Safe , i.e. (figuratively) well , happy , friendly ; also (abstractly) welfare , i.e. health, prosperity, peace
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שָׁלוֹם (shālôm) can name peace, welfare, well-being, safety, friendly relations, or a condition in which matters are going well. It appears in ordinary questions about people and livestock, in greetings and farewells, in diplomatic offers, in priestly blessing, in wisdom's ethical instruction, and in prophetic promises and rebukes.
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׁלוֹם (H7965) · Open the biblical lexicon
שָׁלוֹם (shālôm) can name peace, welfare, well-being, safety, friendly relations, or a condition in which matters are going well. It appears in ordinary questions about people and livestock, in greetings and farewells, in diplomatic offers, in priestly blessing, in wisdom's ethical instruction, and in prophetic promises and rebukes.
The BSB source-word alignment has 237 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include peace (57), in peace (32), of peace (18), . . . (11), safely (9).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 15:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (31), Isaiah (29), Psalms (27), 2 Kings (20).
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
שָׁלוֹם (shālôm) can name peace, welfare, well-being, safety, friendly relations, or a condition in which matters are going well. It appears in ordinary questions about people and livestock, in greetings and farewells, in diplomatic offers, in priestly blessing, in wisdom's ethical instruction, and in prophetic promises and rebukes. The English word “peace” is often appropriate, but no single gloss controls every verse. In Genesis 37:14, Jacob asks Joseph to check how his brothers and the flocks are faring. That ordinary welfare use must remain visible beside the noun's richer theological settings.
Numbers 6:26 presents peace as the Lord's gift within the priestly blessing. Deuteronomy 20:10 uses the word in an offer made to a city before battle, reminding readers that political peace language belongs to specific legal and historical settings. Psalm 34:14 commands the worshiper to seek peace and pursue it, making shalom an active ethical concern rather than a private mood. Isaiah 32:17 joins peace to the work of righteousness, so secure order cannot be detached from what is right.
The prophets also guard this word from misuse. Jeremiah 6:14 condemns leaders who say “Peace, peace” while treating the people's wound carelessly. Jeremiah 29:7 commands exiles to seek and pray for the welfare of the city where they have been sent, without pretending displacement is harmless or Babylon is righteous. Micah 5:5 locates hope in the promised ruler who will be peace when an invader enters the land. Across these passages, shalom can describe well-being, public conditions, restored relationships, protection, and hope under God's rule, but the local text always sets the claim.
For Christian readers, this trajectory contributes to the New Testament's teaching about peace with God, reconciliation in Christ, the gospel of peace, and the reign of the Messiah. Those connections must not be used to force contact, silence truthful lament, conceal abuse, or guarantee health and prosperity now. Biblical peace is not appearance management. It is God's good gift, a righteous pursuit, and a hope that exposes counterfeit assurances while sustaining wise protection, truthful repair, prayer, and faithful public care.
H7965 ranges from ordinary welfare and negotiated relations to priestly blessing, righteousness-shaped public order, prophetic exposure of false assurance, faithful labor for a city's good, messianic protection, and actively pursued peace. These representative passages show breadth without turning every occurrence into a complete doctrine of wholeness.
Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,
Jacob sends Joseph to learn how his brothers and the flocks are faring, showing the noun's ordinary welfare register.
May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
The priestly blessing culminates in a petition that the Lord turn toward His people and grant them peace.
When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.
Within Israel's warfare instructions, the approaching army must first extend an offer of peace to the city.
The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
Isaiah's restoration vision makes peace the work of righteousness and connects it with enduring quiet confidence.
They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
Jeremiah condemns the declaration of peace because the people's wound is handled carelessly and the announced condition is not real.
Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Exiles must seek and pray for the host city's welfare because their own communal well-being is bound to its condition.
And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land and tramples our citadels. We will raise against it seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men.
The promised ruler is identified with peace in the setting of invasion, threat, and the need for protective deliverance.
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
The worshiper must turn from evil, do good, and actively seek and pursue peace as a moral vocation.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Completeness and wholeness encompassing physical safety, relational harmony, and covenantal well-being—not mere absence of conflict
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 237 lexical occurrence verses.
False prophets misuse the promise of shalom to secure personal gain, distorting God’s covenant blessings.Isaiah 26:1-6
It signals that the Messiah’s reign restores comprehensive harmony between God and His people.Isaiah 26:12-18
Perfect peace results from steadfast trust in God.Isaiah 32:9-20
Peace is portrayed as divinely ordained, not self-achieved.Isaiah 39:1-8
Describes the lasting result of righteousness.Isaiah 48:17-19
Highlights Hezekiah’s limited perspective regarding future judgment.Isaiah 48:20-22
Describes the abundant covenant blessing of obedience.Isaiah 9:1-7
Clarifies that true peace is covenantal, not automatic.Micah 3:5-8
Peace defines the character of the Messiah’s reign and contrasts with prior turmoil.
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Shalom is most faithfully taught by allowing its ordinary and theological uses to remain together. Genesis 37 shows that it can ask a simple question about welfare. Numbers 6 makes peace a blessing received from the Lord. Deuteronomy uses the noun in the political reality of an offer before battle, while Psalm 34 makes peace something God's people must actively pursue.
Isaiah 32 refuses to separate peace from righteousness, and Jeremiah 6 exposes leaders who use peaceful language to cover a wound they have not treated. Jeremiah 29 calls displaced people to labor and pray for the good of the city where they live, without erasing exile or injustice. Micah 5 then directs hope toward the ruler who will be peace amid invasion. This range corrects both reduction and inflation.
Shalom is more than private calm, but it does not mean total cosmic restoration in every verse. Pastoral application must protect the harmed: Scripture never authorizes churches to name coercion peaceful, force immediate contact, remove prudent boundaries, or substitute religious language for accountability, medical care, trauma-informed support, and lawful protection.
Num.6.26
H7965 is a Hebrew noun with ordinary, relational, political, ethical, and theological uses. Its association with the H7999 word family can provide background about completeness or well-being, but etymology cannot make total wholeness the meaning of every occurrence; syntax and discourse remain decisive.
The New Testament's eirēnē language speaks of peace with God, reconciliation through Christ, resurrection assurance, communal unity, and the gospel of peace. These themes belong to the wider biblical witness, but each Greek passage has its own context and should not automatically receive the full semantic range of H7965.