Lexical Summary shad: Breast Original Word: שַׁד Strong's Exhaustive Concordance breast, pap, teat Or shod {shode}; probably from shuwd (in its original sense) contracted; the breast of a woman or animal (as bulging) -- breast, pap, teat. see HEBREW shuwd Brown-Driver-Briggs [שַׁד] noun masculineHosea 9:14 female breast; — absolute שָׁ֑ד Lamentations 4:3; elsewhere dual שָׁדַיִם Hosea 9:14 +, construct שְׁדֵי Ezekiel 23:21 +, suffix שָׁדַי Songs 1:13; Songs 8:10, שָׁדַיִךְ Songs 4:5 +, etc.; — breast: 1 of woman Hosea 2:4; Ezekiel 16:7; Ezekiel 23:3,21 (שְׁדֵי נְעוּרָ֑יִךְ, "" דַּדַּיִךְ), Ezekiel 23:34 (> strike out ᵐ5 Manuscripts Co; — all these of personified People), Songs 1:13; Songs 4:5; Songs 7:4,8,9; Songs 8:8,10; of mother Psalm 22:10, with יָנַק suck Songs 8:1; Job 3:12; Joel 2:15; Hosea 9:14 (see [ צָמַק]); ׳מִשּׁ עֲתִיקֵי Isaiah 28:9 i.e. those already weaned, mature ("" גְּמוּלֵי מֵךְָלָב). — Isaiah 32:12 see [ספד]. 2 of animal Lamentations 4:3. 3 both human and animal, וָרָ֑חַם ׳בִּרְכוֺת שׁ Genesis 49:25 (poem in J). II. שֹׁד noun masculine id. (compare the rare Arabic Topical Lexicon Physical and Familial Setting In its most straightforward sense שַׁד denotes the female breast, the organ of nurture for infants. The term appears in earliest patriarchal blessing (Genesis 49:25) and in Job’s lament of existence (Job 3:12). Such contexts situate the word in the domestic sphere where life is first sustained. Scripture treats this aspect with reverence: “Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure upon my mother’s breasts” (Psalm 22:9). The breast is therefore presented as a God-provided instrument of preservation, underscoring the Creator’s intentional design for family structures. Symbol of Maternal Provision and Divine Care Prophetic literature extends the maternal image to corporate Israel. Isaiah foresees Zion as a nursing mother whose citizens “nurse and are satisfied at her comforting breast” (Isaiah 66:11). Likewise, Isaiah 60:16 envisions the nations supplying abundance: “You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breast of kings.” These passages draw a theological line from the literal sustenance of a child to the gracious provision of God for His people. The intimate dependency between infant and mother illustrates the believer’s absolute reliance on the Lord (cf. Psalm 131:2; 1 Peter 2:2). Figure of Marital Love and Human Sexuality The Song of Songs employs שַׁד twelve times, celebrating physical attraction within covenant union. “Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle” (Song of Songs 4:5) poetically affirms feminine beauty, while 8:10 links mature bodily development with the security of exclusive love. The frank appreciation of the female form, always inside marital commitment, validates God-given sexuality without shame. This sets a template for Christian teaching that rejects both prudish denials of the body’s goodness and the promiscuous distortions condemned elsewhere in Scripture. Image of Spiritual Immaturity and Growth Isaiah 28:9 mocks a people unwilling to move beyond spiritual infancy—“Those weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?”—highlighting the necessity of progression from basic truths to mature obedience. By depicting prolonged dependence on the breast as negative, the prophet lays groundwork for later New Testament exhortations to advance from “milk” to “solid food” (Hebrews 5:12-14). Pastoral ministry draws on this motif to encourage believers toward doctrinal depth and practical holiness. Prophetic Lens: Apostasy, Judgment, and National Lament When covenant fidelity collapses, the same organ of nurture becomes a canvas for shame. Ezekiel 23 portrays Israel and Judah as adulterous sisters whose “young breasts” were fondled in Egyptian debauchery (Ezekiel 23:3, 21). Hosea pleads for removal of “unfaithfulness from between her breasts” (Hosea 2:2), while Hosea 9:14 petitions God for “breasts that dry up,” a stark image of judgment through withheld nurture. Lamentations 4:3 observes that even jackals nurse their young, yet siege-stricken Jerusalem withholds compassion. Tearing or beating the breasts (Ezekiel 23:34; Isaiah 32:12) acts as a gesture of grief and penitence. Thus the text leverages the same physical reality to spotlight either covenant blessing or its forfeiture. Eschatological and Messianic Comfort By including שַׁד in his prophetic hope, Isaiah anticipates the future consolation of Jerusalem, a theme later echoed when the Infant Messiah is laid upon Mary’s breasts (Luke 11:27-28 subtly recalls this maternal beatitude). Psalm 22, cited by Jesus on the cross, connects the sufferer’s earliest trust at the breast with ultimate deliverance, uniting Incarnation and Atonement. The prophetic promise that God’s people will drink deeply and be satisfied finds its consummation in Revelation’s portrayal of the Lamb shepherding His flock to “springs of living water.” Pastoral and Theological Reflections 1. Sanctity of life and motherhood: The tenderness with which Scripture treats the nursing relationship urges protection of unborn and newborn life, respect for mothers, and practical support for families. Representative References Genesis 49:25; Job 3:12; Psalm 22:9; Song of Songs 4:5; Song of Songs 8:10; Isaiah 28:9; Isaiah 66:11; Lamentations 4:3; Ezekiel 23:3; Hosea 2:2; Hosea 9:14; Joel 2:16. Shaped by these varied contexts, שַׁד encompasses literal nourishment, marital delight, prophetic admonition, and eschatological comfort—each thread woven into the unified testimony of Scripture to God’s faithful provision and redemptive purpose. Forms and Transliterations דים וְשָׁדַ֖י וְשָׁדַ֖יִךְ וְשָׁדַ֖יִם וְשָׁדַ֣יִךְ וְשֹׁ֥ד ושד ושדי ושדיך ושדים מִשָּׁדָֽיִם׃ מִשֹּׁ֖ד מִשֹּׁ֣ד משד משדים׃ שְׁדֵ֣י שְׁדֵ֥י שְׁדֵיהֶ֔ן שַׁ֔ד שָּׁ֝דַ֗יִם שָׁדֶֽיהָ׃ שָׁדַ֖י שָׁדַ֖יִם שָׁדַ֙יִךְ֙ שָׁדַ֛יִךְ שָׁדַ֤יִם שָׁדָ֑יִם שד שדי שדיה׃ שדיהן שדיך שדים ḏa·yim Dayim ḏayim miš·šā·ḏā·yim miš·šōḏ mishshaDayim mishShod miššāḏāyim miššōḏ šā·ḏa·yiḵ šā·ḏa·yim šā·ḏā·yim šā·ḏay šā·ḏe·hā šaḏ šāḏay šāḏayiḵ šāḏayim šāḏāyim šāḏehā šə·ḏê šə·ḏê·hen šəḏê šəḏêhen Shad shaDai shaDayich shaDayim shaDeiha sheDei shedeiHen veshaDai veshaDayich veshaDayim veShod wə·šā·ḏa·yiḵ wə·šā·ḏa·yim wə·šā·ḏay wə·šōḏ wəšāḏay wəšāḏayiḵ wəšāḏayim wəšōḏLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 49:25 HEB: תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם׃ NAS: Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. KJV: under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: INT: beneath Blessings of the breasts the womb Job 3:12 Job 24:9 Psalm 22:9 Songs 1:13 Songs 4:5 Songs 7:3 Songs 7:7 Songs 7:8 Songs 8:1 Songs 8:8 Songs 8:10 Isaiah 28:9 Isaiah 32:12 Isaiah 60:16 Isaiah 66:11 Lamentations 4:3 Ezekiel 16:7 Ezekiel 23:3 Ezekiel 23:21 Ezekiel 23:34 Hosea 2:2 Hosea 9:14 Joel 2:16 24 Occurrences |
    |
, Lane333 BaZMG ii. 637); — ׳שׁ absolute, of mother