4923. meshammah
Lexical Summary
meshammah: Desolation, waste, horror

Original Word: מְשַׁמָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mshammah
Pronunciation: meh-sham-mah
Phonetic Spelling: (mesh-am-maw')
KJV: astonishment, desolate
NASB: waste, desolate, object of horror
Word Origin: [from H8074 (שָׁמֵם - desolate)]

1. a waste or amazement

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
astonishment, desolate

From shamem; a waste or amazement -- astonishment, desolate.

see HEBREW shamem

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from shamem
Definition
devastation, waste, horror
NASB Translation
desolate (2), object of horror (1), waste (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מְשַׁמָּה noun feminine = שַׁמָּה: — absolute

1 = devastation, waste, ׳אֶתהָֿאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה וּמ ׳וְנָתַתִּ Ezekiel 6:14; Ezekiel 33:28, compare Ezekiel 33:29; Ezekiel 35:3, + Ezekiel 35:7a, see שְׁמָמָה; plural מְשַׁמּוֺת Isaiah 15:16 = Jeremiah 48:34.

2 horror, ׳וְהָֽיְתָה חֶרְמָּה ֗֗֗ וּמ Ezekiel 5:15.

שָׁמָּה see שָׁם. שְׁמָמִית see שְׂמָמִית.

Topical Lexicon
מְשַׁמָּה (Strong’s Hebrew 4923)

Overview of Biblical Usage

Appearing seven times in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the term captures the shock, devastation, and eerie silence that follow divine judgment. More than physical ruin, it describes the emotional and spiritual appallment that overtakes peoples and places when the LORD confronts sin.

Prophetic Contexts

1. Judgment on Moab – Isaiah 15:6; Jeremiah 48:34

“For even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate” (Jeremiah 48:34). Once-fertile springs turn into symbols of hopelessness, showing that prideful security collapses under God’s verdict.

2. Judgment on Jerusalem – Ezekiel 5:15; 6:14; 33:28-29

“So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you” (Ezekiel 5:15). Israel’s holy calling makes her disobedience more grievous; the resulting horror is designed to drive both Israel and the nations to acknowledge the LORD.

3. Judgment on Edom – Ezekiel 35:3

“I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste”. Edom’s perpetual hostility meets the same standard of justice applied to Israel, underscoring God’s impartial rule.

Historical Setting

The word surfaces during the turbulent eighth-to-sixth centuries B.C., a period marked by Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns. Archaeological layers of burned cities and abandoned fields corroborate the scene of widespread desolation evoked by the prophets.

Theological Themes

• Holiness and Justice – Desolation manifests God’s intolerance of persistent rebellion.
• Covenant Discipline – For Israel, horror intends repentance and eventual restoration.
• Universal Sovereignty – Neighboring nations fall under the same righteous scrutiny.
• Hope Beyond Ruin – Passages that speak of מְשַׁמָּה are often followed by promises of renewal (compare Ezekiel 36:35), affirming that judgment is not God’s final word.

Literary Features and Intertextual Echoes

Usually paired with words such as “reproach,” “taunt,” and “astonishment,” the term heightens the impact of prophetic laments: withered grass (Isaiah 15:6), dried waterways (Jeremiah 48:34), and deserted mountains (Ezekiel 33:28). These images move the audience from intellectual acknowledgment to visceral alarm.

Ministry Significance

• Sin’s corporate reach warns modern communities that collective rebellion invites collective consequences.
• Divine warnings are gifts; responding in repentance averts catastrophe.
• The cross answers the horror: Christ endured ultimate desolation so that believers might inherit restoration, turning prophetic terror into gospel hope.

Eschatological Resonance

Revelation mirrors these themes as it portrays the final fall of Babylon and the astonishment of onlookers. מְשַׁמָּה foreshadows the ultimate reckoning and simultaneously amplifies the glory of the new creation where desolation is no more.

Forms and Transliterations
וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה וּמְשַׁמָּֽה׃ וּמְשַׁמָּה֙ ומשמה ומשמה׃ לִמְשַׁמּ֖וֹת למשמות מְשַׁמּ֣וֹת משמות lim·šam·mō·wṯ limšammōwṯ limshamMot mə·šam·mō·wṯ məšammōwṯ meshamMot ū·mə·šam·māh ūməšammāh umeshamMah
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Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 15:6
HEB: מֵ֥י נִמְרִ֖ים מְשַׁמּ֣וֹת יִֽהְי֑וּ כִּֽי־
NAS: of Nimrim are desolate. Surely
KJV: of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay
INT: the waters of Nimrim are desolate become Surely

Jeremiah 48:34
HEB: מֵ֣י נִמְרִ֔ים לִמְשַׁמּ֖וֹת יִהְיֽוּ׃
NAS: of Nimrim will become desolate.
KJV: also of Nimrim shall be desolate.
INT: the waters of Nimrim desolate will become

Ezekiel 5:15
HEB: וּגְדוּפָה֙ מוּסָ֣ר וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה לַגּוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר
NAS: a warning and an object of horror to the nations
KJV: an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations
INT: A reviling A warning and an object to the nations who

Ezekiel 6:14
HEB: הָאָ֜רֶץ שְׁמָמָ֤ה וּמְשַׁמָּה֙ מִמִּדְבַּ֣ר דִּבְלָ֔תָה
NAS: desolate and waste than
KJV: desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness
INT: the land desolate and waste the wilderness Diblah

Ezekiel 33:28
HEB: הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ שְׁמָמָ֣ה וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה וְנִשְׁבַּ֖ת גְּא֣וֹן
NAS: a desolation and a waste, and the pride
KJV: the land most desolate,
INT: the land A desolation and a waste will cease and the pride

Ezekiel 33:29
HEB: הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ שְׁמָמָ֣ה וּמְשַׁמָּ֔ה עַ֥ל כָּל־
NAS: a desolation and a waste because
KJV: the land most desolate
INT: the land A desolation and a waste because of all

Ezekiel 35:3
HEB: וּנְתַתִּ֖יךָ שְׁמָמָ֥ה וּמְשַׁמָּֽה׃
NAS: you a desolation and a waste.
KJV: against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
INT: and make A desolation and a waste

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4923
7 Occurrences


lim·šam·mō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
mə·šam·mō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
ū·mə·šam·māh — 5 Occ.

4922
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