To be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively, to be (causatively, make ) completed ; by implication, to be friendly ; by extension, to reciprocate (in various applications)
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שָׁלַם (shalam) is the verbal root from which שָׁלוֹם (shalom, H7965) derives. Where shalom is the noun (peace, completeness, wholeness), shalam is the verb: to be complete, to be at peace, to make whole, to pay back or make restitution.
Reader summary
Full entry for שָׁלַם (H7999) · Open the biblical lexicon
שָׁלַם (shalam) is the verbal root from which שָׁלוֹם (shalom, H7965) derives. Where shalom is the noun (peace, completeness, wholeness), shalam is the verb: to be complete, to be at peace, to make whole, to pay back or make restitution.
The BSB source-word alignment has 116 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (6), I will fulfill (5), repay (4), he must make restitution (3), I will repay (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 44:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (18), Psalms (17), Isaiah (13), Job (11).
שָׁלַם (shalam) is the verbal root from which שָׁלוֹם (shalom, H7965) derives. Where shalom is the noun (peace, completeness, wholeness), shalam is the verb: to be complete, to be at peace, to make whole, to pay back or make restitution.
The word's range is illuminating. In the Qal stem, shalam means to be safe, to be complete, to be at peace — the state of wholeness and soundness. In the Piel stem, it means to make good, to restore, to pay what is owed — restitution is the relational form of completion. To 'shalam' a debt is to make things whole again. To 'shalam' a covenant is to fulfill it completely.
The pastoral significance of shalam is that it reveals what shalom actually means. Peace in the biblical sense is not the absence of conflict (a thin, negative definition) but the presence of completeness — every relationship functioning as it was designed to, every debt paid, every wound healed, every brokenness restored. The verb form shows us that shalom is not a static condition but an achieved wholeness — something completed, restored, and made right.
Shalam's verbal range — completeness, restitution, peacemaking — is the theological grammar of shalom. Peace in the OT is not a mood but a state: the state of things being as they should be. Every shalam in the legal codes (paying back what was taken) is a small enactment of the cosmic shalom that YHWH is working toward: a creation fully restored, every wrong made right, every relationship functioning as designed.
The cross is the ultimate shalam — the Servant pays what we owe, completes what we could not finish, and establishes the shalom that only a fully paid account can create.
Shalam moves from legal restitution (Exodus tort law) through covenantal wholeness (the shalom of right relationship with YHWH and neighbor) to the Servant's accomplishment of shalom through suffering (Isa 53:5) to the NT's gospel of peace (Rom 5:1, 'justified by faith, we have peace with God'). The trajectory is: shalam as paying what is owed, completing what was broken, restoring what was lost — culminating in the atonement where all debts are settled and all brokenness made whole in Christ.
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.
Hebrew word. Wholeness encompassing safety, completion, and peace; foundational to covenant restoration and reciprocal obligation
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 116 lexical occurrence verses.
שָׁלַם is a primitive root - no further derivation.
The completion emphasizes God’s faithfulness in bringing covenant restoration to a decisive milestone. Nehemiah 6:15-19
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Shalam opens the theology of peace as completeness rather than calm. When the congregation hears 'peace' they often think of emotional tranquility or the absence of conflict. Shalam corrects this: peace is the state of things being whole — relationships repaired, debts settled, wounds healed, creation functioning as God designed. Preaching from shalam texts allows the congregation to see that the gospel is not about helping people feel peaceful but about actually making things right.
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