Lexical Summary
meshammah: Desolation, waste, horror
Original Word:מְשַׁמָּה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:mshammah
Pronunciation:meh-sham-mah
Phonetic Spelling:(mesh-am-maw')
KJV: astonishment, desolate
NASB:waste, desolate, object of horror
Word Origin:[fromH8074 (שָׁמֵם - desolate)]
1. a waste or amazement
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
astonishment, desolate
Fromshamem; a waste or amazement -- astonishment, desolate.
see HEBREWshamem
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
shamemDefinitiondevastation, waste, horror
NASB Translationdesolate (2), object of horror (1), waste (4).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
= : — absolute
=devastation, waste,Ezekiel 6:14;Ezekiel 33:28, compareEzekiel 33:29;Ezekiel 35:3, +Ezekiel 35:7a, see ; pluralIsaiah 15:16 =Jeremiah 48:34.
horror,Ezekiel 5:15.
see . see .
Topical Lexicon
מְשַׁמָּה (Strong’s Hebrew 4923)
Overview of Biblical Usage
Appearing seven times in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the term captures the shock, devastation, and eerie silence that follow divine judgment. More than physical ruin, it describes the emotional and spiritual appallment that overtakes peoples and places when the LORD confronts sin.
Prophetic Contexts
1. Judgment on Moab –Isaiah 15:6;Jeremiah 48:34
“For even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate” (Jeremiah 48:34). Once-fertile springs turn into symbols of hopelessness, showing that prideful security collapses under God’s verdict.
2. Judgment on Jerusalem –Ezekiel 5:15; 6:14; 33:28-29
“So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you” (Ezekiel 5:15). Israel’s holy calling makes her disobedience more grievous; the resulting horror is designed to drive both Israel and the nations to acknowledge the LORD.
3. Judgment on Edom –Ezekiel 35:3
“I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste”. Edom’s perpetual hostility meets the same standard of justice applied to Israel, underscoring God’s impartial rule.
Historical Setting
The word surfaces during the turbulent eighth-to-sixth centuries B.C., a period marked by Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns. Archaeological layers of burned cities and abandoned fields corroborate the scene of widespread desolation evoked by the prophets.
Theological Themes
• Holiness and Justice – Desolation manifests God’s intolerance of persistent rebellion.
• Covenant Discipline – For Israel, horror intends repentance and eventual restoration.
• Universal Sovereignty – Neighboring nations fall under the same righteous scrutiny.
• Hope Beyond Ruin – Passages that speak of מְשַׁמָּה are often followed by promises of renewal (compareEzekiel 36:35), affirming that judgment is not God’s final word.
Literary Features and Intertextual Echoes
Usually paired with words such as “reproach,” “taunt,” and “astonishment,” the term heightens the impact of prophetic laments: withered grass (Isaiah 15:6), dried waterways (Jeremiah 48:34), and deserted mountains (Ezekiel 33:28). These images move the audience from intellectual acknowledgment to visceral alarm.
Ministry Significance
• Sin’s corporate reach warns modern communities that collective rebellion invites collective consequences.
• Divine warnings are gifts; responding in repentance averts catastrophe.
• The cross answers the horror: Christ endured ultimate desolation so that believers might inherit restoration, turning prophetic terror into gospel hope.
Eschatological Resonance
Revelation mirrors these themes as it portrays the final fall of Babylon and the astonishment of onlookers. מְשַׁמָּה foreshadows the ultimate reckoning and simultaneously amplifies the glory of the new creation where desolation is no more.
Forms and Transliterations
וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה וּמְשַׁמָּֽה׃ וּמְשַׁמָּה֙ ומשמה ומשמה׃ לִמְשַׁמּ֖וֹת למשמות מְשַׁמּ֣וֹת משמות lim·šam·mō·wṯ limšammōwṯ limshamMot mə·šam·mō·wṯ məšammōwṯ meshamMot ū·mə·šam·māh ūməšammāh umeshamMah
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