H7937 — שָׁכַר (shâkar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7937
Original: שָׁכַר
Transliteration: shâkar
Pronunciation: shaw-kar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 19 unique verses (21 tokens) in OT
Books: 11
First Occurrence: Gen 9:21 — "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent."
Hapax Legomenon: No
Cognates: שֵׁכָר (H7941, shekar) "strong drink"; שִׁכּוֹר (H7910, shikkor) "drunkard/intoxicated"; שִׁכָּרוֹן (H7943, shikkaron) "drunkenness"

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to become tipsy; in a qualified sense, to satiate with a stimulating drink or (figuratively) influence. Translations: "(be filled with) drink (abundantly), (be, make) drunk(-en), be merry." Superlative of shathah (H8354).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	9	become drunk; be satiated (intransitive/stative)
Piel	4	make drunk (intensive/causative)
Hiphil	4	cause to be drunk (declarative/causative, often judgment imagery)
Hithpael	1	act drunken / carry oneself as drunk (1Sa 1:14, Eli's accusation of Hannah)

[Tallied from ETCBC parsing via hebrew_parser.py — verb forms only, excluding the cognate noun/adjective forms]

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation (grouped)	Verses	%
drunk / drunken / was drunken / be drunken	13	68%
make drunk / made drunk / make drunken	5	26%
be/were merry	1	5%
filled with drink	1	5%
drink abundantly	1	5%

(Percentages exceed 100% because several verses contain compound KJV glosses — e.g., "drink ye, and be drunken.")

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Haggai	1	2.6
Nahum	1	2.1
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Lamentations	1	0.6
Jeremiah	5	0.4
Isaiah	4	0.3
Genesis	2	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Song of Songs	1	(low-density book)

Patterns: Concentrated in the prophets (11 of 19 verses — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai). Jeremiah alone carries 5 occurrences, all in oracles of judgment against nations. Pentateuch + historical books supply the literal/narrative uses (Noah, Joseph's brothers, Hannah, Uriah). Entirely absent from wisdom literature and the Psalms, which instead deploy cognates H7941/H7910.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Literal Intoxication from Wine¶

Gen 9:21 — Noah "drank of the wine, and was drunken."
Gen 43:34 — Joseph's brothers "drank, and were merry (yishkeru) with him."
1 Sam 1:14 — Eli: "How long wilt thou be drunken (tishtakkarin)?" (Hithpael — acting drunk.)
2 Sam 11:13 — David "made him (Uriah) drunk (yeshakkerehu)" (Piel).

2. Satiation / Being Filled (Qualified Sense)¶

Hag 1:6 — "ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink (shakrah)." Root sense of satisfaction through drink, negated.
Song 5:1 — "drink, yea, drink abundantly (shikru), O beloved." Fullness of shared drinking, no drunkenness connotation.

3. Divine Judgment — Cup of Wrath¶

Jer 25:27 — "Drink ye, and be drunken (shikru), and spue, and fall... because of the sword."
Jer 48:26 — "Make ye him (Moab) drunken (hashkiruhu): for he magnified himself against the LORD."
Jer 51:7 — "Babylon... made all the earth drunken (meshakkereth)."
Jer 51:39, 57 — "I will make them drunken (hishkartim)... that they may sleep a perpetual sleep."
Lam 4:21 — "the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken (tishkeri)."
Nah 3:11 — "Thou (Nineveh) also shalt be drunken (tishkeri)."
Isa 63:6 — "I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk (ashakkerem) in my fury."

4. Drunkenness in Blood / Violence Imagery¶

Deut 32:42 — "I will make mine arrows drunk (ashkir) with blood."
Isa 49:26 — "they shall be drunken (shakar) with their own blood, as with sweet wine."

5. Stupefaction — Drunkenness Not from Wine¶

Isa 29:9 — "they are drunken (shakeru), but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink." Spiritual/judicial blindness.
Isa 51:21 — "thou afflicted, and drunken (shekurath), but not with wine."

6. Provocation to Drunkenness (as Sin)¶

Hab 2:15 — "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink... and makest him drunken (shakker) also." Piel infinitive — deliberate inducement condemned.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
שָׁתָה shathah (to drink)	H8354	7x (37%)	Paired root — shathah sets up the act, shakar names the result
יַיִן yayin (wine)	H3196	6x (32%)	"drink wine and be drunken"; also contrastive "drunken, but not with wine"
יְהֹוָה Yahweh	H3068	6x (32%)	Divine agent of judgment-drunkenness (Jer, Isa)
אָכַל akal (to eat)	H398	5x (26%)	Full meal/feast context (Gen 43:34; 2Sa 11:13; Hag 1:6)
דָּם dam (blood)	H1818	2x (11%)	"drunk with blood" — battlefield/wrath (Deu 32:42; Isa 49:26)
חֶרֶב chereb (sword)	H2719	2x (11%)	Drunkenness paralleled with falling by the sword (Jer 25)
אֹיֵב oyeb (enemy)	H341	2x (11%)	Judgment on enemies/from enemies
יָשֵׁן yashen (to sleep)	H3462	2x (11%)	"drunken... sleep a perpetual sleep" (Jer 51:39, 57)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7941 שֵׁכָר (shekar) — noun: "strong drink" (fermented beverage other than wine).
H7910 שִׁכּוֹר (shikkor) — adjective/noun: "drunkard, drunken man."
H7943 שִׁכָּרוֹן (shikkaron) — noun: "drunkenness" (Jer 13:13; Eze 23:33; 39:19).
H7942 שִׁכְּרוֹן (Shikkeron) — proper noun, Shikkeron, a place in Judah (Jos 15:11).

Synonyms¶

H398 אכל — search_relationships.py links shâkar with ingestion vocabulary in the broader consumption field.
H5128 נוע — stagger/reel neighbor matching the verb's judgment and intoxication imagery.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H7937.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Gloss	Key Difference
שִׁכּוֹר shikkor	H7910	"drunken, drunkard"	Cognate adjective — describes the person who is drunk (state); H7937 is the verbal process of becoming drunk
שָׁתָה shathah	H8354	"drink / drunken"	Generic verb of drinking; H7937 specifies becoming intoxicated / sated
μεθύω methyō	G3184	"drunken, be drunk"	LXX/NT equivalent for the verbal action
πίνω pínō	G4095	"drink"	LXX equivalent of shathah; overlaps only where "drink" slides into "drunk"

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[002001001025] Ingest — search_relationships.py places shâkar in the consumption/intoxication field alongside H398 אכל, H1104 בלע, and H1262 ברה.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
μεθύω methyō	G3184	15	8.85	Primary bridge — "be/make drunk"
πίνω pínō	G4095	7	5.39	Used when shakar denotes drinking to fullness
οἶνος oinos	G3631	6	5.47	Collocational (wine of drunkenness); not a direct gloss
αἷμα haima	G129	3	3.74	In judgment passages: "drunk with blood"

Primary cross-testament bridge: H7937 shakar → G3184 methyō (carries the theme of cup-of-wrath drunkenness into Rev 17:2, 6; 1Thess 5:7).