Understanding the Meaning of Shalom and How to Use It in Hebrew

Israelite men greeting each other.

The Hebrew word שָׁלֹ֥ום , pronounced “shalom” is one of the most recognizable Hebrew words in the entire language. The word is a noun that shows up 236 times throughout the Old Testament and is often translated as: peace, welfare, safe, prosperity, and/or wellness. People across the world know what this word means even if they don’t speak Hebrew, but that does not mean there are not hidden gems surrounding this term.

We begin our journey in Judges 6:23. The biblical Hebrew as represented in the Westminster Leningrad codex reads:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לֹ֧ו יְהוָ֛ה שָׁלֹ֥ום לְךָ֖ אַל־תִּירָ֑א לֹ֖א תָּמֽוּת

 The English Standard Version (ESV) translate this sentence as: “But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.’”

The King James Version (KJV) translates this sentence as: “And the Lord said to him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.”

What is important to understand here is that the word שָׁלֹ֥ום is a noun. It is not an interjection. An interjection is how we would say “hello” or “greetings” in English. However, in the Hebrew mindset remember that love is an action, and most of the language is grounded in concrete actions/objects. Therefore, people would generally pronounce peace to a person when approaching them – a form of displaying love or care. Think about that, instead of simply saying hello, we would pronounce peace upon the person (Luke 10:5-9).

Instead of simply saying “shalom” here, The Most High says, שָׁלֹ֥ום לְךָ֖, “shalom leka” which translates as, peace unto you. This would be the proper way to tell someone peace when greeting them, or when departing from them. (Another example can be found in 1 Sam 25:5-6)

To pronounce this phrase in the lashawan dialect, we would pronounce this as, “Shalawam laka”.