What does שְׂחוֹק (sechoq) mean in the Bible?
שְׂחוֹק (sechoq): Laughter that ranges from innocent joy to hostile mockery; often signals social derision or defiant contempt.
Hebrew · H7814
שְׂחוֹק
Laughter (in merriment or defiance)
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שְׂחוֹק H7814
Pronunciation sechoq
What does שְׂחוֹק (sechoq) mean in the Bible?
שְׂחוֹק (sechoq): Laughter that ranges from innocent joy to hostile mockery; often signals social derision or defiant contempt.
Full entry for שְׂחוֹק (H7814) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7814?
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a laughingstock (4), an object of ridicule (1), delights (1), for laughter (1), in laughter (1).
Where does שְׂחוֹק (sechoq) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Job 8:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Ecclesiastes (4), Jeremiah (4), Job (3), Proverbs (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It a laughingstock 4× Job 12:4, Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah 48:26, Lamentations 3:14
an object of ridicule 1× Jeremiah 48:39
delights 1× Proverbs 10:23
for laughter 1× Ecclesiastes 10:19
in laughter 1× Proverbs 14:13
is a laughingstock 1× Job 12:4
is the laughter 1× Ecclesiastes 7:6
laughter 1× Job 8:21
object of ridicule 1× Jeremiah 48:27
of laughter 1× Ecclesiastes 2:2
than laughter 1× Ecclesiastes 7:3
with laughter 1× Psalms 126:2
Show sample aligned rows
Job 8:21 שְׂח֣וֹק to laughter Noun - masculine singular Job 12:4 שְׂחֹ֤ק to a laughingstock Noun - masculine singular construct Job 12:4 שְׂ֝ח֗וֹק to is a laughingstock Noun - masculine singular Psalms 126:2 שְׂח֡וֹק to with laughter Noun - masculine singular Proverbs 10:23 כִּשְׂח֣וֹק to delights Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular Proverbs 14:13 בִּשְׂח֥וֹק to in laughter Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Ecclesiastes 2:2 לִשְׂח֖וֹק to of laughter Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular Ecclesiastes 7:3 מִשְּׂחֹ֑ק to than laughter Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular Ecclesiastes 7:6 שְׂחֹ֣ק to is the laughter Noun - masculine singular construct Ecclesiastes 10:19 לִשְׂחוֹק֙ to for laughter Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Job 8:21
Aligned rows 15
Books represented 6
Job 3 Psalms 1 Proverbs 2 Ecclesiastes 4 Jeremiah 4 Lamentations 1
Source forms
לִשְׂחוֹק֙ 2x liś·ḥō·wq Ecclesiastes 10:19, Jeremiah 20:7
בִּשְׂח֥וֹק 1x biś·ḥō·wq Proverbs 14:13
הַשְּׂחֹ֗ק 1x haś·śə·ḥōq Jeremiah 48:27
כִּשְׂח֣וֹק 1x kiś·ḥō·wq Proverbs 10:23
לִשְׂח֖וֹק 1x liś·ḥō·wq Ecclesiastes 2:2
לִשְׂחֹ֖ק 1x liś·ḥōq Jeremiah 48:26
לִשְׂחֹ֥ק 1x liś·ḥōq Jeremiah 48:39
מִשְּׂחֹ֑ק 1x miś·śə·ḥōq Ecclesiastes 7:3
Parsing patterns
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular 5x Ecclesiastes 2:2, Ecclesiastes 10:19, Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah 48:26
Noun - masculine singular 4x Job 8:21, Job 12:4, Psalms 126:2, Lamentations 3:14
Noun - masculine singular construct 2x Job 12:4, Ecclesiastes 7:6
Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Jeremiah 48:27
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular 1x Proverbs 14:13
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular 1x Proverbs 10:23
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular 1x Ecclesiastes 7:3
Evidence Summary
Revelation
Hebrew word. Laughter that ranges from innocent joy to hostile mockery; often signals social derision or defiant contempt.
Source Gloss
laughter (in merriment or defiance)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Laughter that ranges from innocent joy to hostile mockery; often signals social derision or defiant contempt.
laughter (in merriment or defiance) BDB: laughter Usage: derision, laughter(-ed to scorn, -ing), mocked, sport.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
laughter, amusement, or entertainment
Showing 1 selected witness from 15 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שְׂחוֹק is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The word suggests that the fool treats wrongdoing as entertainment rather than something serious. Proverbs 10:23
Canonical Themes
Revelation
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.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain