שָׂמַח

From the study of Proverbs 24:17

Range of meaning

To rejoice or be glad. Often this is joy that shows and is shared (festivals, weddings, victory, harvest), but it can also be inner gladness. With an object of misfortune it means taking pleasure in someone's harm: gloating, what German calls Schadenfreude ('joy at another's damage').

Against the English

KJV, ESV, NASB and WEB: 'rejoice.' BSB and NIV: 'gloat.' 'Gloat' brings out the malicious sense the context requires. 'Rejoice' keeps the verbal link with the second line ('let not your heart rejoice/be glad') but can sound oddly positive to modern ears.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 17:5: 'he who is glad (samach) at calamity will not go unpunished.' Obad 12: 'do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin.' Ezek 25:6 condemns Ammon for rejoicing with contempt over Israel's land. Mic 7:8: 'Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; though I fall, I shall rise,' which uses the same fall-and-rise language as Prov 24:16–17.

From the study of Ecclesiastes 5:19

Range of meaning

To be glad, rejoice, be merry, enjoy oneself. Often linked with eating, drinking and festivals (Deut 12:7; 16:14–15). Also used of a merry heart from wine (Ps 104:15) and of everyday pleasure.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT/BSB/ESV 'rejoice'; NIV 'be happy'. 'Be happy' or 'enjoy' captures Qoheleth's down-to-earth sense better than the churchly ring of 'rejoice'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Deuteronomy, Israel 'rejoices before YHWH' by eating the festival meals. Qoheleth repeatedly pairs gladness with eating and drinking (2:24; 3:12–13, 22; 8:15; 9:7; 11:9).

From the study of Proverbs 5:18

Range of meaning

To rejoice or be glad. It usually means outwardly visible joy, as at festivals (Deut 16:14), harvests, weddings and victories. It is often physical and shared: eating, drinking, singing. With the preposition מִן ('from') it names where the joy comes from (compare Eccl 2:10, 'my heart rejoiced from all my toil').

Against the English

KJV has 'rejoice with', which can sound like sharing in her joy. ESV, NIV, BSB and WEB have 'rejoice in'. YLT has 'rejoice because of', which keeps the sense of the Hebrew 'from' most closely: she is the cause and source of your gladness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Frequent in Proverbs (e.g. 10:1, 15:20, 23:24–25, where a son 'gladdens' his parents). The pairing of a wife and the man's gladness echoes Deut 24:5, where a newly married man is exempt from war for a year so that he may 'make his wife glad' (וְשִׂמַּח, same root).