Lexical Summary
sha'a': To delight, to play, to be merry, to be blinded
Original Word:שָׁעַע
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:sha`a`
Pronunciation:shah-ah'
Phonetic Spelling:(shaw-ah')
KJV: cry (out) (by confusion with H7768), dandle, delight (self), play, shut
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. (in a good acceptation) to look upon (with complacency), i.e. fondle, please or amuse (self)
2. (in a bad one) to look about (in dismay), i.e. stare
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cry out
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 -- cry (out) (by confusion withshava'), dandle, delight (self), play, shut.
see HEBREWshava'
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. [] (Aramaic
smear (akin to id.),
to
smooth,
smooth (of words),
flattering,
smooth (compare also
,
smear over, close up); —
Imperative +
Imperative masculine pluralIsaiah 29:9blind yourselves and be blind ! ("" ); > Buhl , √look about (2 Samuel 22:42);Isaiah 32:3 read probably 3 feminine plural , of eyes,be blinded (see ).
Imperative masculine singularIsaiah 6:10and its eyes besmear ! — So perhapsPsalm 39:14 ( omitted) was intended by Masoretes (but wrongly, see Ol and others); see .
II. [] , etc., (usually made = I.smooth over, please; Buhl compare Aramaic
, Ithpe`elsport, trifle, Vulgar Arabic
(loan-word ?) VollersZMG xiv (1891), 86, 1. 3); —
Perfect3masculine singular consecutiveIsaiah 29:9 the sucklingshall sport on () the cobra's hole; 1 singularPsalm 119:70I take delight in thy law (accusative; but ? read ,Psalm 119:77);Imperfect transitive 3 masculine pluralPsalm 94:19 thy consolationsdelight my soul (accusative).
Imperfect2masculine plural Isaiah 66:12 upon () the kneesshall ye be fondled.
Imperfect1singularPsalm 119:16 in () thy statuteswill I delight myself, comparePsalm 119:47.
Topical Lexicon
Semantic range and nuancesThe verb שָׁעַע (Strong’s 8173) moves along two complementary axes: (1) positive delight, soothing, or playful ease; (2) self-inflicted dullness that deadens spiritual perception. In all nine occurrences the context makes plain which shade is intended, but the author’s choice of this single root subtly invites readers to ponder how genuine delight in the Lord can be counterfeited by a numbing preoccupation with lesser things.
Occurrences in worship and wisdom (Psalms)
Psalm 94:19; 119:16, 47, 70. In the Psalter the verb always speaks of wholesome delight born of intimate communion with God.
•Psalm 94:19: “When anxiety overwhelms me, Your comfort delights my soul”. Divine consolations stroke the believer’s inner life the way a mother calms a fretful infant.
•Psalm 119:16, 47, 70: The psalmist repeatedly “delights” in the statutes, commandments, and law of the LORD. Here שָׁעַע identifies Scripture itself as the playground of the soul; true pleasure flows from submission to God’s revealed will. The triple repetition in one psalm reinforces that delight is not occasional enthusiasm but a settled habit.
Isaiah: from dullness to restored play
Six occurrences appear in Isaiah’s prophecy, and they fall into two distinct clusters.
1.Isaiah 6:10; 29:9 (twice). In the oracles of judgment the people “shut their eyes” or “blind themselves and be sightless.” The same verb that celebrates delight in the Psalms now describes the suicidal act of turning away from the light. The blindness is self-chosen, yet it serves God’s judicial purpose (Isaiah 6:9–10;Romans 11:8).
2.Isaiah 11:8; 66:12. In the section of messianic hope the verb reverts to its tender nuance.
•Isaiah 11:8: “The infant will play by the cobra’s den.” Under the reign of the Davidic Branch creation is so thoroughly pacified that a child may frolic where danger once lurked.
•Isaiah 66:12: “You will… be carried on her arm and bounced on her knee.” The restored Jerusalem becomes a nurturing mother whose children are soothed and dandled.
This literary strategy traces a redemptive arc: Israel’s self-inflicted blindness (שָׁעַע of judgment) is overcome by God’s future salvation that re-opens the possibility of unthreatened play (שָׁעַע of delight).
Theological synthesis
1. Delight in divine revelation. The psalmist’s use of שָׁעַע underscores that joy is inseparable from obedience; Scripture is not merely informative but delightful.
2. The danger of spiritual anesthesia. Isaiah shows that the same capacity for delight can be twisted into willful dullness. When hearts refuse truth, the result is a narcotic blindness that invites judgment.
3. Eschatological restoration. The promise that children will “play” with once-deadly creatures (Isaiah 11:8) and be “bounced on the knee” (Isaiah 66:12) portrays the final kingdom as the fullest expression of Shalom—where wholesome delight is both safe and eternal.
Pastoral and ministry applications
• Cultivating biblical pleasure. Regular, meditative engagement with God’s word trains believers to find satisfaction in what delights God, counteracting the hollow allurements of the age (Psalm 119:16, 70).
• Warning against self-induced blindness. Rejection of revealed truth does not leave the soul neutral; it produces a deadening effect that darkens perception (Isaiah 29:9;Hebrews 3:13). Preaching must therefore expose the subtlety of this blindness and call hearers to repentance.
• Nurturing environments of holy play. In family, church, and community, leaders should aim to model the tenderness ofIsaiah 66:12, creating spaces where the weak can rest securely and joyfully under Christ’s reign.
Intercanonical echoes
Jesus’s repeated appeal “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” mirrors Isaiah’s contrast between dullness and delight. Paul citesIsaiah 6:10 inActs 28:26–27 to explain Jewish unbelief, yet also proclaims that the gospel restores sight and joy (2 Corinthians 3:14–16).Revelation 21:3–4 completes the trajectory: all tears wiped away, the children of God at last free to delight forever in the unveiled presence of the Lamb.
In sum, שָׁעַע invites every generation to embrace the only delight that can outlast anxiety, judgment, and death—the consoling, law-saturated, Christ-centered joy that flows from the heart of God Himself.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶֽשְׁתַּעֲשָׁ֑ע אשתעשע הִשְׁתַּֽעַשְׁע֖וּ הָשַׁ֑ע השע השתעשעו וְאֶשְׁתַּֽעֲשַׁ֥ע וְשִֽׁעֲשַׁ֥ע וָשֹׁ֑עוּ ואשתעשע ושעו ושעשע יְֽשַׁעַשְׁע֥וּ ישעשעו שִֽׁעֲשָֽׁעְתִּי׃ שעשעתי׃ תְּשָׁעֳשָֽׁעוּ׃ תשעשעו׃ ’eš·ta·‘ă·šā‘ ’ešta‘ăšā‘ eshtaaSha hā·ša‘ hāša‘ haSha hiš·ta·‘aš·‘ū hishtaashU hišta‘aš‘ū ShiaShaeti ši‘ăšā‘ətî ši·‘ă·šā·‘ə·tî tə·šā·‘o·šā·‘ū təšā‘ošā‘ū teshooShau vaShou veeshtaaSha veshiaSha wā·šō·‘ū wāšō‘ū wə’ešta‘ăša‘ wə·’eš·ta·‘ă·ša‘ wə·ši·‘ă·ša‘ wəši‘ăša‘ yə·ša·‘aš·‘ū yəša‘aš‘ū yeshaashU
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