What does שֵׁכָר (šēkār) mean in the Bible?
שֵׁכָר (šēkār): Intoxicating drink distinguished from wine by its potency and capacity to produce drunkenness; often negatively framed in moral/religious contexts
Hebrew · H7941
שֵׁכָר
An intoxicant , i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor
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שֵׁכָר H7941
Pronunciation šēkār
What does שֵׁכָר (šēkār) mean in the Bible?
שֵׁכָר (šēkār): Intoxicating drink distinguished from wine by its potency and capacity to produce drunkenness; often negatively framed in moral/religious contexts
Full entry for שֵׁכָר (H7941) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7941?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include strong drink (8), or strong drink (6), from strong drink (3), and strong drink (2), . . . (1).
Where does שֵׁכָר (šēkār) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 10:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (8), Judges (3), Numbers (3), Proverbs (3).
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 strong drink 8× Deuteronomy 14:26, Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 31:4, Proverbs 31:6
or strong drink 6× Leviticus 10:9, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4, Judges 13:7
from strong drink 3× Isaiah 28:7, Isaiah 29:9
and strong drink 2× Numbers 6:3, Micah 2:11
. . . 1× Psalms 69:12
[or] strong drink 1× Numbers 6:3
of fermented drink 1× Numbers 28:7
the strong drink 1× Isaiah 56:12
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 10:9 וְשֵׁכָ֞ר to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Numbers 6:3 וְשֵׁכָר֙ to and strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Numbers 6:3 שֵׁכָ֖ר to [or] strong drink Noun - masculine singular Numbers 28:7 שֵׁכָ֖ר to of fermented drink Noun - masculine singular Deuteronomy 14:26 וּבַשֵּׁכָ֔ר to strong drink Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Deuteronomy 29:6 וְשֵׁכָ֖ר to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Judges 13:4 וְשֵׁכָ֑ר to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Judges 13:7 וְשֵׁכָ֗ר to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Judges 13:14 וְשֵׁכָר֙ to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 1:15 וְשֵׁכָ֖ר to or strong drink Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Leviticus 10:9
Aligned rows 23
Books represented 9
Leviticus 1 Numbers 3 Deuteronomy 2 Judges 3 1 Samuel 1 Psalms 1 Proverbs 3 Isaiah 8 Micah 1
Source forms
שֵׁכָֽר׃ 4x šê·ḵār Psalms 69:12, Proverbs 31:4, Isaiah 5:22, Isaiah 29:9
שֵׁכָ֖ר 3x šê·ḵār Numbers 6:3, Numbers 28:7, Isaiah 24:9
וְשֵׁכָר֙ 2x wə·šê·ḵār Numbers 6:3, Judges 13:14
וְשֵׁכָ֖ר 2x wə·šê·ḵār Deuteronomy 29:6, 1 Samuel 1:15
שֵׁכָ֑ר 2x šê·ḵār Proverbs 20:1, Isaiah 56:12
שֵׁכָ֣ר 2x šê·ḵār Proverbs 31:6, Isaiah 5:11
בַשֵּׁכָ֜ר 1x ḇaš·šê·ḵār Isaiah 28:7
הַשֵּׁכָ֔ר 1x haš·šê·ḵār Isaiah 28:7
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 11x Numbers 6:3, Numbers 28:7, Psalms 69:12, Proverbs 20:1
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 7x Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 14:26, Isaiah 28:7
Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 28:7
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Micah 2:11
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 28:7
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Intoxicating drink distinguished from wine by its potency and capacity to produce drunkenness; often negatively framed in moral/religious contexts
Source Gloss
an intoxicant , i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Intoxicating drink distinguished from wine by its potency and capacity to produce drunkenness; often negatively framed in moral/religious contexts
an intoxicant, i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor BDB: intoxicating drink Usage: strong drink, drunkard, strong wine.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Intoxicating beverage prohibited for priests during temple service
Intoxicating liquor personified as mocker, warning against its consumption
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שֵׁכָר is built from this root:
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
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