Hebrew word · H7952

שָׁלָה

tishalu

to neglect

The basic root means 'to be at ease, quiet, untroubled'. In Job 3:26 Job says 'I am not at ease', and Psalm 122:6 asks that those who love Jerusalem 'be secure/at ease'. The noun forms speak of quiet and security. Another form in 2 Kgs 4:28 means 'to lull with false hopes, deceive'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) (Niphal) to be negligent

2) (Hiphil) to mislead

Aramaic equivalent: sha.lah (שָׁלָה "error" H7955)

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 2 Chronicles 29:11

Range of meaning

The basic root means 'to be at ease, quiet, untroubled'. In Job 3:26 Job says 'I am not at ease', and Psalm 122:6 asks that those who love Jerusalem 'be secure/at ease'. The noun forms speak of quiet and security. In the passive-reflexive form used here (found only in this verse) it means 'to be slack, remiss, to let things go'. Another form in 2 Kgs 4:28 means 'to lull with false hopes, deceive'.

Against the English

'Negligent' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is accurate. Still, modern English 'negligent' sounds like a legal or professional failing, carelessness that causes harm. The Hebrew picture is quieter: sitting comfortably and doing nothing. YLT's 'be not at rest' keeps the root image but could be misread as forbidding rest in general.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Aramaic sections of the Bible have the related noun שָׁלוּ, 'negligence, fault'. In Ezra 4:22 a Persian order says 'take care not to be slack in this', and in Daniel 6:4 (Heb. 6:5) officials find in Daniel 'no fault or negligence'. Both are court and administrative settings where an official fails in his duty, which matches Hezekiah's use for temple officials. (BDB, HALOT s.v. שׁלה.)

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 4:28 תַשְׁלֶ֖ה you must deceive

    Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:11 תִּשָּׁל֑וּ you be negligent

    Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”

    Here: From a root meaning 'be at ease, be quiet, untroubled'. In this form it means letting things slide by staying comfortably idle. This form of the verb appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. YLT's 'be not at rest' keeps the root's picture.

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