שְׁפָט

𐤔𐤐𐤈

shâphaṭ

judge

To judge, to decide or render a verdict, to exercise authority in making legal or moral decisions. In the Hebrew Bible, שָׁפַט (shâphaṭ) denotes the official or communal act of rendering judgments or arbitral decisions between parties, often implying both the resolution of disputes and the broader functions of governance, administration of justice, maintenance of order, and, at times, military leadership. Used both of legal judgments and of the wider activity of rule or governance among ancient Israelites.

H8199

Proverbs 31:9 · Word #3

Lexicon H8199

Lemmaשָׁפַט
Lemma (Paleo)𐤔𐤐𐤈
Transliterationshâphaṭ
Strong'sH8199
DefinitionTo judge, to decide or render a verdict, to exercise authority in making legal or moral decisions. In the Hebrew Bible, שָׁפַט (shâphaṭ) denotes the official or communal act of rendering judgments or arbitral decisions between parties, often implying both the resolution of disputes and the broader functions of governance, administration of justice, maintenance of order, and, at times, military leadership. Used both of legal judgments and of the wider activity of rule or governance among ancient Israelites.

Morphology HVqv2ms All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan q — Qal — Simple active
Conjugation v — Imperative — A command
Person 2 — 2nd person — Second person ("you")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular

Common Translation

Phrasejudge

SIBI-P1 Translation H8199-25

Render judgment!

Morphological NotesVerb, Qal stem, imperative, 2nd person masculine singular.
Rendering RationaleThe Qal imperative 2nd masculine singular calls a single male to perform the act of judging. "Render judgment!" preserves the authoritative, legal sense inherent in the root שפט rather than a vague notion of evaluation.

View full lexicon entry for H8199 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

judge

Same as P1No — adjusted for context
RationaleThe imperative verb is best rendered simply as 'judge' to command action, rather than the nominal phrase 'Render judgment!'.