Hebrew word · H8080

שָׁמֵן

hashmen

to grow fat

Shamen: grow fat. ʿAvah: be thick, stout. Kasah: occurs only here, so its meaning is worked out from context; HALOT and most lexicons give 'be gorged, crammed full.' Together they make a three-step crescendo of overfeeding.

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be or become fat, grow fat

1a) (Qal) fat (subst)

1b) (Hiphil) to make fat, show fatness

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 Deuteronomy 32:15

Range of meaning

Shamen: grow fat. ʿAvah: be thick, stout. Kasah: occurs only here, so its meaning is worked out from context; HALOT and most lexicons give 'be gorged, crammed full.' Together they make a three-step crescendo of overfeeding.

Against the English

KJV's 'covered [with fatness]' comes from reading the rare kasah (spelled with the letter sin) as if it were the common kasah, 'to cover' (spelled with samekh). The words in brackets are the translators' additions. Modern versions vary: 'sleek' (WEB, NIV, NASB), 'gorged' (BSB), 'stuffed' (NLT).

Used elsewhere in the period

In Israel's world fat meant richness and the best portion; in sacrifice 'all fat belongs to the LORD' (Lev 3:16). Fat is also a stock image for a dull, unfeeling heart: 'their heart is fat as grease' (Ps 119:70); 'make the heart of this people fat' (Isa 6:10); 'they close their fat hearts' (Ps 17:10, literally 'their fat'). Deut 31:20 uses a different verb (dashen) to predict the same outcome.

From the study of Isaiah 6:10

Range of meaning

The basic verb means to be or grow fat. In the causative form used here it means 'make fat'. Fatness has two sides in Hebrew. It can mean richness and abundance (fat land, fat offerings). Said of people or hearts, it means being sleek, sated and unresponsive.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'make fat' keep the image. BSB/NIV 'calloused', ESV 'dull' and NASB 'insensitive' give the effect but lose the picture, which mixes comfort and complacency with dullness. NLT 'harden' brings in Exodus wording that is not in this verb.

How it drifted

Modern readers hear 'fat' only as a matter of body weight. Translators therefore swap in an abstract word, and the link between wealth, comfort and spiritual dullness is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 32:15: 'Jeshurun grew fat (wayyishman) and kicked… he abandoned God'. Ps 119:70: 'their heart is gross like fat'. Ps 17:10: 'they have closed up their fat'. Jer 5:28: the rich 'have grown fat'. The Septuagint renders it epachynthē ('has grown thick/fat'), which Matthew 13:15 and Acts 28:27 keep.

From the study of Jeremiah 5:28

Range of meaning

To be or grow fat. In Hebrew, 'fat' is often a good thing: rich food, a fertile land, plenty (Genesis 27:28; Isaiah 25:6). In prophetic and poetic critique the same picture means a people so full that they become dull, careless and rebellious: a fat heart is one that cannot respond (Isaiah 6:10, 'make the heart of this people fat').

Against the English

English 'fat' now suggests body weight, health or appearance. KJV 'waxen fat' at least sounds old enough that readers look past the literal sense. Modern 'grown fat' is accurate but can be heard as an insult about bodies, when the point is wealth and complacency.

How it drifted

In modern English 'fat' has narrowed to body size and carries mostly negative social meaning. Ancient hearers would first have thought of prosperity, the fat of the land.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 32:15 is the key parallel: 'Jeshurun grew fat (wayyishman) and kicked; you grew fat, thick, sleek.' Jeremiah draws on that song: a people fed by God turns on him. Compare also Nehemiah 9:25 ('they ate and grew fat') and Hosea 13:6.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 32:15 וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ן שָׁמַ֖נְתָּ and he grew fat, you have grown fat

    But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.

    Here: "And he grew fat." Picks up the rich food of vv. 13–14 (fat of lambs, rams of Bashan, finest wheat): the people ate God's gifts until they were fat like a stall-fed animal. The verb form tells the story as a run of past events, though the Song is looking ahead to Israel's future (Deut 31:20).

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 9:25 וַיַּשְׁמִ֔ינוּ and they grew fat

    They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.

    Here: "And they grew fat": they became well-fed and prosperous, mirroring the 'fat' ground. It also recalls Deut 32:15, 'Jeshurun grew fat and kicked', which prepares for the rebellion in v.26.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 6:10 הַשְׁמֵן֙ make fat

    Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

    Here: A command: 'make fat'. The heart is pictured wrapped in fat, so that nothing gets through to it. Fatness in Hebrew also suggests being well fed, comfortable and complacent.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 5:28 שָׁמְנ֣וּ they have become fat

    They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.

    Here: 'They have grown fat.' It means well-fed and rich, but in prophetic speech it also carries the idea of being dull and self-satisfied. It echoes Deuteronomy 32:15, where Israel 'grew fat and kicked.'

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