שָׁלַג
𐤔𐤋𐤂
shâlag
H7949 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To be white, especially with reference to a color as pure and bright as freshly-fallen snow. The verb can denote a state of being brilliantly or dazzlingly white, typically used as a poetic or metaphorical description rather than referring to color in general. In the Hebrew Bible, it occurs with the imagery of snow, often connoting purity, transformation, or cleansing.
Semantic Range
to become white as snow, to be made white (in terms of moral/spiritual or ritual transformation), to shine with the whiteness of snow, to be brilliantly white
Root / Etymology
Root: שׁ־ל־ג (שָׁלַג), a denominative verb deriving from the noun שֶׁלֶג (sheleg, 'snow'), itself meaning 'snow'. The verb's core meaning is adopted from the characteristic whiteness of snow, and is not attested outside poetic or figurative usage in biblical Hebrew.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שָׁלַג (shâlag) is rarely used and always in conjunction with snow imagery. Its use is restricted to poetic passages (e.g., Psalm 51:9; Isaiah 1:18; Daniel 7:9), where it serves as a vivid metaphor for purity or cleansing, contrasting sin, impurity, or agedness. In Israelite poetry, white objects (especially snow, which is rare in the region) served as a touchstone for descriptions of extreme brightness, purity, or transformative change. Although later translations sometimes equate the result with a 'white' or 'pure' state in a general sense, the biblical nuance is more specific, drawing directly on the whiteness and fleeting appearance of actual snow for metaphorical effect. The verb is denominative, limited in scope, and does not function in ordinary color descriptions, but rather in vivid or ritual-implicating metaphors.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; properly, meaning to be white; used only as denominative from שֶׁלֶג; to be snow-white (with the linen clothing of the slain); be as snow.
Bantu Hebrew
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שלג (sh-l-g) — to be white like snow, to be dazzlingly white
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H7950 | שֶׁלֶג | the snow |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7949-01 |
תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג | tasheleg | HVhi3fs |
it-snows | she will make snow-white | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7949-01 |
Psalms 68:15 | תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג | tasheleg | HVhi3fs |
it-snows | she will make snow-white |