Hebrew word · H8158

שָׁסַף

vayshasef

to hew

Occurs only here, so its meaning cannot be checked against other biblical uses. Traditionally 'hew in pieces' or 'cut down'. BDB lists it as doubtful and possibly connected with שָׁסַע (šāsaʿ), 'to split, tear apart' (used of Samson tearing the lion, Judges 14:6).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) (Piel) to hew in pieces, cut in pieces

1a) meaning uncertain

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 1 Samuel 15:33

Range of meaning

Occurs only here, so its meaning cannot be checked against other biblical uses. Traditionally 'hew in pieces' or 'cut down'. BDB lists it as doubtful and possibly connected with שָׁסַע (šāsaʿ), 'to split, tear apart' (used of Samson tearing the lion, Judges 14:6).

Against the English

KJV and NASB have 'hewed (in) pieces'. BSB and ESV have 'hacked to pieces'. WEB has 'cut in pieces'. NIV has the neutral 'put to death'. 'Hacked' adds a sense of frenzy that the evidence does not establish. 'Put to death' is safe but drops what the verb probably adds about how violent the act was.

How it drifted

The issue here is uncertainty, not drift. Translators have to choose a picture for a word whose exact action is not known.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has esphaxen, 'slaughtered' (the verb used for slaughtering animals and for cutting throats). The Vulgate has in frusta concidit, 'cut into pieces'. Ancient translators were already unsure: some saw dismemberment, others a slaughter-style killing.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 15:33 וַיְשַׁסֵּ֨ף and he cut to pieces

    But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

    Here: This verb occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. 'Hew in pieces' is the traditional meaning, worked out from context, the early translations and a possible link to a root meaning 'tear apart'. It describes a violent, decisive execution, but the exact action is uncertain.

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