Hebrew word · H8021
שַׁלְמֹן
shalmonim
reward
This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Its root sh-l-m means 'to be whole' and, in one verb form, 'to pay back, repay' (shillem). So shalmonim are 'repayments' or 'returns': favours paid back, kickbacks, fees for service. HALOT and BDB both give 'gift, bribe, reward' here.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
reward, bribe
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
- Range of meaning
This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Its root sh-l-m means 'to be whole' and, in one verb form, 'to pay back, repay' (shillem). So shalmonim are 'repayments' or 'returns': favours paid back, kickbacks, fees for service. HALOT and BDB both give 'gift, bribe, reward' here.
- Against the English
KJV, NASB and BSB: 'rewards'. ESV and NIV: 'gifts'. NLT: 'payoffs'. 'Rewards' and 'gifts' sound respectable. The word means payment for a favour, which NLT's 'payoffs' catches best.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Its paired word shochad and the parallel structure ('loving a bribe // chasing shalmonim') show it is a near-synonym. Related nouns from the same root, such as shillum ('retribution, payment', Hos 9:7; Mic 7:3, 'the judge asks for a payment'), support the sense 'payment'.
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 1:23 שַׁלְמֹנִ֑ים rewards
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
Here: 'Payoffs.' This word occurs only here in the Bible. It comes from the root sh-l-m, 'to pay back', so it means a return for a favour: a kickback. It may also be a bitter play on shalom, the wholeness the city has lost.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.