H7496 H7496
Shades or spirits of the dead, the ghostly inhabitants of Sheol in wisdom and prophetic literature.
A haunting plural noun designating the 'shades' -- the weakened, powerless spirits of the dead dwelling in Sheol. The word appears in some of the most evocative passages about death and the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible. In Proverbs, the house of the forbidden woman leads down to the rephaim (Prov 2:18; 9:18), while Job asks whether the shades tremble beneath the waters (Job 26:5). Isaiah uses the term both for the mocking welcome of a fallen tyrant in Sheol (Isa 14:9) and for God's promise of resurrection (Isa 26:19). Spanish 'los muertos,' French 'ombre/ombres,' and German 'Totengeister' all capture the ghostly, diminished quality these figures embody.
Senses
1. shades, departed spirits — The shades or departed spirits inhabiting Sheol, conceived as feeble, shadow-like remnants of the living. Etymologically connected to a root suggesting weakness or sinking down, the term portrays the dead as powerless beings in an underworld existence. Key passages include Job 26:5, where the rephaim tremble beneath the waters; Proverbs 2:18 and 9:18, where they haunt the path of folly leading to death; Psalm 88:10, questioning whether shades can praise God; and Isaiah 14:9, where they rise to greet a fallen king. The German 'Totengeister' (death-spirits) and Spanish 'los muertos' both reflect this sense of diminished post-mortem existence. 8×
AR["الأَرْوَاحَ", "الأَرْوَاحُ", "الأَرْوَاحِ", "الأَمْواتِ", "الرَّفائيمُ"]·ben["-মৃতাত্মারা", "প্রেতদের", "প্রেতরা", "প্রেতাত্মারা", "মৃত", "মৃতদের"]·DE["Totengeister", "[הרפאים]", "[רפאים]", "der-departed-spirits"]·EN["dead", "shades", "the-Rephaim", "the-departed-spirits", "the-shades"]·FR["le-ombre", "ombre", "ombres"]·heb["ה-רפאים", "רפאים"]·HI["प्रेतात्माएं", "प्रेतात्माओं-को", "मृतक", "मृतकों-की", "मृतकों-की-आत्माएँ", "रपाईमों-को", "रफाइम"]·ID["orang-orang-mati", "roh-orang-mati", "roh-roh-orang-mati"]·IT["[רפאים]", "dead", "il-departed-spirits", "il-il-Rephaim", "spiriti-dei-morti"]·jav["arwah", "memedi", "roh-pati", "roh-pejah", "roh-roh", "tiyang-pejah"]·KO["레파임-들-이", "레파임들을", "레파임이", "영들을", "영들이", "좽은-자-들", "좽은-자-들-이", "죽은-자들-의"]·PT["Os-refains", "mortos", "os-mortos", "os-refaim", "sombras"]·RU["мертвецы", "мёртвых", "рефаим", "рефаимам -", "рефаимы", "тени"]·ES["Los-Refaim", "a-los-refaim", "los-muertos", "muertos", "refaim", "sombras"]·SW["Wafu", "la-wafu", "mizimu", "roho-za-wafu", "wafu"]·TR["Refaim", "Refaim'i", "Refaimler", "oluleri", "ruhlar", "ölüler", "ölülere", "ölülerin"]·urd["ارواح", "روحیں", "مردوں-کی", "مردہ-رُوحوں-کو", "مردہ-رُوحیں", "مُردے"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. רְפָאִים n.m. Jb 26:5 pl. shades, ghosts (by most connected with above √, as sunken, powerless, ones, StaG. i. 420; Ph. רפאם);—Wisd. lit. and late, name of dead in Sheʾôl, c. art. הָר׳ Jb 26:5, elsewhere nearly = n.pr.: ר׳ Is 14:9 (in Sheʾôl), 26:14 (‖ מֵתִים), ψ 88:11 (‖ id.), Pr 2:18 (‖ מָוֶת), 9:18 (in עִמְקֵי שְׁאוֹל), קְחַל רְפָאִים 21:16; of righteous Isr. Is 26:19 earth shall cast forth ר׳ (‖ מֵתֶיךָ).