שָׁסָה
sha.sah
to plunder
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word שָׁסָה (sha.sah), designated by Strong's number H8154, carries the meaning of "to plunder" within the context of warfare and conflict. Its short definition directly conveys the verb's core significance, suggesting an action of taking or seizing goods, property, or spoils from an enemy or a conquered territory. The word's range of usage is notable as it appears 11 times in the Hebrew Bible. This frequent occurrence indicates its importance in describing various military encounters, such as battles between nations or conflicts within a kingdom. The specific contexts where shaft is used reveal its connection to plundering, pillaging, and spoils of war. The significance of sha.sah lies in its clear and direct representation of the consequences of conflict. In its 11 occurrences, the word serves as a concrete, tangible expression of the brutal and often devastating reality of warfare. It conveys the physical and material results of military engagements, which can have far-reaching implications for those involved, including displacement, loss, and trauma. Through sha.sah, the biblical text provides a striking, unvarnished portrayal of war's violent and destructive nature.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
11 total occurrences across the text
You make us turn back from the adversary. Those who hate us take plunder for themselves.
Isaiah 10:13For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding. I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.
Isaiah 17:14At evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.
Isaiah 42:22But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become captives, and no one delivers, and a plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore them!’
Jeremiah 50:11“Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;
Hosea 13:15Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
Judges 2:14Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
Judges 2:16Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.
1 Samuel 14:48He did valiantly, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
1 Samuel 23:1David was told, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing floors.”
2 Kings 17:20Yahweh rejected all the offspring of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hands of raiders, until he had cast them out of his sight.