What does שׂוּם (śûm) mean in the Bible?
H7760 is a broad Hebrew verb for putting, placing, setting, making, or appointing someone or something in a particular relation. The object and context carry much of its force.
Hebrew · H7760
שׂוּם
To put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
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שׂוּםH7760
Pronunciationśûm
What does שׂוּם (śûm) mean in the Bible?
H7760 is a broad Hebrew verb for putting, placing, setting, making, or appointing someone or something in a particular relation. The object and context carry much of its force.
Reader summary
Full entry for שׂוּם (H7760) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7760?
The BSB source-word alignment has 583 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Put (22), set (15), . . . (14), and put (13), I will make (11).
Where does שׂוּם (śûm) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:8. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (54), Exodus (50), Genesis (46), Ezekiel (41).
What This Word Actually Means
H7760 is a broad Hebrew verb for putting, placing, setting, making, or appointing someone or something in a particular relation. The object and context carry much of its force. Exodus 40:29 describes Moses placing the altar where the Lord commanded, so physical location serves ordered worship. First Chronicles 11:25 uses the verb when David appoints Benaiah over his guard, turning placement into entrusted office.
Jeremiah 21:10 speaks of the Lord setting His face against Jerusalem in judgment, where the idiom signals determined opposition rather than a literal movement of God’s face. Zephaniah 3:19 promises that God will appoint praise and fame for people who had been disgraced, making a changed public standing part of restoration. Because the verb ranges widely, it should not be made to mean ordination, destiny, or divine decree in every occurrence.
A passage may concern a physical object, a practical assignment, a fixed intention, or a changed condition. The pastoral doorway is responsible placement: where worship is ordered, whom leaders entrust, what purpose is set, and whether appointed roles serve God’s command, justice, and care rather than personal control.
Passage contextgrammaticalPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
H7760 follows acts of placement from tabernacle furniture to leadership appointment, settled intention, military arrangement, and restored public honor. The recurring question is not merely what is set, but who sets it, for what purpose, and under which authority.
- Exod.40.29
He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord had commanded him.
Moses places the altar at the commanded entrance and performs the offerings there, so location is governed by the Lord’s revealed order rather than ritual improvisation.
- 1Chr.11.25
He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.
David appoints Benaiah over the guard after the Chronicler recounts his valor, showing the verb’s administrative sense without making prowess alone a universal qualification for authority.
- Jer.21.10
For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the Lord. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it with fire.’
The Lord’s set face expresses determined judgment against a city that has resisted His word, and the idiom must be read within Jeremiah’s covenant lawsuit rather than as arbitrary hostility.
- Zeph.3.19
Behold, at that time, I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather the scattered; and I will appoint praise and fame for the disgraced throughout the earth.
God promises to appoint praise and fame for the disgraced as He saves and gathers them, placing public restoration inside a larger act of justice and mercy.
Book contextPassage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItPut22×Genesis 31:37, Genesis 37:34, Genesis 43:22, Genesis 44:2
set15×Exodus 9:5, Deuteronomy 4:44, Judges 7:22, 1 Samuel 10:19
. . .14×Leviticus 2:15, Numbers 16:46, Deuteronomy 17:15, Judges 6:19
and put13×Genesis 44:1, Exodus 4:15, Exodus 17:12, Exodus 40:19
I will make11×Genesis 13:16, Genesis 46:3, Exodus 8:23, Isaiah 28:17
and placed6×Genesis 9:23, Genesis 22:6, Genesis 22:9, Genesis 41:42
He placed6×Genesis 2:8, Exodus 40:29, Exodus 40:30, Judges 6:19
And place5×Exodus 26:35, Deuteronomy 31:26, 1 Kings 18:23, Ezekiel 4:2
and set5×Exodus 2:3, Exodus 19:7, Leviticus 8:9, Leviticus 24:6
make5×Genesis 21:13, Genesis 48:20, Psalms 52:7, Psalms 66:2
placed5×Genesis 4:15, Genesis 24:9, 1 Samuel 19:13, 2 Samuel 8:6
and insert4×Numbers 4:6, Numbers 4:8, Numbers 4:11, Numbers 4:14
Consider carefully4×Haggai 1:5, Haggai 1:7, Haggai 2:18
I have put4×Exodus 4:21, Job 31:24, Isaiah 51:16, Isaiah 59:21
I will establish4×2 Kings 21:7, 2 Chronicles 33:7, Psalms 89:29, Isaiah 66:19
I will make you4×1 Samuel 28:2, Isaiah 41:15, Isaiah 60:15, Zechariah 9:13
I will set4×Psalms 89:25, Isaiah 41:19, Jeremiah 44:11, Jeremiah 49:38
I will turn4×Isaiah 41:18, Isaiah 42:15, Isaiah 42:16, Isaiah 49:11
Set up4×Exodus 40:8, Joshua 8:2, Judges 9:25, Judges 20:29
Take4×Deuteronomy 32:46, 2 Samuel 13:33, Isaiah 42:25, Isaiah 47:7
to put4×Deuteronomy 12:21, Deuteronomy 14:24, 1 Kings 11:36, 1 Kings 14:21
-3×Numbers 16:7, Numbers 16:18, 2 Kings 4:34
and I will make3×Genesis 32:12, Jeremiah 25:12, Micah 4:7
he makes3×Job 41:31, Psalms 147:14, Habakkuk 3:19
he put3×Genesis 28:11, Genesis 33:2, 1 Samuel 17:54
He will make3×Isaiah 51:3, Zephaniah 2:13, Zechariah 10:3
I will put3×2 Kings 19:28, 2 Kings 21:4, Isaiah 37:29
light3×1 Kings 18:23, 1 Kings 18:25
put them3×Genesis 21:14, Genesis 31:34, Genesis 47:6
They put3×1 Samuel 31:10, 2 Kings 10:7, 1 Chronicles 10:10
was placed3×Job 20:4, Haggai 2:15, Zechariah 3:5
You have made us3×Psalms 44:13, Psalms 44:14, Lamentations 3:45
and appointed2×2 Samuel 18:1, Psalms 78:5
And I will provide2×2 Samuel 7:10, 1 Chronicles 17:9
and made2×2 Kings 10:27, Jeremiah 2:7
and make2×Isaiah 50:3, Obadiah 1:4
and put [it]2×Exodus 24:6, 2 Kings 9:13
and puts2×Ezekiel 14:4, Ezekiel 14:7
and reduce2×Job 24:25, Isaiah 41:15
and set it up2×2 Kings 21:7, 2 Chronicles 33:7
Appoint2×Deuteronomy 17:15, 1 Samuel 8:5
appointed him2×2 Samuel 23:23, 1 Chronicles 11:25
bring2×Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 22:8
established2×Genesis 47:26, Jeremiah 33:25
Fasten2×Exodus 28:12, Exodus 28:37
give2×Joshua 7:19, 1 Samuel 2:20
has made2×Deuteronomy 10:22, Psalms 40:4
Have you considered2×Job 1:8, Job 2:3
He has established2×2 Samuel 23:5, Isaiah 42:4
He sets2×Job 5:11, Jeremiah 9:8
He turns2×Psalms 107:33, Psalms 107:35
I have set2×Isaiah 50:7, Jeremiah 21:10
I will make her2×Isaiah 14:23, Hosea 2:3
into2×Isaiah 50:2, Ezekiel 35:4
made2×Exodus 2:14, Daniel 1:8
make me2×Psalms 39:8, Isaiah 3:7
mark out2×Ezekiel 21:19, Ezekiel 21:20
place2×Genesis 6:16, Genesis 24:2
put up2×Exodus 40:21, Jeremiah 31:21
puts2×Numbers 22:38, Numbers 23:12
regard2×Psalms 54:3, Psalms 86:14
set him2×1 Samuel 18:5, 2 Kings 10:3
So they seized2×2 Kings 11:16, 2 Chronicles 23:15
takes2×Isaiah 57:1, Jeremiah 12:11
Then he put2×Genesis 30:36, Leviticus 8:8
They have made2×Jeremiah 12:11, Jeremiah 18:16
to make2×Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 51:29
vvv2×Ezekiel 30:21, Haggai 2:15
will set2×Leviticus 20:5, Obadiah 1:7
You have made2×Isaiah 25:2, Isaiah 57:7
you have set up2×Isaiah 57:8, Jeremiah 11:13
[and] making1×1 Samuel 22:7
[and] reduced1×Psalms 79:1
[and] set it out1×Ezekiel 17:5
[did]1×1 Kings 20:34
[It] was set apart1×1 Samuel 9:24
[Man] puts1×Job 28:3
[Moses] also put1×Leviticus 8:9
[the LORD] made1×Exodus 15:25
[with]1×1 Kings 20:31
accuse1×1 Samuel 22:15
and added1×Leviticus 10:1
and applied1×2 Kings 20:7
and appoint [them]1×1 Samuel 8:11
and assign1×Numbers 4:19
and attach1×Exodus 28:26
and attached them1×Exodus 39:19
and bring1×1 Samuel 11:2
and covered1×Job 29:9
and fastened1×Judges 15:4
and gave1×1 Samuel 18:13
and gave him1×Nehemiah 9:7
and give1×Numbers 6:26
and giving1×Nehemiah 8:8
and hang1×Exodus 40:5
and He charges1×Job 4:18
and he named1×Judges 8:31
and he placed them1×Leviticus 8:26
and He put1×Joshua 24:7
and he set it up1×Genesis 28:18
and he then accuses1×Deuteronomy 22:14
and headed for1×Genesis 31:21
and I have made1×Malachi 1:3
and I put1×Jeremiah 13:2
and I will appoint1×Zephaniah 3:19
and I will appoint them1×Deuteronomy 1:13
and I will destroy1×Micah 1:7
and I will make you1×Haggai 2:23
and I will set1×Jeremiah 43:10
and I will take care of1×Jeremiah 40:4
and increases1×Psalms 107:41
and keep1×Genesis 32:16
and laid1×2 Kings 4:31
and laid [it]1×1 Samuel 19:13
and lay1×Job 5:8
and lay up1×Job 22:22
and let me set1×1 Samuel 28:22
and made him1×Ezekiel 19:5
and made it1×Joshua 8:28
and made them1×2 Kings 13:7
and make him1×Ezekiel 14:8
and make them1×Jeremiah 25:9
and makes her1×Isaiah 62:7
and mount1×Numbers 21:8
and mounted1×Numbers 21:9
and pay attention1×Ezekiel 40:4
and place them1×Leviticus 6:10
and planted1×Ezekiel 17:4
and put [them to work]1×2 Samuel 12:31
and put [them]1×Deuteronomy 26:2
And putting1×2 Samuel 13:19
and recite1×Exodus 17:14
and replace them1×1 Kings 20:24
and replaced with1×1 Samuel 21:6
and set [it]1×1 Samuel 9:24
and set [it] up1×1 Samuel 7:12
and set in place1×Job 38:10
and set up1×Joshua 8:12
and sets it up1×Deuteronomy 27:15
and strap1×Ezekiel 24:17
and take1×Job 13:14
And there I have placed1×2 Chronicles 6:11
And there I have provided1×1 Kings 8:21
and they placed them1×1 Samuel 6:15
and they set up1×Judges 8:33
and they will appoint1×Hosea 1:11
and throw1×Ezekiel 26:12
and to him who rightly orders1×Psalms 50:23
and to make1×2 Samuel 7:23
and to trample them down1×Isaiah 10:6
and wear1×Ruth 3:3
And when I set1×Ezekiel 15:7
and you are to place them1×Deuteronomy 10:2
and you will put them1×Exodus 3:22
Appoint them1×Exodus 18:21
appointed1×Esther 8:2
appointed [Him]1×Job 34:13
are determined1×Jeremiah 42:15
attaching1×Exodus 40:20
attention1×1 Samuel 25:25
be avenged1×Judges 9:24
brings1×Psalms 46:8
brought1×1 Kings 2:19
but have appointed1×Ezekiel 44:8
but He turns it1×Jeremiah 13:16
But require1×Exodus 5:8
by putting1×1 Kings 9:3
Can you put1×Job 41:2
Can you set1×Job 38:33
care1×2 Samuel 18:3
charges1×Job 24:12
David established this1×1 Samuel 30:25
decided1×2 Kings 12:17
dispatches1×Job 37:15
disregarded1×Exodus 9:21
exacted1×2 Kings 18:14
examine1×Job 34:23
Fix1×Deuteronomy 11:18
fixed1×Job 38:5
formed1×Job 1:17
gave1×Exodus 4:11
gave them1×Daniel 1:7
Give [me]1×Job 17:3
grabbed1×Judges 4:21
had1×Ezra 10:44
had appointed1×2 Samuel 17:25
had appointed him1×1 Chronicles 26:10
had set1×Exodus 5:14
had set me1×Song Of Solomon 6:12
had stationed1×2 Kings 10:24
harbor1×Job 36:13
has accused her1×Deuteronomy 22:17
has made me1×Genesis 45:9
has ordained it1×Numbers 24:23
has planned this1×2 Samuel 13:32
has turned1×Isaiah 21:4
have made1×Psalms 91:9
have resolved1×Jeremiah 44:12
have them recite1×Deuteronomy 31:19
have You made me1×Job 7:20
He also placed1×Exodus 40:24
He also stationed1×2 Chronicles 33:14
he appointed1×1 Samuel 8:1
he established1×Joshua 24:25
he gave1×Daniel 1:7
He had brought1×Exodus 8:12
he had placed1×Genesis 28:18
He has made you1×1 Kings 10:9
He has pitched1×Psalms 19:4
He left me1×Lamentations 3:11
He made1×Isaiah 49:2
He made him1×Psalms 105:21
He made Me1×Isaiah 49:2
He ordained it1×Psalms 81:5
He performed1×Psalms 78:43
He plants1×Isaiah 28:25
He preserves1×Psalms 66:9
He puts1×Job 33:11
he set up1×1 Kings 12:29
He took1×1 Samuel 19:5
He were to set1×Job 34:14
He will appoint1×1 Samuel 8:12
He will resolve1×Daniel 11:17
he will set1×Deuteronomy 33:10
here and put1×Joshua 10:24
How could I treat1×Hosea 11:8
I am setting1×Amos 7:8
I bestowed1×Ezekiel 16:14
I have made1×Genesis 27:37
I have not made1×1 Kings 19:2
I have set up1×Genesis 28:22
I inflicted1×Exodus 15:26
I lay1×Ezekiel 39:21
I made1×Job 39:6
I place1×Job 40:4
I risked1×Judges 12:3
I took1×1 Samuel 28:21
I will appoint1×Isaiah 60:17
I will bring them1×Micah 2:12
I will fix1×Amos 9:4
I will give you1×Micah 4:13
I will keep1×Jeremiah 24:6
I will make him1×Genesis 21:18
I will make it1×Ezekiel 21:27
I will make it like1×Amos 8:10
I will place it1×Isaiah 51:23
I will prepare1×Nahum 1:14
I will put you1×Exodus 33:22
If you lay1×Job 41:8
imposed1×Esther 10:1
in which to put1×2 Chronicles 12:13
is laid1×Micah 5:1
is made1×Isaiah 53:10
is set1×Numbers 24:21
is the One who set1×Isaiah 63:11
is to fasten1×Exodus 32:27
It has laid1×Joel 1:7
It will make1×Jeremiah 10:22
lay1×Deuteronomy 7:15
Let them give1×Isaiah 42:12
Let them put1×Zechariah 3:5
Let us set1×Deuteronomy 17:14
made him1×Judges 11:11
makes1×Exodus 4:11
making1×Psalms 104:3
may consider1×Isaiah 41:20
Moses placed1×Exodus 40:26
not take1×2 Samuel 19:19
or shave1×Deuteronomy 14:1
organized1×1 Samuel 11:11
pay attention1×Ezekiel 44:5
Pile1×2 Kings 10:8
place them1×Jeremiah 40:10
placed [garrisons]1×1 Chronicles 18:6
positioned1×Exodus 40:18
posted1×2 Kings 11:18
preserving1×2 Samuel 14:7
Putting1×Judges 18:21
resolve1×Jeremiah 42:17
sent up1×Ezekiel 20:28
Serve1×Genesis 43:31
Set me1×Song Of Solomon 8:6
set out the branches1×Genesis 30:42
set your blade1×Ezekiel 21:16
She loaded them1×1 Samuel 25:18
she poured it out1×Ezekiel 24:7
since I established1×Isaiah 44:7
So [the Egyptians] appointed1×Exodus 1:11
So he placed1×Esther 2:17
So he put1×Genesis 48:20
So I put1×Genesis 24:47
So I will make them1×Hosea 2:12
So she painted1×2 Kings 9:30
so that I can see1×Genesis 44:21
so that we may reflect on1×Isaiah 41:22
so that you made1×Isaiah 51:23
So they set up1×Judges 18:31
So they shall put1×Numbers 6:27
So they stationed themselves1×1 Kings 20:12
someone would appoint me1×2 Samuel 15:4
steadily1×2 Kings 8:11
take [it]1×Malachi 2:2
take [note]1×Job 23:6
Take careful note1×Ezekiel 44:5
take this1×Isaiah 57:11
Take your positions1×1 Kings 20:12
taking1×Malachi 2:2
that they should put1×Psalms 78:7
that turned1×Exodus 14:21
that You have laid1×Numbers 11:11
Then he put [them]1×Judges 16:3
Then he put up1×Exodus 40:28
then I will appoint1×Exodus 21:13
Then lay1×2 Kings 4:29
Then she placed1×Exodus 2:3
Then they fastened1×Exodus 39:7
Then they piled [the branches]1×Judges 9:49
Then they put1×1 Samuel 6:11
Therefore I will make1×Micah 1:6
They brought it1×Isaiah 23:13
they had set1×Judges 20:36
They have placed1×Jeremiah 32:34
they have put [these things]1×Joshua 7:11
They have set up1×Jeremiah 7:30
They have turned1×Job 17:12
they have unfurled1×Psalms 74:4
They made1×Zechariah 7:12
they made me1×Song Of Solomon 1:6
they opposed1×1 Samuel 15:2
They performed1×Psalms 105:27
they pressed1×Judges 1:28
They repay me1×Psalms 109:5
They separately served1×Genesis 43:32
they set1×2 Samuel 12:20
they should have put1×Genesis 40:15
they transformed1×Ezekiel 7:20
They will array themselves1×Ezekiel 23:24
they will not care1×2 Samuel 18:3
They will put1×Micah 7:16
They will seize1×1 Kings 20:6
Think it over1×Judges 19:30
Thus they turned1×Zechariah 7:14
to avenge1×1 Kings 2:5
to console1×Isaiah 61:3
to direct1×Ezekiel 21:22
to establish1×Deuteronomy 12:5
to lay1×Jeremiah 4:7
to place1×Habakkuk 2:9
to prepare1×Psalms 85:13
to preserve1×Genesis 45:7
told1×2 Samuel 14:19
took1×1 Samuel 21:12
was [in Gibeon]1×2 Chronicles 1:5
we have made1×Isaiah 28:15
were placed1×Joshua 10:27
were stationed1×Joshua 8:13
When he makes1×Isaiah 27:9
when He set1×Proverbs 8:29
when I made1×Job 38:9
when I performed1×Exodus 10:2
where he is to set up1×Ezekiel 21:22
which I have set1×Ezekiel 5:5
which you had set1×Ezekiel 23:41
who has made me1×Genesis 45:8
who made1×Isaiah 51:10
who makes1×Jeremiah 17:5
who replace1×Isaiah 5:20
who turn1×Isaiah 5:20
who turned1×Isaiah 14:17
whom He named1×2 Kings 17:34
will float them1×1 Kings 5:9
will make1×Zechariah 12:2
worry1×1 Samuel 9:20
would place1×Genesis 30:41
yet they make1×Proverbs 30:26
you are not to charge1×Exodus 22:25
you are to appoint1×Deuteronomy 17:15
you are to set1×Exodus 21:1
you end1×Job 18:2
You have appointed them1×Habakkuk 1:12
you have laid1×Ezekiel 11:7
You have made me1×Psalms 18:43
You have reduced1×Psalms 89:40
You laid1×Psalms 66:11
You made1×1 Chronicles 17:21
You make us1×Psalms 80:6
you may set up1×1 Kings 20:34
You must keep me under1×Job 7:12
You performed1×Jeremiah 32:20
You put1×Job 13:27
You set1×Psalms 104:9
You showed them1×Isaiah 47:6
you to set1×1 Samuel 9:23
you will set1×Joshua 6:18
You would put1×2 Chronicles 6:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 2:8וַיָּ֣שֶׂםtoHe placedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 4:15וַיָּ֨שֶׂםtoplacedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 6:16תָּשִׂ֑יםtoplaceVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singularGenesis 9:23וַיָּשִׂ֙ימוּ֙toand placedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralGenesis 13:16וְשַׂמְתִּ֥יtoI will makeConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singularGenesis 21:13אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּtomakeVerb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singularGenesis 21:14שָׂ֧םtoput themVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularGenesis 21:18אֲשִׂימֶֽנּוּ׃toI will make himVerb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singularGenesis 22:6וַיָּ֙שֶׂם֙toand placedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 22:9וַיָּ֤שֶׂםtoand placedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 2:8
Aligned rows583
Books represented37
Genesis46Exodus50Leviticus11Numbers20Deuteronomy24Joshua12Judges21Ruth11 Samuel352 Samuel211 Kings262 Kings261 Chronicles72 Chronicles10Ezra2Nehemiah2Esther4Job40Psalms36Proverbs3Song Of Solomon3Isaiah54Jeremiah37Lamentations2Ezekiel41Daniel4Hosea4Joel1Amos3Obadiah2Micah8Nahum2Habakkuk3Zephaniah2Haggai7Zechariah10Malachi3
Source forms
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם17xway·yā·śemGenesis 28:18, Genesis 31:21, Genesis 37:34, Genesis 48:20
וַיָּ֤שֶׂם15xway·yā·śemGenesis 22:9, Genesis 24:9, Exodus 40:24, Judges 20:29
שָׂ֣ם13xśāmGenesis 28:18, Exodus 4:11, Deuteronomy 4:44, Judges 6:19
וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ10xway·yā·śî·mūGenesis 43:32, Exodus 17:12, Leviticus 9:20, Leviticus 10:1
וַיָּ֨שֶׂם10xway·yā·śemGenesis 4:15, Leviticus 8:9, Joshua 8:12, Joshua 24:7
שָׂ֥ם10xśāmGenesis 43:22, Exodus 8:12, Exodus 15:25, 1 Samuel 15:2
וַיָּ֣שֶׂם9xway·yā·śemGenesis 2:8, Genesis 47:26, Exodus 19:7, Exodus 39:7
וַיָּ֧שֶׂם9xway·yā·śemGenesis 33:2, Numbers 23:5, 1 Samuel 8:1, 1 Samuel 21:12
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular84xGenesis 2:8, Genesis 4:15, Genesis 22:6, Genesis 22:9
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural35xGenesis 9:23, Genesis 43:32, Exodus 1:11, Exodus 17:12
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular32xGenesis 28:18, Genesis 43:22, Exodus 4:11, Exodus 8:12
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular26xGenesis 13:16, Genesis 32:12, Exodus 8:23, Exodus 21:13
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct25xGenesis 45:7, Numbers 11:11, Deuteronomy 12:5, Deuteronomy 12:21
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular24xGenesis 24:2, Genesis 31:37, Genesis 47:29, Genesis 48:18
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular22xGenesis 30:42, Exodus 4:11, Leviticus 5:11, Numbers 22:38
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular21xExodus 15:26, 1 Kings 18:23, 1 Kings 19:2, 2 Kings 21:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Evaluate placements and appointments by their stated purpose, faithfulness, accountability, and effect on people rather than by status alone.
- Use divine-setting language carefully around trauma or institutional harm; do not assign God’s endorsement where Scripture has not spoken.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H7760 proves every leader, officeholder, or circumstance was directly and permanently appointed by God.
- Do not claim that the verb has one theological meaning; its force changes with agent, object, construction, and narrative purpose.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Fundamental verb of causation and positioning: to place, assign, or establish something in a particular state or role.
Strong'sH7760
Lexical occurrences586 versesWord forms2 forms223 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJeremiah 39:11-14Source Gloss
to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms223
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense221×
Perfect1Kgs 20:34 · 1Sam 15:2 · 1Sam 17:54 · 2Chr 1:5 · 2Kgs 10:24 · 2Kgs 17:34 · 2Sam 8:14 · 2Sam 14:19 · 2Sam 17:25 · 2Sam 23:5 · Deut 4:44 · Deut 22:17 · Exod 4:11 · Exod 8:8 · Exod 9:21 · Exod 15:2577×
Imperfect1Sam 22:7 · Exod 4:11 · Ezek 14:4 · Ezek 14:7 · Gen 30:42 · Isa 42:4 · Isa 42:25 · Isa 62:7 · Jer 9:7 · Job 4:18 · Job 19:8 · Job 23:6 · Job 24:12 · Job 24:15 · Job 34:14 · Job 34:2377×
Sequential imperfect1Sam 9:23 · 1Sam 9:24 · 2Kgs 6:22 · Ezek 6:2 · Ezek 13:17 · Ezek 21:2 · Ezek 21:7 · Ezek 21:24 · Ezek 25:2 · Ezek 28:21 · Ezek 29:2 · Ezek 35:2 · Ezek 38:2 · Ezek 44:5 · Gen 24:2 · Gen 31:3740×
Participle activeAmos 7:8 · Gen 21:14 · Isa 5:20 · Isa 57:1 · Jer 12:11 · Jer 44:11 · Job 28:3 · Mal 2:2 · Zech 12:210×
Jussive1Sam 2:20 · 1Sam 22:15 · 1Sam 25:25 · 2Sam 13:33 · Job 33:11 · 1Sam 9:20 · Zech 3:57×
Infinitive construct2Sam 14:7 · Hag 2:15 · Job 20:44×
Participle passive2Sam 13:32 · Obad 1:42×
Infinitive absoluteDeut 17:15 · Jer 42:152×
Cohortative1Kgs 20:31 · Deut 17:142×
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action2×
Sequential imperfectEzek 21:211×
Participle activeJob 4:201×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to charge or appoint someone with a task or responsibility
to ordain or determine a course of action, divine purpose
to place or position something before someone as temptation
to establish or ordain laws and commandments
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 586 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שׂוּם is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H7760 is common precisely because putting and setting are basic human and divine actions, yet its breadth requires careful reading. In the tabernacle scene, Moses does not choose a convenient spot; he places the altar within a revealed order and acts as commanded. David’s appointment of Benaiah concerns a real office and responsibility, not a mystical label detached from governance.
Jeremiah’s idiom of a set face communicates settled judgment after persistent covenant rebellion, warning readers against sentimentalizing God’s opposition to evil. Zephaniah turns the verb toward restoration: people marked by disgrace will receive praise and fame when God saves the vulnerable and gathers the scattered. These movements keep placement from becoming morally neutral.
Locations can order worship or display power. Appointments can entrust service or entrench control. Settled intentions can uphold justice or resist correction. Changed public standing can restore those whom communities have shamed. Teachers should therefore avoid preaching the verb as a guarantee that every existing position was divinely assigned. The text must name the agent and purpose.
Faithful application asks whether a placement answers God’s instruction, remains accountable, protects people, and participates in truth and restoration.
Anchor passage
Exod.40.29
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 40:29 joins physical placement to obedient worship under the Lord’s detailed tabernacle instruction.
- First Chronicles 11:25 uses appointment language for entrusted protection within David’s administration and narrated military setting.
- Jeremiah 21:10 makes a set face an idiom of determined covenant judgment against persistent rebellion and injustice.
- Zephaniah 3:19 uses changed placement and reputation within God’s promise to save, gather, and honor the disgraced.
- Biblical vocation involves calling, character, community, gifts, and accountability; H7760 by itself cannot prove a permanent divine appointment.
- Responsible institutions should distinguish God’s authority from their own placements and keep every human assignment open to truthful evaluation.
H7760 is a high-frequency verb whose English rendering changes with its object and construction. A person may be appointed, an object placed, a face set, or a condition made; lexical breadth makes syntax and idiom indispensable to interpretation.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament also speaks of placing members in Christ’s body, appointing servants, setting one’s mind, and receiving a new standing. Those themes can illuminate responsible placement, but each uses its own vocabulary and context; H7760 supplies an Old Testament pattern rather than a direct lexical bridge.
Canonical parallelPastoral application