H7973 H7973
A missile or weapon (javelin, dart); also shoots or sprouts of a plant
From the root shalakh ('to send'), this noun names what is 'sent forth' -- whether a weapon hurled in battle or a shoot sprouting from a plant. Its primary domain is military: Nehemiah's builders each held 'his weapon' while working (Neh 4:17, 23), and the temple guards stood with their 'weapons' in 2 Chronicles 23:10. In Job, the shelakh represents the lethal instrument of death -- 'perishing by the sword/dart' (Job 33:18; 36:12). A beautiful botanical sense emerges in Song of Solomon 4:13, where the beloved's 'shoots' are a paradise of pomegranates, the same 'sending forth' now describing the luxuriant growth of a garden.
Senses
1. weapon, missile — A weapon or missile used in warfare -- javelin, spear, or general armament. In Nehemiah's rebuilding narrative, each worker held his shelakh while laboring (Neh 4:17, 23), and 2 Chronicles 23:10 and 32:5 use the plural for stockpiled weapons. Joel 2:8 describes the locust army: 'they fall upon the shelakh and are not cut off.' Spanish 'armas' and 'las-armas' consistently render the collective military sense. 5×
AR["السِّلاحَ", "السِّلاحِ", "سِلاحُهُ", "سِلاَحُهُ", "سِلَاحًا"]·ben["অস্ত্র", "অস্ত্র-তার", "অস্ত্রের", "তার-অস্ত্র"]·DE["[שלחו]", "der-sandte", "sandte"]·EN["his-weapon", "the-weapon", "the-weapons", "weapon-his", "weapons"]·FR["Schélach", "[השלח]", "[שלחו]", "le-il-a-envoyé"]·heb["ה-שֶׁלַח", "ה-שלח", "שלח", "שלחו-ו"]·HI["उतारता-था-उन्हें", "उसका-हथियार", "हथियार"]·ID["senjata", "senjata-senjata", "senjatanya"]·IT["Shelach", "[השלח]", "[שלחו]"]·jav["gegaman", "gegaman-nipun", "gegamanipun", "senjata"]·KO["그-무기", "그-무기가", "그-무기를", "그의-무기를", "무기를"]·PT["a-arma", "arma-dele", "arma-sua", "armas", "o-arremesso"]·RU["оружие", "оружие-его"]·ES["armas", "el-arma", "las-armas", "su-arma"]·SW["shelach", "silaha", "silaha-yake"]·TR["silahlar", "silahı", "silahın"]·urd["ہتھیار", "ہتھیار-اُس-کا", "ہتھیار-اپنا", "ہتھیار-کے", "ہتھیاروں-کے"]
2. dart, javelin (lethal weapon) — A lethal projectile weapon -- dart, javelin, or sword -- specifically associated with violent death. Job 33:18 warns of a soul 'perishing by the shelakh,' and Job 36:12 echoes the same fatal association. English 'by-the-sword' and Spanish 'por-espada' / 'por-la-espada' interpret the instrument as a killing weapon, distinguishing this from the general armament sense by its mortal context. French 'jet' ('throw') preserves the etymological connection to the root shalakh. 2×
AR["بِ-الرُّمحِ", "بِ-السَّيفِ"]·ben["তরবারিতে", "তলওয়ারে"]·DE["in-sandte"]·EN["by-the-sword"]·FR["dans-jet", "jet"]·heb["ב-שלח"]·HI["तलवार-से"]·ID["dengan-senjata", "oleh-pedang"]·IT["in-da-il-spada", "nel-da-il-spada"]·jav["ing-tombak", "kanthi-tombak"]·KO["창", "창-에"]·PT["pela-espada", "por-espada"]·RU["от-меча", "через-копьё"]·ES["por-espada", "por-la-espada"]·SW["kwa-upanga"]·TR["silaha", "silahla"]·urd["تلوار سے"]
3. shoots, sprouts — Botanical shoots, sprouts, or branches -- what a plant 'sends forth.' Song of Solomon 4:13 uses the 2fs plural construct shelakhayikh: 'your shoots are a paradise of pomegranates,' transforming the martial image of something launched outward into the tender growth of a garden. Spanish 'Tus-renuevos' ('your new growth') and French 'Tes-jets' ('your shoots') both preserve the organic vitality implied by the verbal root. 1×
AR["شْلَحَيِكْ"]·ben["তোমার-অঙ্কুর"]·DE["[שלחיך]"]·EN["your-shoots"]·FR["Tes-jets"]·heb["שלחייך"]·HI["तेरी-शाखाएँ"]·ID["Tunas-tunasmu"]·IT["tuo-shoots-tua"]·jav["Tunas-panjenengan"]·KO["네-싹들-이"]·PT["Teus-renovo"]·RU["Побеги-твои"]·ES["Tus-renuevos"]·SW["machipuko-yako"]·TR["sulergilerin"]·urd["تیرے-پودے"]
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. שֶׁ֫לַח n.[m.] missile, weapon, sprout (late);—abs. שׁ׳ Jo 2:8 +, שָׁ֑לַח Ne 4:11 Jb 33:18, sf. שִׁלְחוֹ Ne 4:17; pl. שְׁלָחִים 2 Ch 23:10, etc.;— 1. missile, weapon, Ne 4:11 and v 17 (where הַמַּיִם corrupt; read probably בִּימִינוֹ or בְּיָדוֹ; v. Ryle Be-Ry Berthol), 2 Ch 23:10 (disting. from חֲנִית, מָגֵן); coll. 32:5 and עָבַר בַּשׁ׳ Jb 33:18; 36:12 (perish by or rush upon [and perish]),…