שֶׁ֫לֶג
she.leg
snow
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word שֶׁ֫לֶג (she.leg) is a fundamental concept related to the physical world, specifically referring to "snow." This word appears 20 times throughout the Bible, emphasizing its significance in Hebrew thought. The occurrences of שֶׁ֫לֶג span various biblical contexts, including descriptions of natural scenery, agricultural seasons, and weather phenomena. Its usage suggests that snow was an ordinary and recognizable part of the ancient Near Eastern climate. Interestingly, the word's meaning is directly related to its transliteration, "snow." The frequency and spread of occurrences indicate that snow played an important role in the lives and experiences of ancient Hebrew people, highlighting its significance in their worldviews and cultural imagination.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
20 total occurrences across the text
Which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.
Job 9:30If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
Job 24:19Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.
Job 37:6For he says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the shower of rain, and to the showers of his mighty rain.
Job 38:22Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
Psalms 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalms 147:16He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.
Psalms 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
Proverbs 25:13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
Proverbs 26:1Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
Isaiah 1:18“Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 55:10For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it grow and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
Jeremiah 18:14Will the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? Will the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?
Lamentations 4:7Her nobles were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was like sapphire.
Proverbs 31:21She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Exodus 4:6Yahweh said furthermore to him, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
Numbers 12:10The cloud departed from over the Tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
2 Samuel 23:20Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit in a time of snow.
2 Kings 5:27Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.” He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
1 Chronicles 11:22Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.