
Psalms 37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
Psalms 37:27Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.
Psalms 37:29The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
Psalms 55:6I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.
Psalms 65:4Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
Psalms 68:6God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
Psalms 69:36The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.
Psalms 74:2Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived.
Psalms 85:9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
Psalms 94:17Unless Yahweh had been my help, my soul would have soon lived in silence.
Psalms 102:28The children of your servants will continue. Their offspring will be established before you.”
Psalms 104:12The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
Psalms 120:5Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Psalms 120:6My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.
Psalms 135:21Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
Psalms 139:9If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Proverbs 1:33But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Proverbs 2:21For the upright will dwell in the land. The perfect will remain in it.
Proverbs 7:11She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.
Proverbs 8:12“I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 10:30The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.
Isaiah 8:18Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
Isaiah 13:20It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
Isaiah 13:21But wild animals of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of jackals. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will frolic there.
Isaiah 18:3All you inhabitants of the world, and you dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, look! When the trumpet is blown, listen!
Isaiah 26:19Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
Isaiah 32:16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness will remain in the fruitful field.
Isaiah 33:5Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Isaiah 33:16he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
Isaiah 34:11But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it. The owl and the raven will dwell in it. He will stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
Isaiah 34:17He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever. From generation to generation they will dwell in it.
Isaiah 57:15For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.