Lexical Summary shiggaon: Dirge, Lamentation, Poem of Passion Original Word: שִׁגָּעוֹן Strong's Exhaustive Concordance furiously, madness From shaga'; craziness -- furiously, madness. see HEBREW shaga' NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom shaga Definition madness NASB Translation furiously (1), madness (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs שִׁגָּעוֺן noun masculine madness; — ׳הִכָּה בְּשׁ Deuteronomy 28:28 smite with madness, figurative of wild and helpless panic ("" עִוָּרוֺן), תִּמְהוֺן לֵבָב, Zechariah 12:4 ("" תִּמָּהוֺן); ׳בְּשׁ 2 Kings 9:20 (hyperb.) madly. שׁגר (√of following; compare Aramaic שְׁגַר cast, throw, Exodus 13:12 ᵑ7J drop young, Topical Lexicon ConceptThe term denotes an intense mental disturbance that renders a person erratic, irrational, or out of control. Scripture portrays it primarily as a divinely imposed condition that either judges covenant breakers or confounds God’s enemies, though it can also describe outward behavior that observers label as “crazy.” The word occurs only three times, yet those contexts span the Law, the Former Prophets, and the Latter Prophets, allowing a panoramic view of its theological weight. Occurrences 1. Deuteronomy 28:28 Covenantal Judgment (Deuteronomy 28:28) Within the covenant curses, the Lord threatens Israel with “madness, blindness, and confusion of mind” if she rebels. The progression moves from mental disorder to perceptual darkness and finally to total bewilderment. The madness is neither random nor clinical; it is judicial. By stripping a people of sound reason, God exposes their spiritual rebellion and incapacitates their ability to self-govern, thus mirroring the moral chaos they embraced. The verse stands as a sober reminder that mental clarity is a covenant blessing, while its withdrawal is a covenant curse. Jehu’s Furious Zeal (2 Kings 9:20) When the watchman sees Jehu driving his chariot, he reports, “He drives like a madman.” The description captures Jehu’s single-minded zeal to execute God’s judgment on the house of Ahab. Here the word conveys frantic speed rather than mental derangement. Ironically, what to human eyes looks insane is, in the wider narrative, divinely mandated. The verse therefore highlights a tension: divine zeal can appear irrational to those who do not discern God’s purposes (compare 1 Corinthians 2:14). Jehu’s “mad” driving dramatizes the urgency with which God acts against entrenched idolatry. Prophetic Warfare (Zechariah 12:4) Zechariah’s end-time oracle declares, “I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.” In ancient warfare, mounted forces represented speed and strength; disabling rider and horse simultaneously turns military might into chaos. The madness is again an act of divine intervention: God defends Jerusalem by disorienting hostile nations, causing internal collapse before a blow is ever struck by Judah. The passage reinforces that the Lord does not always need conventional weapons; destabilizing the enemy’s mind suffices. Intertextual Insights • Parallels with Saul (1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 19:24) and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:31-33) show that God’s Spirit can withdraw, leaving rulers in mental turmoil. Ministry Reflection 1. Spiritual Sanity: Sound doctrine and obedience safeguard the mind. Persistent sin invites delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Historical Significance Jewish tradition linked national disasters—exile, oppression, dispersion—to breaches of covenant, seeing “madness” as both a symptom and a warning. Early church fathers cautioned believers that doctrinal error leads to collective irrationality. Throughout revivals, observers have misread Spirit-inspired fervor as fanaticism, echoing the watchman’s misinterpretation of Jehu. Theological Summary Madness in Scripture is more than psychological malfunction; it is a moral and theological condition permitted or sent by God to expose sin, accelerate judgment, or protect His people. The antidote is covenant faithfulness, Spirit-enabled wisdom, and reverent fear of the Lord, “for God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Forms and Transliterations בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן בְשִׁגָּע֖וֹן בַּשִּׁגָּע֑וֹן בשגעון baš·šig·gā·‘ō·wn bashshiggaon baššiggā‘ōwn bə·šig·gā·‘ō·wn ḇə·šig·gā·‘ō·wn beshiggaon bəšiggā‘ōwn ḇəšiggā‘ōwn veshiggaonLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Deuteronomy 28:28 HEB: יַכְּכָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה בְּשִׁגָּע֖וֹן וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן וּבְתִמְה֖וֹן NAS: will smite you with madness and with blindness KJV: shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, INT: will smite the LORD madness blindness bewilderment 2 Kings 9:20 Zechariah 12:4 3 Occurrences |
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misit, demisit (rare); compare DrDeuteronomy 7:13).