שָׁעַע shâʻaʻ — (in a good acceptation) to look upon (with complacency), i.e. fondle, please or amuse (self)

pronounced shaw-ah' · Strong's H8173 · 9 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 5 stems: Pilpel, Hitpalpel, Hiph'il, Qal (Pa'al), Polpal

Translated in the KJV as cry, dandle, delight, play, shut.

a primitive root; (in a good acceptation) to look upon (with complacency), i.e. fondle, please or amuse (self); (in a bad one) to look about (in dismay), i.e. stare.

shâʻaʻ in each stem

Pilpel 3×

Intensive · active — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it

Imperfect (yiqtol) 1Perfect (qatal) 1Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1

יְֽשַׁעַשְׁע֥וּ Ps 94:19 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine plural

In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. (KJV)

שִֽׁעֲשָֽׁעְתִּי Ps 119:70 Perfect (qatal), 1st person common singular

Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law. (KJV)

וְשִֽׁעֲשַׁ֥ע Isa 11:8 Sequential perfect (weqatal), 3rd person masculine singular

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. (KJV)

Hitpalpel 3×

Intensive · reflexive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it to or for themselves

Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Imperative 1

אֶֽשְׁתַּעֲשָׁ֑ע Ps 119:16 Imperfect (yiqtol), 1st person common singular

I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. (KJV)

וְאֶשְׁתַּֽעֲשַׁ֥ע Ps 119:47 Imperfect (yiqtol), 1st person common singular

And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. (KJV)

הִשְׁתַּֽעַשְׁע֖וּ Isa 29:9 Imperative, 2nd person masculine plural

Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. (KJV)

Hiph'il 1×

Causative · active — causing someone or something to do the action; the subject does it

Imperative 1

הָשַׁ֑ע Isa 6:10 Imperative, 2nd person masculine singular

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (KJV)

Qal (Pa'al) 1×

Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it

Imperative 1

וָשֹׁ֑עוּ Isa 29:9 Imperative, 2nd person masculine plural

Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. (KJV)

Polpal 1×

Intensive · passive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject has it done to them

Imperfect (yiqtol) 1

תְּשָׁעֳשָֽׁעוּ Isa 66:12 Imperfect (yiqtol), 2nd person masculine plural

For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

Open in Hebrew Explorer with Verb Anatomy on →

In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. shâʻaʻ in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

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