שָׁאַל

From the study of Proverbs 20:4

Range of meaning

'To ask, inquire, request', also 'to borrow' (Exod 22:14). With an object it can mean 'to ask for' something. It is used of begging in Ps 109:10 ('let his children wander and beg').

Against the English

KJV/WEB: 'beg'. YLT: 'asketh'. BSB/NIV: 'looks'. ESV: 'will seek'. NASB: 'begs'. These translations split between searching his own field and asking others for help.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 109:10 uses the verb for begging. Exod 22:14 uses it for borrowing. The Septuagint here has 'one who borrows grain at harvest'. The Vulgate has mendicabit, 'he will beg'.

From the study of Psalm 2:8

Range of meaning

To ask a question, to inquire (including asking God for guidance through a priest or oracle), to request, to ask for something, to borrow. With מִן ("from") it means to request something from someone who has the power to give it.

Against the English

English "ask" is accurate. KJV/WEB "ask of me" keeps the "from" of the Hebrew; BSB/NIV "Ask me" is smoother but slightly weakens the sense of something drawn from God's own store.

Used elsewhere in the period

The pairing "ask… give" (shaʾal… natan) is a fixed feature of royal ideology: God to Solomon at Gibeon, "Ask what I shall give you" (1 Kings 3:5; 2 Chronicles 1:7); Psalm 21:4 (Heb. 21:5), "He asked life of you; you gave it to him", using the same verb and preposition; compare Psalm 20:4–5. Kings elsewhere in the ancient Near East likewise addressed petitions to their patron god at accession.

From the study of 1 Kings 3:13

Range of meaning

To ask, request, inquire, or seek a decision (including asking for an oracle). It covers both asking for something and asking about something.

Against the English

'Ask' or 'request' is accurate. What English cannot show is how often the root repeats in this scene.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Kgs 3:5–13 the root forms the backbone of the dream: 'Ask! What shall I give you?' (v. 5); 'because you asked this thing… and did not ask… did not ask… did not ask… but asked' (vv. 10–11). The pattern returns in 2 Chr 1:7–11.