H8076 H8076
Desolate, laid waste; describes a state of ruin or abandonment, used of land, sanctuaries, and persons left bereft.
A Qal participle of the root shamem, depicting something or someone in a condition of desolation and ruin. The word appears in contexts of both physical devastation and emotional abandonment. In Jeremiah 12:11, the land itself mourns because it lies desolate, while in Lamentations 1:13 and 3:11, the term describes a person left stunned and bereft. Spanish and French translations (desolada, désolation) reflect the same breadth, capturing both the geographical wasteland and the inner human devastation. The participial form lends an ongoing, descriptive quality -- the desolation is not a single event but an enduring state.
Senses
1. desolate, laid waste — Describing a condition of desolation, ruin, or abandonment, whether applied to places (sanctuaries, land) or persons left bereft and stunned. In 2 Samuel 13:20, Tamar remains 'desolate' in her brother's house -- a personal devastation. In Jeremiah 12:11, the land lies desolate because no one takes it to heart. Multilingual evidence converges uniformly: Spanish desolada, French désolation, German Verwüstung all reflect the same semantic range of physical and emotional ruin. 6×
AR["الْخَرِبِ", "خَرِبًا", "خَرِبَةً", "وَخارِبَةً", "ٱلْمُقْفِرَاتِ"]·ben["-ধ্বংসপ্রাপ্ত", "এবং-একাকী", "জনশূন্য"]·DE["Oede", "Verwuestung", "[השמם]", "[השממות]", "und-desolate", "verwuestet"]·EN["and-desolate", "desolate", "the-desolate"]·FR["[שמם]", "désolation", "désolé", "et-désolé"]·heb["ה-שומם", "ה-שוממות", "ו-שוממה", "שומם", "שוממה", "שממה"]·HI["उजड़ी-हुई", "उजड़े-हुए", "और-उजड़ी", "वीरान"]·ID["dan-sunyi-senyap", "sunyi", "sunyi-senyap", "yang-sunyi"]·IT["[השמם]", "[השממות]", "desolazione", "e-desolate", "il-loro-nome"]·jav["ingkang-risak", "ingkang-sepi", "lan-sepi", "sepi", "suwung"]·KO["그-황폐한", "그리고-황폐한", "황폐된", "황폐한-자-로", "황폐함을"]·PT["as-desoladas", "desolada", "desolada;", "desolado", "e-desolada"]·RU["и-опустошённая", "опустевшей", "опустевшим", "опустошённая", "опустошённым"]·ES["desolada", "desolado", "el-desolado", "las-desoladas", "y-desolada"]·SW["na-ukiwa", "palipo-ukiwa", "ukiwa", "yaliyoachwa"]·TR["harap-olan", "ve-ıssız", "viran", "ıssız"]·urd["اور-ویران", "ویران"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שָׁמֵם adj. devastated;—שׁ׳ of sanctuary Dn 9:17; f. שְׁמֵמָה of land Je 12:11.