Hebrew · The Great Words

Shalom: More Than Peace

Shalom is the Hebrew word usually translated ‘peace’, but it means far more: wholeness and flourishing, a life with nothing missing and nothing broken.

The original word

How the Bible uses it

What it means

English ‘peace’ can mean merely the absence of war or a quiet mind. Shalom is fuller and more physical. It is used for good health, for safe arrival, for a fair set of scales, for a city at rest and a person made whole. To wish someone shalom is to wish their whole life put right, body, relationships, and soul together.

So the biblical hope is not only that fighting would stop but that everything broken would be mended, and every good thing restored. Shalom is the world as it was meant to be.

And Christ

Isaiah names the coming child ‘The Prince of Peace’, the Prince of Shalom, and then shows how peace would come: through the servant wounded for us, ‘the chastisement of our peace was upon him’ (Isaiah 53:5). Christians believe Jesus makes shalom not by ignoring what is wrong but by bearing it, and so he can say, ‘my peace I give unto you’ (John 14:27).

Frequently asked questions

What does shalom mean?

Shalom (Hebrew שָׁלוֹם, Strong's H7965) means peace, but far more than the absence of conflict: wholeness, completeness, welfare, and flourishing, a life with nothing missing and nothing broken.

Is shalom just the absence of war?

No. Shalom includes the end of conflict but reaches much further, to health, safety, right relationships, and a whole life restored. It is the world made the way it was meant to be.

How does Jesus relate to shalom?

Isaiah 9:6 calls the coming child 'The Prince of Peace' (Prince of Shalom), and Isaiah 53:5 says peace comes through the servant wounded for us. Christians believe Jesus makes shalom by bearing what is broken, and gives it: 'my peace I give unto you' (John 14:27).