Hebrew word · H7697

שִׁגָּעוֹן

veshiga'on

madness

Madness, frenzy, wild and irrational behaviour. The related verb (shaga') means 'to be mad' or 'to act like a madman', and the participle meshugga' means 'a madman'. That participle is the source of the Yiddish loanword meshuga.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

madness

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 Deuteronomy 28:28

Range of meaning

Madness, frenzy, wild and irrational behaviour. The related verb (shaga') means 'to be mad' or 'to act like a madman', and the participle meshugga' means 'a madman'. That participle is the source of the Yiddish loanword meshuga. The word describes how someone behaves, raving and out of control, and makes no attempt at a medical diagnosis.

Against the English

Every major version says 'madness'. That is accurate, but a modern reader may picture clinical mental illness, or in American English simply anger. The Hebrew word is about visible loss of control and reason.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Samuel 21:13–15 David pretends to be mad (the same verb) before Achish, scribbling on the gate and drooling. In 2 Kings 9:20 Jehu 'drives be-shiggaʿon', that is, like a maniac. In 2 Kings 9:11, Hosea 9:7 and Jeremiah 29:26 prophets are scornfully called meshugga', 'madmen'. Inside this same chapter, Deuteronomy 28:34 says 'you will be driven mad (meshugga') by the sight your eyes see', which shows that the madness can come from what Israel witnesses happening to it. Zechariah 12:4 reuses this exact noun with ʿiwwaron and timmahon. Some lexicons suggest a link with an Akkadian verb for being rabid or raging (used of dogs), but that connection is not certain.

From the study of Zechariah 12:4

Range of meaning

Madness, frenzy, crazed or wild behaviour. It comes from the root שָׁגַע (shaga'), "to rave, act like a madman" (1 Sam 21:14–15, David feigning madness; 2 Kgs 9:11, the prophet called a "madman"). It describes behaviour out of rational control, not a diagnosed illness.

Against the English

Most versions say "madness." NLT says the riders "lose their nerve," which is weaker. Modern "madness" may suggest chronic mental illness or anger. The Hebrew means raving, uncontrolled frenzy in the moment.

Used elsewhere in the period

Three occurrences: Deuteronomy 28:28; 2 Kings 9:20 (Jehu "drives in madness," i.e. furiously, recklessly, the same word used of a chariot driver); and here. The Septuagint has paraphronēsis, "derangement."

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:28 בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן with madness

    The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,

    Here: "With madness." Wild, uncontrolled, irrational behaviour, the kind that makes people say someone has lost their mind. The first of three rhyming nouns ending in -on.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 9:20 בְשִׁגָּע֖וֹן with madness

    Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the charioteer is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi—he is driving like a madman!”

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 12:4 בַּשִּׁגָּע֑וֹן with <the> madness

    On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

    Here: Out-of-control, frenzied behaviour, like Jehu's wild chariot driving in 2 Kings 9:20. The rider cannot think or steer. This word is also from the curse in Deuteronomy 28:28.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.