H8068 H8068
Thorns, briers (collective); adamant, diamond, or flint (a very hard stone)
The noun שָׁמִיר displays one of the most striking semantic splits in biblical Hebrew, naming two entirely different physical realities. In Isaiah's oracles of judgment it denotes thorns and briers — the wild growth that reclaims abandoned vineyards and wasted land (Isa 5:6, 7:23-25, 27:4). In Jeremiah and Ezekiel, however, it refers to an extremely hard mineral — adamant, diamond, or emery — used as a metaphor for permanence and stubbornness: Judah's sin is engraved with an 'adamant point' (Jer 17:1), and God makes the prophet's forehead harder than flint (Ezek 3:9). Whether these represent one word with two meanings or two originally distinct roots remains debated.
Senses
1. thorns, briers — A collective noun for thorns, briers, or thorn-bushes, used exclusively in Isaiah as a symbol of desolation and divine judgment upon unproductive or rebellious land. The vineyard song of Isa 5:6 warns that God will 'command the clouds not to rain upon it,' letting שָׁמִיר וָשַׁיִת ('briers and thorns') overrun the vineyard. The same pair recurs in Isa 7:23-25 (invaders turning cultivated hillsides to waste), Isa 9:18 (wickedness burning like thorns), Isa 10:17 (God's light consuming Israel's thorns), and Isa 27:4 (God marching against briers in battle). Multilingual glosses confirm the botanical reading: Spanish 'espino/espinos,' French 'epine,' German 'Dorn.' 8×
AR["الشَّوكُ", "الشَّوكِ", "الشَّوْكَ", "شَوكًا", "شَوْكَا", "لِلشَّوكِ", "وَ-حَسَكٌ", "وَ-حَسَكَهُ"]·ben["-কাঁটার-জন্য", "আগাছা", "ও-তার-কাঁটাঝোপ", "কাঁটা", "কাঁটাগাছ", "কাঁটার"]·DE["Dorn", "und-Dorn", "zu-Dorn"]·EN["and-its-briers", "brier", "for-the-thorns", "thorns"]·FR["et-épine", "à-épine", "épine"]·heb["ו-שמירו", "ל-שמיר", "שמיר"]·HI["और-कांटों", "कांटा", "कांटे", "कांटे-को", "झाड़ियाँ"]·ID["dan-duri-durinya", "duri", "menjadi-semak-duri", "semak-berduri", "semak-duri"]·IT["e-spina", "spina"]·jav["eri", "kangge-eri", "lan-eri-nipun", "lan-suket-eri"]·KO["가시나무와", "가시와", "그-가시를", "엉경퀴가"]·PT["abrolho", "e-espinheiros-seus", "espinheiro", "para-o-espinheiro"]·RU["волчцы", "для-терна", "и-терн-его", "терн", "терна", "терновник", "терном"]·ES["espino", "espinos", "para-espinos", "y-su-cardo", "zarza"]·SW["miiba", "na-michongoma", "na-miiba-yake", "ya-miiba"]·TR["cali", "diken", "dikene", "dikeni", "dikenin", "ve-dikenini"]·urd["اور-کانٹے", "جھاڑی", "جھاڑیاں", "کانٹوں-کا", "کانٹوں-کے-لیے", "کانٹے"]
2. adamant, diamond, flint — A very hard stone or mineral — identified variously as adamant, diamond, emery, or flint — used metaphorically for extreme hardness and indelibility. In Jer 17:1, Judah's sin is inscribed 'with an iron pen and a diamond point' (בְּצִפֹּרֶן שָׁמִיר), emphasizing its permanence. In Ezek 3:9, God makes the prophet's forehead 'like adamant, harder than flint' (כְּשָׁמִיר חָזָק מִצֹּר), granting him fortitude against rebellious Israel. Zech 7:12 describes the people making their hearts 'like diamond' (שָׁמִיר) to resist God's words. Spanish 'diamante' and English 'diamond/flint' clearly distinguish this mineral sense from the botanical one, while some German and French glosses blur the boundary. 3×
AR["صُلْبًا", "كَـ-الألْماسِ", "مَاسٍ"]·ben["-হীরার-মতো", "হীরা", "হীরার"]·DE["Dorn", "[כשמיר]", "[שמיר]"]·EN["diamond", "like-flint"]·FR["veille", "épine"]·heb["כ-שמיר", "שמיר"]·HI["चकमक-सा", "जैसा-हीरा", "हीरे-की"]·ID["Seperti-berlian", "intan"]·IT["[כשמיר]", "[שמיר]", "spina"]·jav["Kados-intan", "inten;", "watu-keras"]·KO["같이-금강석", "금강석으로", "다이아몬드의"]·PT["Como-diamante", "diamante", "diamante;"]·RU["алмазным", "алмазом", "как-алмаз"]·ES["como-diamante", "diamante"]·SW["almasi", "kama-almasi", "magumu"]·TR["elmas", "gibi"]·urd["مانند-ہیرے-کے", "ہیرے-کی", "ہیرے-کی-طرح"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. שָׁמִיר n.m. Ez 3:9 thorn(s), adamant, flint;—abs. שׁ׳ Is 5:6 +; sf. שְׁמִירוֹ 10:17;— 1. coll. thorns, thorn-bushes, token of waste-land, only Is, + שַׁיִת Is 5:6; 7:23, 24, 25; 27:4; fig. 9:17; 10:17; קוֹץ שׁ׳ 32:13. 2. adamant, as sharp, כְּתוּבָה … בְּצִפֹּרֶן שׁ׳ Je 17:1 (‖ בְּעֵט בַּרְזֶל); as hard, fig. of prophet’s firmness Ez 3:9; Zc 7:12 fig. of hard heart.