H7819 — שָׁחַט (shachat)¶

Core Data¶

Strong’s: H7819
Original: שָׁחַט
Transliteration: shachat
Pronunciation: shaw-khat’
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root — no derived root listed
Occurrences: 70 unique verses (93 tokens) across 14 books
First Occurrence: Gen 22:10 — “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay (shachat) his son.”
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to slaughter (in sacrifice or massacre) — kill, offer, shoot out, slay, slaughter.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	83	to slaughter, kill (active)
Niphal	3	to be slaughtered, be killed (passive)

Overwhelmingly Qal — active slaughter. The 3 Niphal occurrences are all passive: Lev 6:25 (x2, "where the burnt offering is killed... shall the sin offering be killed") and Num 11:22 ("Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them?"). One additional nominal form appears at Hos 5:2 (feminine noun: "slaughter").

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
kill / killed / killeth / killing	~24	34%
slay / slew / slain / slaying	~30	43%
slaughter / make slaughter	2	3%
offer	1	1%
shot out	1	1%
Other (contextual KJV phrasing)	~12	17%

The KJV translates shachat predominantly as "slay/slew" (43%) and "kill/killed" (34%). These are not distinguished by context — both render the same verb for sacrificial and non-sacrificial slaughter.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	30	3.5
2 Chronicles	6	0.7
Exodus	6	0.5
Ezekiel	6	0.5
Jeremiah	4	0.3
1 Samuel	3	0.4
2 Kings	3	0.4
Numbers	3	0.2
Isaiah	3	0.2
Genesis	2	0.1
Hosea	1	0.5
Ezra	1	0.4
Judges	1	0.2
1 Kings	1	0.1

Pattern: Massively concentrated in Leviticus (43% of all occurrences), reflecting its technical use in sacrificial legislation. Second cluster in 2 Chronicles and Exodus for Passover and tabernacle rituals. Prophetic books (Isa, Jer, Eze) use it both for judgment/slaughter and metaphorical/idolatrous sacrifice. Entirely absent from Psalms, Proverbs, and wisdom literature.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sacrificial Slaughter — Levitical Offerings¶

The dominant usage. The offerer (or priest) slaughters the animal as the prescribed first act after laying hands on its head. - Lev 1:5 — "And he shall kill (shachat) the bullock before the LORD" - Lev 4:24 — "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill (shachat) it in the place where they kill the burnt offering" - Lev 16:15 — "Then shall he kill (shachat) the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people" - Lev 9:12 — "And he slew (shachat) the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood"

2. Passover Slaughter¶

Specifically the killing of the Passover lamb, often by Levites in later periods. - Exo 12:6 — "the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill (shachat) it in the evening" - Exo 12:21 — "Draw out and take you a lamb... and kill (shachat) the passover" - 2 Chr 30:15 — "Then they killed (shachat) the passover on the fourteenth day" - 2 Chr 35:11 — "And they killed (shachat) the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood"

3. Purification Ritual Slaughter¶

Specific to the cleansing rituals of Leviticus 14 (leper cleansing) and Numbers 19 (red heifer). - Lev 14:5 — "the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed (shachat) in an earthen vessel over running water" - Lev 14:25 — "And he shall kill (shachat) the lamb of the trespass offering" - Num 19:3 — "one shall slay (shachat) her before his face"

4. Non-Cultic Killing of Animals¶

Slaughter of animals for food or other non-sacrificial purposes. - Gen 37:31 — "they... killed (shachat) a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood" - 1 Sam 14:32 — "the people... took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew (shachat) them on the ground" - 1 Sam 14:34 — "Bring me hither every man his ox... and slay (shachat) them here" - Isa 22:13 — "slaying (shachat) oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh"

5. Killing of Persons — Judgment and Violence¶

Extended from the slaughter vocabulary to human killing, always violent and often tied to conquest or punishment. - Gen 22:10 — "Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay (shachat) his son" - Jdg 12:6 — "they... slew (shachat) him at the passages of Jordan" - 2 Ki 25:7 — "they slew (shachat) the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes" - Jer 39:6 — "the king of Babylon slew (shachat) the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah"

6. Idolatrous Sacrifice — Child Sacrifice¶

Prophetic condemnation of child sacrifice to idols, using the sacrificial vocabulary to heighten the horror. - Eze 16:21 — "That thou hast slain (shachat) my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire" - Eze 23:39 — "For when they had slain (shachat) their children to their idols" - Isa 57:5 — "slaying (shachat) the children in the valleys under the cliffs of the rocks"

7. Metaphorical / Deceptive "Slaughter"¶

Jer 9:8 — "Their tongue is as an arrow shot out (shachat); it speaketh deceit" (the tongue as a slaughtering weapon)
Hos 5:2 — "the revolters are profound to make slaughter (shachat)" (nominal form — deep in apostasy)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
דָּם (dam)	H1818	24x (34%)	Blood manipulation follows the slaughter — "kill it... and sprinkle the blood"
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	20x (29%)	"sons of Aaron" as priests receiving blood; also "sons of Zedekiah" slain
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	15x (21%)	Slaughter takes place near/before the altar
יָד (yad)	H3027	15x (21%)	"lay his hand upon the head" before slaughter (semikah)
זָרַק (zaraq)	H2236	13x (19%)	Blood-sprinkling immediately follows the killing act
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	13x (19%)	Priests receive and handle the blood after slaughter
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	13x (19%)	"kill the burnt offering" — slaughter of the olah specifically
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	12x (17%)	"slay the sin offering" — slaughter of the chattaah
סָמַךְ (samak)	H5564	8x (11%)	Hand-laying (semikah) directly precedes the shachat act
רֹאשׁ (rosh)	H7218	9x (13%)	"upon the head" — location of hand-laying before slaughter

Ritual sequence: The collocations reveal a fixed sacrificial sequence: samak (lay hand) → shachat (slaughter) → dam + zaraq (blood sprinkling) → mizbeach (altar application).

Synonyms (SDBH Semantic Domain)¶

H2076 זָבַח (zabach) — to slaughter sacrificially; broader term emphasizing the sacrificial act and its festive/covenantal dimension
H2873 טָבַח (tabach) — to slaughter (animals or men); often butchery for food or massacre; less ritual connotation
H2026 הָרַג (harag) — to kill, slay; general term for killing (especially in battle or judgment); no sacrificial connotation
H4191 מוּת (muwth) — to die, put to death; focuses on death itself rather than the act of slaughtering
H5221 נָכָה (nakah) — to strike, smite; broader — a blow that may or may not kill

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
הָרַג (harag)	H2026	slay, slew	harag = general killing (war, murder, judgment); shachat = slaughter with knife, typically ritual
מוּת (muwth)	H4191	slay, kill	muwth = to die / cause to die; shachat = the physical act of throat-cutting
נָכָה (nakah)	H5221	slay, slew	nakah = to strike/smite (blow); shachat = to slaughter (cut throat)
זָבַח (zabach)	H2076	sacrifice, slay	zabach = broader sacrificial act (feast dimension); shachat = the specific killing stroke
טָבַח (tabach)	H2873	slay, slaughter	tabach = butchery (food preparation, massacre); shachat = more consistently ritual

Semantic Domain¶

Dead (002001001019) — words related to death and killing
Sacrifice (002003002020) — words related to sacrificial ritual

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
σφάζω (sphazo)	G4969	58	32.98	Primary equivalent — "to slaughter, butcher"; dominant LXX rendering
αἷμα (haima)	G129	25	15.83	Co-occurs due to blood-handling context, not direct translation
θύω (thyo)	G2380	9	10.97	Secondary — "to sacrifice, kill"; used when sacrificial context emphasized

The LXX overwhelmingly renders shachat with σφάζω (sphazo), the Greek word for butchering/slaughtering. This same Greek word appears in Rev 5:6, 9, 12 for the Lamb "as it had been slain" — carrying the Levitical slaughter imagery into the NT.