Bible word study

Shalam (Strong’s H7999): Meaning in the Bible

Shalam (שָׁלַם) is the Hebrew word numbered H7999 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as 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). In the King James Bible it is translated make amends, (make an) end, finish, full, give again.

• Original wordשָׁלַם
• Transliterationshâlam
• Pronunciationshaw-lam'
• Part of speechverb (v)
• Strong’s numberH7999
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. a primitive root;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Shalam appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Shalam (H7999) stands behind 116 English renderings in 107 verses across 25 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Exodus (18), Psalms (17), Isaiah (13).

How the King James Bible renders Shalam, by count

• pay18 of 116 (16 percent)
• peace11 of 116 (9 percent)
• recompense8 of 116 (7 percent)
• restore8 of 116 (7 percent)
• render7 of 116 (6 percent)
• good6 of 116 (5 percent)

Three places to read Shalam

• Genesis 44:4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
• 1 Kings 9:25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
• Proverbs 7:14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Shalam in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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