Hebrew word · H7946

שַׁלְאֲנָן

shal'anan

at ease

At ease, secure, untroubled. The normal form sha'anan can be positive (a 'quiet habitation', Isa 32:18; 33:20) or negative ('complacent', Amos 6:1; Isa 32:9, 11; arrogant 'ease', 2 Kgs 19:28 / Isa 37:29).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

at ease, quiet, secure

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 Job 21:23

Range of meaning

At ease, secure, untroubled. The normal form sha'anan can be positive (a 'quiet habitation', Isa 32:18; 33:20) or negative ('complacent', Amos 6:1; Isa 32:9, 11; arrogant 'ease', 2 Kgs 19:28 / Isa 37:29).

Against the English

'Secure', 'at ease', 'wholly at ease'. These are adequate. English cannot show the unusual form of the Hebrew word.

Used elsewhere in the period

This form with the extra lamed occurs only here. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list it as a variant or blend of sha'anan and shalev.

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 21:23 שַׁלְאֲנַ֥ן [is] at ease

    One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.

    Here: 'Untroubled, secure': living without threat or disturbance. Related words can also mean smug or complacent ('at ease in Zion', Amos 6:1), but here the stress is on the comfort itself.

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