Hebrew word · H8056

שָׂמֵחַ

sameach

glad

Glad, joyful, rejoicing. Related to the verb 'rejoice' and the noun 'joy, festivity'. Often outward and communal: feasting, singing, celebration at festivals, weddings and victories.

Appears 21 times in 21 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) joyful, merry, glad

1a) joyful, showing joy

1b) you who rejoice (subst)

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 Psalm 113:9

Range of meaning

Glad, joyful, rejoicing. Related to the verb 'rejoice' and the noun 'joy, festivity'. Often outward and communal: feasting, singing, celebration at festivals, weddings and victories.

Against the English

KJV, BSB and WEB 'joyful', ESV 'joyous', NIV and NLT 'happy'. 'Happy' is fine but can sound like a private mood. The Hebrew word leans toward joy that is visible and celebrated.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of Israel rejoicing at feasts (Deuteronomy 16:14–15, the verb), of glad hearts (Proverbs 15:13), of a father glad over a wise son (Proverbs 23:24–25). It is the natural opposite of the 'reproach' or disgrace (ḥerpāh) of childlessness (Genesis 30:23; Isaiah 54:4).

From the study of Esther 5:14

Range of meaning

Glad, joyful, merry. It describes the outward, often festive, mood of celebration.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'merrily' and BSB 'enjoy yourself' catch the festive tone. The Hebrew adjective describes Haman himself: 'go in glad'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Esther 5:9 ('Haman went out that day glad and good of heart'). The root returns in the Jews' 'gladness and joy' (8:15–17; 9:17–22), the reversal of Haman's gladness.

From the study of Proverbs 2:14

Range of meaning

Glad, joyful, happy. It covers ordinary joy at feasts, in family life and in a cheerful heart, as well as joy in God.

Against the English

BSB "enjoy", KJV/WEB/ESV "rejoice", NIV/NASB "delight". All are fair. The Hebrew is a plain, everyday word for happiness.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 15:13 ("a glad heart makes a cheerful face"); 17:5 ("whoever is glad at calamity will not go unpunished"). The closest parallel is Prov 21:15: "It is joy to the righteous to do justice" (śimḥâ … ʿăśôt mišpāṭ), with the same 'joy + to do' pattern pointed in the opposite direction. Compare 10:23: "Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool."

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 16:15 שָׂמֵֽחַ׃ joyful

    For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.

    Here: 'Glad', a describing word (adjective) that names a state. In Deuteronomy festival joy is something you do and can see: eating the sacrificial meat, drinking wine, sharing with the household and the poor before Yahweh.

1 Kings · 4

  1. 1 Kings 1:40 וּשְׂמֵחִ֖ים and joyful

    All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.

    Here: Another participle, so the rejoicing goes on continuously. In Hebrew this word covers celebrating out loud, not only feeling happy inside.

  2. 1 Kings 1:45 שְׂמֵחִ֔ים joyful

    Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.

  3. 1 Kings 4:20 וּשְׂמֵחִֽים׃ and [were] joyful

    The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

    Here: A describing word, not a verb: they were glad people. The word often means festival joy, the gladness of a shared meal, a harvest or a celebration before God. It is a settled condition of the nation, not a party mood.

  4. 1 Kings 8:66 שְׂמֵחִים֙ joyful

    On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.

    Here: "Rejoicing". This is the joy that the Law commands at the Feast of Booths (Deuteronomy 16:14–15). It shows outwardly in feasting, song and celebration.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 11:14 שָׂמֵ֔חַ [was] joyful

    And she looked out and saw the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:10 שְׂמֵחִים֙ joyful

    On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the good things that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

  2. 2 Chronicles 23:13 שָׂמֵ֗חַ [was] joyful

    And she looked and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!”

Esther · 2

  1. Esther 5:9 שָׂמֵ֖חַ joyful

    That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king’s gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

  2. Esther 5:14 שָׂמֵ֑חַ joyful

    His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.

    Here: 'Glad' describes Haman: go in happy. It repeats 5:9, where he left the first banquet 'glad and good of heart' until he saw Mordecai.

Job · 1

  1. Job 3:22 הַשְּׂמֵחִ֥ים the joyful [people]

    who rejoice and greatly exult when they reach the grave?

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 35:26 שְׂמֵחֵ֪י [the] [people] joyful of

    May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.

    Here: 'The ones glad at…': people whose pleasure comes from someone else's ruin. It looks back to their 'Aha!' in v. 25 and is set against the rightful gladness of the speaker's friends in v. 27.

  2. Psalm 113:9 שְׂמֵחָ֗ה joyful

    He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!

    Here: A feminine adjective describing the mother: glad, rejoicing. The word belongs to festival and celebration, joy that shows. It is the opposite of the reproach and grief that barrenness carried.

  3. Psalm 126:3 שְׂמֵחִֽים׃ joyful

    The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

    Here: A plural adjective meaning 'people who rejoice'. It is the word for festival celebration: joy that shows on the outside and is shared, the kind already described in verse 2 as mouths full of laughter and shouts of joy.

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 2:14 הַ֭שְּׂמֵחִים the [ones] joyful

    from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil,

    Here: "The glad ones": the article turns the adjective into a description of a type of people. This word is the ordinary Hebrew word for being happy, used for feasts, weddings and a glad heart. Here the people are happy about the wrong thing.

  2. Proverbs 15:13 שָׂ֭מֵחַ joyful

    A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit.

    Here: Glad or rejoicing. It is the ordinary Hebrew word for joy and is often used of feasts, weddings and good news. It names a settled gladness inside, not a forced brightness.

  3. Proverbs 17:5 שָׂמֵ֥חַ [a person] joyful

    He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.

    Here: 'One who is glad'. The ordinary word for joy, which is usually good in Proverbs. Here it is twisted: it is joy taken in someone else's ruin.

  4. Proverbs 17:22 שָׂ֭מֵחַ joyful

    A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

    Here: Describes the heart as glad. In Hebrew this kind of gladness usually shows on the outside, the joy of feasts, harvest and good news, so it is not just a quiet mood.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:10 שָׂמֵ֙חַ֙ [was] joyful

    Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

    Here: "[Was] glad." An adjective describing a state. The word "was" is supplied, as Hebrew usually leaves it out. Same root as simchah: the joy he went after, he got.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 24:7 שִׂמְחֵי־ [the people] joyful of

    The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 6:13 הַשְּׂמֵחִ֖ים the joyful [people]

    you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’

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