What does שָׁכַם (šākam) mean in the Bible?
שָׁכַם (šākam): Rising early denotes urgent readiness and diligent obedience in pursuing God's will or covenant duties.
Hebrew · H7925
שָׁכַם
Literally, to load up (on the back of man or beast), i.e. to start early in the morning
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שָׁכַם H7925
Pronunciation šākam
What does שָׁכַם (šākam) mean in the Bible?
שָׁכַם (šākam): Rising early denotes urgent readiness and diligent obedience in pursuing God's will or covenant duties.
Full entry for שָׁכַם (H7925) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7925?
The BSB source-word alignment has 65 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Again and again (8), got up (7), got up early (7), again (4), Early (3).
Where does שָׁכַם (šākam) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 19:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (11), 1 Samuel (10), Genesis (8), Judges (8).
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 Again and again 8× 2 Chronicles 36:15, Jeremiah 7:13, Jeremiah 7:25, Jeremiah 11:7
got up 7× Genesis 19:27, Genesis 20:8, Genesis 21:14, Genesis 31:55
got up early 7× Genesis 22:3, Joshua 6:12, Joshua 8:10, Judges 21:4
again 4× Jeremiah 25:3, Jeremiah 25:4, Jeremiah 26:5, Jeremiah 35:15
Early 3× Genesis 28:18, Psalms 127:2, Proverbs 27:14
early in the morning 3× Joshua 8:14, Judges 7:1, 2 Kings 6:15
Get up early 3× Exodus 8:20, Exodus 9:13, 1 Samuel 29:10
they got up 3× Numbers 14:40, Joshua 6:15, 2 Chronicles 20:20
like the early 2× Hosea 6:4, Hosea 13:3
they got up early 2× Judges 19:5, 1 Samuel 1:19
When the people got up 2× 2 Kings 19:35, Isaiah 37:36
And they got up early 1× Genesis 26:31
arose early 1× Joshua 7:16
as soon as 1× 1 Samuel 29:10
But when they got up early 1× 1 Samuel 5:4
Early the next morning 1× 2 Chronicles 29:20
every morning 1× 1 Samuel 17:16
get up 1× Judges 9:33
he got up 1× Exodus 24:4
he got up early 1× Judges 19:8
He rose early 1× Exodus 34:4
Let us go early 1× Song Of Solomon 7:12
rising early 1× Job 1:5
Then you can get up early 1× Judges 19:9
Then you can rise early 1× Genesis 19:2
they arose 1× Exodus 32:6
They got up early in the morning 1× 1 Samuel 9:26
they rose early 1× Zephaniah 3:7
to those who rise early 1× Isaiah 5:11
When [Gideon] arose 1× Judges 6:38
When they got up early 1× 2 Kings 3:22
would get up early 1× 2 Samuel 15:2
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 19:2 וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּ֖ם to Then you can rise early Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural Genesis 19:27 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֥ם to got up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 20:8 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם to got up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 21:14 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם to got up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 22:3 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם to got up early Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 26:31 וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ to And they got up early Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Genesis 28:18 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם to Early Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 31:55 וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם to got up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Exodus 8:20 הַשְׁכֵּ֤ם to Get up early Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular Exodus 9:13 הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם to Get up early Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 19:2
Aligned rows 65
Books represented 17
Genesis 8 Exodus 5 Numbers 1 Joshua 6 Judges 8 1 Samuel 10 2 Samuel 1 2 Kings 3 2 Chronicles 3 Job 1 Psalms 1 Proverbs 1 Song Of Solomon 1 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 11 Hosea 2 Zephaniah 1
Source forms
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם 9x way·yaš·kêm Genesis 20:8, Genesis 22:3, Genesis 28:18, Genesis 31:55
הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם 7x haš·kêm Exodus 9:13, 1 Samuel 17:16, 1 Samuel 29:10, 2 Chronicles 36:15
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ 6x way·yaš·kî·mū Genesis 26:31, Judges 21:4, 2 Kings 3:22, 2 Kings 19:35
הַשְׁכֵּ֥ם 3x haš·kêm Jeremiah 7:25, Jeremiah 11:7, Jeremiah 25:4
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣מוּ 3x way·yaš·ki·mū Numbers 14:40, 1 Samuel 1:19, 1 Samuel 5:4
הַשְׁכֵּ֤ם 2x haš·kêm Exodus 8:20, Jeremiah 7:13
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֥ם 2x way·yaš·kêm Genesis 19:27, Joshua 6:12
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם 2x way·yaš·kêm Genesis 21:14, Exodus 24:4
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 20x Genesis 19:27, Genesis 20:8, Genesis 21:14, Genesis 22:3
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 16x Genesis 26:31, Exodus 32:6, Numbers 14:40, Joshua 6:15
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute 13x 1 Samuel 17:16, 2 Chronicles 36:15, Proverbs 27:14, Jeremiah 7:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural 3x Genesis 19:2, Judges 19:9, 1 Samuel 29:10
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular 3x Exodus 8:20, Exodus 9:13, 1 Samuel 29:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 2x 2 Samuel 15:2, Job 1:5
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural construct 2x Psalms 127:2, Isaiah 5:11
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular 2x Hosea 6:4, Hosea 13:3
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Rising early denotes urgent readiness and diligent obedience in pursuing God's will or covenant duties.
Source Gloss
literally, to load up (on the back of man or beast), i.e. to start early in the morning
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Rising early denotes urgent readiness and diligent obedience in pursuing God's will or covenant duties.
literally, to load up (on the back of man or beast), i.e. to start early in the morning BDB: start Usage: (arise, be up, get (oneself) up, rise up) early (betimes), morning.
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 groups 1 Aligned forms 23
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 23×
Infinitive absolute 1Sam 17:16 · 2Chr 36:15 · Jer 7:13 · Jer 7:25 · Jer 11:7 · Jer 25:3 · Jer 25:4 · Jer 29:19 · Jer 32:33 · Jer 35:14 · Jer 35:15 · Jer 44:4 · Prov 27:14 13×
Participle active Hos 6:4 · Hos 13:3 · Isa 5:11 · Ps 127:2 4×
Sequential imperfect 1Sam 29:10 · Exod 8:16 · Exod 9:13 3×
Imperfect Judg 9:33 1×
Cohortative Song 7:13 1×
Perfect Zeph 3:7 1×
Word Origins
שָׁכַם is built from this root:
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