Lexical Summary shikkulim: Bereavement, Loss of Children Original Word: שִׁכֻּלִים Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to have after loss of others Plural from shakol; childlessness (by continued bereavements) -- to have after loss of others. see HEBREW shakol NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom shakol Definition bereavement, childlessness NASB Translation bereaved (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [שִׁכֻּלִים] noun plural abstract bereavement, childlessness; — בְּנֵי שִׁכֻּלָ֑יִךְ Isaiah 49:20 i.e. sons of thee, the bereaved. Topical Lexicon Hebrew Background and Conceptual Range שִׁכֻּלִים speaks of the bitter emptiness that follows the loss of children or the condition of enforced childlessness. The term gathers up the sorrow of bereavement and the social stigma that ancient Near-Eastern culture placed on a house without offspring. It evokes an emotional landscape of grief, vulnerability, and seeming hopelessness, yet it also establishes the canvas on which divine reversal can be painted. Canonical Context: Isaiah 49:20 “Then the children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears, ‘This place is too cramped for me; make room for me to settle.’ ” (Isaiah 49:20) Isaiah addresses Zion, personified as a woman desolate after the Babylonian exile. She feels doubly bereaved—first by the physical death or captivity of her children, and second by the apparent estrangement from her covenant Lord. Into that bereavement, God promises an unexpected influx of sons and daughters so numerous that the city must expand her borders. The sorrow named by שִׁכֻּלִים becomes the very prelude to overflowing joy. Theological Themes 1. Divine Reversal 2. Covenant Faithfulness 3. Consolation of the Afflicted Prophetic and Redemptive Significance Isaiah 49 stands within the Servant Songs, which find their fullness in Jesus Messiah. The ingathering of Zion’s “children” prefigures both the post-exilic return and the worldwide inclusion of Gentiles in the gospel era (Romans 9:24-26; Galatians 4:27). Thus שִׁכֻּלִים becomes a prophetic signpost directing the reader from historical Judah to the eschatological people of God. Intertextual Connections • Isaiah 54:1 “Rejoice, O barren woman…” echoes the same paradox of fruitfulness out of loss. Pastoral and Ministry Application 1. Comfort for the Bereaved 2. Encouragement for Seemingly Barren Ministries 3. Motivation for Missions and Adoption Christological Fulfillment In Jesus, the Servant of Isaiah, bereavement is reversed at the deepest level. His resurrection inaugurates a new humanity, filling Zion with spiritual offspring from every tribe and tongue (Revelation 7:9). The solitary biblical use of שִׁכֻּלִים thereby anchors a sweeping narrative: sorrow turned to singing, emptiness filled by grace, death swallowed up in victory. Forms and Transliterations שִׁכֻּלָ֑יִךְ שכליך shikkuLayich šik·ku·lā·yiḵ šikkulāyiḵLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 49:20 HEB: בְאָזְנַ֔יִךְ בְּנֵ֖י שִׁכֻּלָ֑יִךְ צַר־ לִ֥י NAS: The children of whom you were bereaved will yet KJV: The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say INT: your ears the children were bereaved cramped the place 1 Occurrence |
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