שָׁלָל75 H7998
Spoil, plunder, or booty — goods seized by force in war, including livestock, garments, precious metals, and captives.
Shalal is the Hebrew Bible's primary term for the material proceeds of military victory — everything stripped from a defeated enemy or captured city. It encompasses garments and gold (Josh 7:21), flocks and herds (1 Sam 30:20), fabrics and women (Judg 5:30), and even entire populations taken as captives (Deut 20:14). The word appears in some of Scripture's most vivid passages: Benjamin devouring prey like a wolf and dividing the spoil (Gen 49:27), and the prophetic name Maher-shalal-hash-baz ('swift is the spoil,' Isa 8:1-3), which turns plunder into eschatological sign. Spanish botin, French butin, and German Beute all converge on 'war spoils,' with no secondary sense emerging across languages.
Senses
1. spoil, plunder, booty — Goods, property, and persons seized by force in warfare — garments, precious metals, livestock, and captives (Gen 49:27; Deut 20:14; Josh 7:21; 1 Sam 30:20). Often paired with baz as a near-synonym. The prophetic name Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isa 8:1-3) elevates the noun into eschatological symbol. All target languages use a single war-spoils term — Spanish botin, French butin, German Beute. 74×
AR["السَّلْبِ", "الغَنيمَةَ", "الغَنِيمَةِ", "سَلبَ", "سَلَبًا", "غَنيمَةً", "غَنيمَةٍ", "غَنِيمَةً", "غَنِيمَةٌ", "غَنِيمَةٍ"]·ben["-লুটের", "লুট", "লুটকে", "লুটের-মাল", "লুন্ঠন", "লুন্ঠনের।"]·DE["Beute", "Raub", "[שלל]", "der-Beute", "der-spoil", "pluendern", "spoil"]·EN["of-spoil", "plunder", "spoil", "spoil-of", "the-spoil"]·FR["butin", "le-butin", "piller"]·heb["ה-שלל", "שלל"]·HI["लूट", "लोओत"]·ID["jarahan", "rampasan"]·IT["bottino", "il-bottino", "saccheggiare", "spoil"]·jav["ing-jarahan", "jarahan", "rampasan", "rayahan"]·KO["그-전리품", "그-전리품과", "그-전리품을", "노획물을", "약탈물", "약탈물을", "약탈물이", "전리품", "전리품-을", "전리품을", "탈취물을"]·PT["despojo", "despojo-de", "despójo;", "grande", "o-despojo", "saque"]·RU["грабёж", "добычей", "добычи", "добычу"]·ES["botín", "botín-de", "despojo", "despojos", "el-botín", "el-despojo", "saqueo"]·SW["mali-hizo", "mateka", "nyanda", "nyara", "za-"]·TR["-ganimet", "-yağmayı", "ganimet", "ganimeti", "ganimetleri", "yağma", "yağmayı"]·urd["غنیمت", "لوٹ"]
Gen 49:27, Exod 15:9, Num 31:11, Num 31:12, Deut 2:35, Deut 3:7, Deut 13:16, Deut 13:16, Deut 20:14, Deut 20:14, Josh 8:2, Josh 8:27 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)H6743b 1. prosper, succeed (intransitive) (40×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שָׁלָל75 n.m. 1 S 30:16 prey, spoil, plunder, booty;—abs. שׁ׳ Gn 49:27 +; cstr. שְׁלַל Ju 5:30 +, sf. שְׁלָלֵךְ Zc 14:1, שְׁלַלְכֶם Is 33:4, etc.;— †1. prey, of Benj. as wolf Gn 49:27 (poem in J; c. חִלֵּק). 2. booty, spoil of war, of all kinds (often ‖ בַּז): incl. garments, gold and silver Jos 7:21 (J), ornaments Ju 8:24, 25, fabrics and women 5:30 a, b, flocks and herds 1 S 30:20; Je 49:32; 2…