H8002 — שֶׁלֶם (shelem)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H8002
Original: שֶׁלֶם
Transliteration: shelem
Pronunciation: sheh'-lem
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: שָׁלַם (shalam, H7999) — to be complete, be sound, make restitution
Occurrences: 84 unique verses (88 tokens) across 15 books
First Occurrence: Exo 20:24 — "An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Properly, requital, i.e. a (voluntary) sacrifice in thanks. From H7999 shalam. KJV rendering: peace offering.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
of peace offerings	26	31.0%
and peace offerings	10	11.9%
of the peace offerings	10	11.9%
peace offerings	8	9.5%
peace	6	7.1%
of his peace offerings	4	4.8%
and for peace offerings	2	2.4%
for peace offerings	2	2.4%
his peace offerings	2	2.4%
of peace offering	2	2.4%
of the peace offering	2	2.4%
of their peace offerings	2	2.4%
of your peace offerings	2	2.4%
the peace offerings	2	2.4%
Other (6 forms, 1 each)	6	7.2%

KJV renders as "peace offering(s)" in virtually every occurrence. The standalone "peace" (6 verses) appears in construct phrases where the KJV drops "offering."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	29	3.4
Numbers	19	1.5
2 Chronicles	5	0.6
Ezekiel	5	0.4
Exodus	4	0.3
1 Kings	4	0.5
2 Samuel	3	0.4
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Joshua	3	0.5
1 Chronicles	3	0.3
Judges	2	0.3
Amos	1	0.7
Proverbs	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1

Leviticus and Numbers account for 57% of all uses, reflecting the offering's legislative foundation in the Mosaic code. Historical narratives (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles) show its practical use at key national moments. Ezekiel's 5 uses place it in the restored-temple vision. Notably absent from the Psalms, the prophetic corpus (except Amos 5:22 and Ezekiel), and the wisdom literature (except Proverbs 7:14, where it is inverted).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Legislative Regulation (Leviticus 3, 7)¶

The core legal definition of the offering — types of animals, fat portions for YHWH, flesh portions for the offerer, time limits for eating. - Lev 3:1 — "And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD" - Lev 7:11 — "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD" - Lev 7:15 — "And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day" - Lev 19:5 — "And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will"

2. Paired with Burnt Offering (olah) in Worship Events¶

The most common collocation — shelem and olah appear together in 37 verses, representing the complete worship sequence: total dedication (olah) plus communal fellowship meal (shelem). - Exo 20:24 — "shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings" - Exo 32:6 — "offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink" - 2 Sam 6:17 — "David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD" (ark arrival) - 1 Ki 8:63 — "Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings... two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep"

3. National/Covenant-Making Occasions¶

Offered at pivotal moments establishing or renewing Israel's relationship with God — at Sinai, on Ebal, at coronations, and at temple dedications. - Exo 24:5 — "offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD" (Sinai covenant ratification) - Jos 8:31 — "offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings" (Ebal ceremony) - 1 Sam 11:15 — "there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly" (Saul's coronation) - 2 Chr 7:7 — "Solomon hallowed the middle of the court... for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings"

4. Dedicatory/Tribal Offerings (Numbers 7)¶

The twelve tribal chieftains each bring identical shelem offerings at the tabernacle dedication — a formulaic repetition emphasizing equal participation. - Num 7:17 — "And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year" - Num 7:88 — "And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty"

5. Nazirite Completion and Vow Fulfillment¶

Shelem accompanies the completion of vows, especially the Nazirite cycle, and voluntary freewill offerings. - Num 6:14 — "one he lamb... for a burnt offering... one ewe lamb... for a sin offering, and one ram... for peace offerings" - Num 6:17 — "And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD" - Lev 22:21 — "whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering"

6. Eschatological/Restored Temple (Ezekiel)¶

Ezekiel's temple vision reinstates the shelem as part of the prince's worship responsibilities. - Eze 43:27 — "the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you" - Eze 46:2 — "the prince shall enter... and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings" - Eze 46:12 — "when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD"

7. Inverted/Misused (Prophetic Critique and Proverbs)¶

Contexts where the shelem is rejected by God or used deceptively. - Amos 5:22 — "neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts" (God refuses) - Pro 7:14 — "I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows" (the seductress uses it as a lure for her feast)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	42x (50%)	"peace offerings unto the LORD" — always directed to YHWH
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	37x (44%)	"burnt offerings and peace offerings" — standard worship pair
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	28x (33%)	"children of Israel" — corporate offering context
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	19x (23%)	"upon the altar" — place of offering
קׇרְבָּן (qorban)	H7133	19x (23%)	"his offering [be] a sacrifice of peace offering" — introduction formula
בָּקָר (baqar)	H1241	18x (21%)	"of the herd" — cattle as shelem animal
אַיִל (ayil)	H352	17x (20%)	ram — prominent shelem animal
כֶּבֶשׂ (kebes)	H3532	15x (18%)	lamb — prominent shelem animal
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	13x (15%)	"the priest shall..." — priestly administration
עַתּוּד (attud)	H6260	13x (15%)	he-goat — prominent shelem animal
זֶבַח (zebach)	H2077	51x (61%)	"sacrifice of peace offerings" — zebach-shelem construct pair

The zebach-shelem construct pair (61% of all uses) is the defining collocation. The full phrase zebach shelamim (sacrifice of peace offerings) is the technical liturgical term in Leviticus.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7999 שָׁלַם (shalam) — root verb: to be complete, to make restitution, to repay
H7965 שָׁלוֹם (shalom) — peace, completeness, welfare, soundness
H8001 שְׁלָם (shelam) — (Aramaic) peace, prosperity (A8001)
H8003 שָׁלֵם (shalem) — complete, safe, whole, peaceable

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁלוֹם (shalom)	H7965	"peace" (6v overlap)	shalom = state of peace/wellbeing; shelem = a specific offering type whose name derives from the concept of wholeness/completion
שְׁלָם (shelam)	H8001	"peace" (Aramaic)	Aramaic cognate used in Daniel/Ezra for general peace; shelem is exclusively a Hebrew cultic term

Semantic Domain¶

Domain: Sacrifice
Neighbors: אִשֶּׁה H801 (fire offering), אָשֵׁם H818 (guilty), אָשָׁם H817 (guilt/trespass offering), אַשְׁמָה H819 (guilt/trespass)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
σωτήριον (soterion) G4992	69	30.79	Primary — "salvation/deliverance offering"; LXX reinterprets the offering through a soteriological lens rather than a "peace" lens
θυσία (thysia) G2378	60	23.93	Generic "sacrifice" — often translates the zebach component of the zebach-shelamim construct
τράγος (tragos) G5131	13	18.58	"he-goat" — translates the animal species rather than the offering type
δάμαλις (damalis) G1151	13	17.48	"heifer" — likewise translates the animal
ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokautoma) G3646	24	16.75	"whole burnt offering" — appears in verses listing multiple offering types
εἰρηνικός (eirenikos) G1516	11	16.07	"peaceable" — the few cases where LXX renders the "peace" sense directly

The LXX's dominant choice of σωτήριον ("salvation offering") rather than εἰρηνικός ("peace offering") is significant. The translators understood the shelem's root meaning as "requital/completeness" rather than simply "peace," connecting it to the concept of deliverance and wholeness.