Shalom: What This Hebrew Word Means in the Bible

What does shalom mean?

Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) is the Hebrew word usually translated peace, but it means much more than the absence of conflict. It points to wholeness, completeness, and well-being: things being whole and as they should be, in a person, a family, a city, or a nation. It also works as an everyday greeting and farewell, the way ‘peace be with you’ does in English.

The word appears more than two hundred times in the Old Testament. It comes from the root š-l-m, which carries the idea of being complete or whole. Grounded pronunciation: sha-LOM.

The Hebrew word

Why “peace” is only part of it

English “peace” usually means calm or the end of fighting. Shalom includes that, and then goes further. Look at how the King James Version renders the same Hebrew word in different places:

• Welfare and health. When Joseph meets his brothers in Egypt, “he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake?” (Genesis 43:27). “Welfare” and “well” are both shalom: a question about how someone is doing, in every sense.
• Wholeness of materials. A related word, shalem, describes the “whole stones” of the altar (Deuteronomy 27:6): complete, uncut, nothing missing.
• Security in the land. “I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid” (Leviticus 26:6). Shalom here means safety and rest, not only quiet.
• The welfare of a community. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) is a prayer for the good of the whole city.

Perfect peace: shalom, shalom

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3). In Hebrew, “perfect peace” is the word shalom repeated: shalom, shalom. Repeating a word in Hebrew can intensify it, and many translators capture that with “perfect” or “complete” peace. The verse ties this kind of peace to where the mind rests, not to how circumstances look. For how this applies to worry, see Anxiety and Peace.

Shalom as a greeting and a blessing

Shalom was how people greeted one another and said goodbye. When David’s men approached Nabal, they were told to say, “Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast” (1 Samuel 25:6). It is a greeting that wishes well-being on the whole household. A greeting could also carry deep comfort. When the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “Peace be unto thee; fear not” (Judges 6:23), and Gideon named the altar he built there “Jehovahshalom” (Judges 6:24), a name meaning ‘the LORD is peace.’

The same idea runs through the most famous blessing in the Old Testament, which the Lord told Aaron to speak over Israel: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Numbers 6:24–26). The blessing builds toward one final word: shalom. It is not only a quiet feeling; it is well-being in every part of life, given by God. When Jesus appeared to his disciples after the resurrection, his greeting was “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19).

Shalom is not the absence of conflict

The prophets warned against peace that is only a slogan. Jeremiah condemned leaders who treated a deep wound lightly, “saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). Real shalom requires that things actually be right: justice, honesty, restored relationships. That is why the Old Testament can describe peace as something to seek, not just feel.

One of the most surprising examples comes in a letter to exiles in Babylon. Instead of telling them to wait it out, Jeremiah says, “seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace” (Jeremiah 29:7). The well-being of the place where you live is tied to your own.

Shalom and Jesus

Isaiah looks ahead to a promised king whose name includes this word: “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). In the same book, the suffering servant brings it at a cost: “the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

The New Testament is written in Greek, where the usual word for peace is eirēnē. Writers drawing on the Old Testament’s picture of peace carry that fuller meaning into it. Paul says, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1), and Jesus tells his followers, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). In the Beatitudes he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9); see The Beatitudes.

What does it look like to live in shalom?

• Receive it as a gift before you try to produce it. The priestly blessing ends with God giving peace (Numbers 6:26). See also Rest Is Not a Reward.
• Look at the whole person. Biblical peace includes body, relationships, work, and community, not just inner calm.
• Seek the good of the place you are in. Jeremiah 29:7 asks exiles to invest in their city’s well-being.
• Beware of “peace, peace” that is not true. Healing that skips honesty is not shalom.
• Wait in it. Peace is often given while an answer is still pending; see Waiting on God.

For another Hebrew word that describes God’s faithful love in the same covenant world, read the hesed word study.