Hebrew word · H7607
שְׁאֵר
she'er
flesh
(1) Flesh, meat, food (Exodus 21:10; Psalm 78:20, 27). (2) The body, one's own physical self (Proverbs 5:11 'your flesh and your body'; Micah 3:2–3). (3) Blood-relative, near kin (Leviticus 18:6 'any she'er of his flesh,' 18:12–13; 21:2; 25:49; Numbers 27:11).
Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) flesh, food, body, near kin, near kinswoman
1a) flesh
1a1) as food
1a2) for physical power (fig)
1b) flesh relation, blood relation
1c) self
Also means: sha.a.rah (שַׁאֲרָה "kinswomen" H7608)
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Proverbs 11:17
- Range of meaning
(1) Flesh, meat, food (Exodus 21:10; Psalm 78:20, 27). (2) The body, one's own physical self (Proverbs 5:11 'your flesh and your body'; Micah 3:2–3). (3) Blood-relative, near kin (Leviticus 18:6 'any she'er of his flesh,' 18:12–13; 21:2; 25:49; Numbers 27:11).
- Against the English
KJV, WEB and YLT 'his own flesh.' BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB turn it into 'himself.' That is the obvious meaning given the parallel with 'his own life,' but it hides the possible second sense, 'his own kin.' 'Flesh' can also make a modern reader think of the 'sinful nature' sense Paul gives the Greek sarx, which is not in view here.
- How it drifted
Modern versions smooth the parallel into one reflexive pronoun ('himself'). Older versions keep 'flesh,' which church readers may hear in the later Pauline sense of 'flesh' as the sinful nature.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Kin sense: Leviticus 18:6–17; 20:19; 21:2; Numbers 27:11. Body sense: Proverbs 5:11; Psalm 73:26 'my flesh and my heart.' The Vulgate renders this verse 'propinquos' ('relatives'), taking the kin sense. The LXX has sōma ('body').
- Range of meaning
Flesh or meat as a food (Ps 78:20, 27; Exod 21:10, where it is food owed to a wife; Mic 3:2–3); the body (Prov 5:11; Ps 73:26); a close blood relative, 'one's own flesh' (Lev 18:6, 12–13; 25:49).
- Against the English
KJV 'flesh' is literally correct but sounds strange today, and readers may hear the New Testament sense of 'sinful nature'. Modern versions say 'meat', which is right in this context.
- How it drifted
In Christian English, 'flesh' took on Pauline senses (sarx, human nature opposed to the Spirit). Older English used 'flesh' for meat as food, and that use has mostly died out.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The same psalm answers the request directly: 'He rained meat (she'er) on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas' (78:27). The story behind it is Numbers 11:4, 'Who will give us meat (basar) to eat?', and the quail of Numbers 11:31–34 (compare Exod 16:13).
From the study of Jeremiah 51:35
- Range of meaning
(1) Flesh, meat, food (Exod 21:10, a wife's food; Ps 78:20, 27, meat in the wilderness; Mic 3:2–3, rulers who "eat the flesh of my people"). (2) The body (Prov 5:11; Ps 73:26). (3) A blood relative, close kin (Lev 18:6, 12–13; 20:19; 25:49).
- Against the English
BSB, KJV, WEB and NASB keep "my flesh". ESV takes it as "my kinsmen", so the line refers to relatives. Some versions blend it into "done to us". Each choice brings out one part of the word's range.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Mic 3:2–3 is the closest image: oppressors who strip skin, eat šəʾēr and break bones, picturing exploitation as cannibal feasting. In the Holiness Code (Lev 18) the word is a technical term for near kin.
Where it appears
Exodus · 1
-
Exodus 21:10 שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ food her
If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife.
Leviticus · 6
-
Leviticus 18:6 שְׁאֵ֣ר relative of
None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
-
Leviticus 18:12 שְׁאֵ֥ר [is] a relative of
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
-
Leviticus 18:13 שְׁאֵ֥ר [is] a relative of
You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.
-
Leviticus 20:19 שְׁאֵר֛וֹ relative his
You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity.
-
Leviticus 21:2 לִשְׁאֵר֔וֹ for relative his
except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,
-
Leviticus 25:49 מִשְּׁאֵ֧ר any of [the] relative[s] of
either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
Numbers · 1
-
Numbers 27:11 לִשְׁאֵר֞וֹ to relative his
And if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the next of kin from his clan, that he may take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites, as the LORD has commanded Moses.’”
Psalms · 3
-
Psalm 73:26 שְׁאֵרִ֗י flesh my
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Here: 'My body': the physical self, the outer person. It is a less common, poetic word for flesh (the everyday word is basar). Elsewhere it can mean a close blood relative, but here it plainly means the body.
-
Psalm 78:20 שְׁאֵ֣ר meat
When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
Here: Meat as food: the craving of Numbers 11, answered with quail in Ps 78:27 ('he rained she'er on them like dust'). It has nothing to do with the 'sinful flesh' of later theology.
-
Psalm 78:27 שְׁאֵ֑ר meat
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
Proverbs · 2
-
Proverbs 5:11 וּשְׁאֵרֶֽךָ׃ and body your
At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
-
Proverbs 11:17 שְׁ֝אֵר֗וֹ body his
A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
Here: 'His own flesh.' It parallels 'his own life' in the first line, so it means himself. But elsewhere the word regularly means close blood-relatives (Leviticus 18:6, 12–13; 21:2), so it can also be heard as 'his own kin.' The cruel person harms his own body and his own family.
Jeremiah · 1
-
Jeremiah 51:35 וּשְׁאֵרִי֙ and flesh my
May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” says the dweller of Zion. “May my blood be on the dwellers of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.
Here: "And my flesh": the body, literally the meat. It picks up the eating picture of v. 34, where Nebuchadnezzar ate and swallowed Zion. The same word can also mean close kin, so some read "my kinsfolk".
Micah · 2
-
Micah 3:2 וּשְׁאֵרָ֖ם and flesh their
You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
Here: 'And their flesh.' The word often means flesh as food, meat (Ps 78:20, 27; Exod 21:10), which prepares for v.3, where the leaders 'eat the flesh of my people'. The same word can also mean a blood relative (Lev 18:6). Here it plainly means meat.
-
Micah 3:3 שְׁאֵ֣ר [the] flesh of
You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.