Lexical Summary shaatah: To turn aside, to deviate, to incline Original Word: שַׁעֲטָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance stamping Feminine from an unused root meaning to stamp; a clatter (of hoofs) -- stamping. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition a stamping (of hooves) NASB Translation galloping (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [שַׁעֲטָה] noun feminine stamping (of hoofs); — construct שַׁעֲטַת מַּרְסוֺת אַבִּירָיו Jeremiah 47:3. Topical Lexicon Term OverviewShāʻătāh appears once in the Hebrew Scriptures (Jeremiah 47:3) and evokes the thunderous pounding of horses’ hoofs in battle. The noun captures not merely noise but the atmosphere of suddenness, speed, and irresistible force—an auditory symbol of advancing judgment. Context within Jeremiah 47 Jeremiah 47 is an oracle announcing calamity upon the Philistines. Verse 3 places the hearer on the shoreline plains as Babylon’s cavalry charges: “At the sound of the galloping hooves of his stallions, the rumbling of his chariots, and the clatter of his wheels, fathers do not turn back for their sons, their hands hang limp” (Berean Standard Bible). Shāʻătāh accents the prophetic scene by registering the terror that precedes the invaders’ arrival. The Philistines, historically famed for chariot warfare, now quake at a superior force. The deliberate use of a rare term intensifies the sense that what approaches is unprecedented and unanswerable—Yahweh’s sentence made audible. Imagery of Divine Judgment Scripture often uses the horse to portray swift judgment (Job 39:19-25; Joel 2:4-5). Shāʻătāh joins this motif, concentrating on the hoofbeat rather than the animal, thereby anchoring judgment in the senses. The pounding ground communicates inevitability; there is no time left for strategic retreat or familial duty. The verse shows fathers paralyzed, illustrating how divine judgment overturns natural affections when sin’s reckoning arrives (compare Luke 23:28-30). The moment is both physical and moral: the earth shakes, and so do human hearts. Historical Background The attack likely refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign against Philistia shortly after defeating Egypt at Carchemish (605-604 B.C.). Jeremiah prophesies from Judah, watching regional powers fall in succession to Babylon’s ascendancy. For the Philistines—ancient foes of Israel—the shāʻătāh is the herald not merely of geopolitical reshuffling but of covenant justice. Their coastal cities had resisted Yahweh’s supremacy since the days of Samson and David; now the pounding cavalry underscores that no fortress or alliance can forestall the purposes of the Lord of Hosts. Intertextual Connections Though unique in form, shāʻătāh resonates with other Old Testament sounds of war: Judges 5:22; Nahum 3:2; Ezekiel 26:10. These passages weave a tapestry in which auditory images preview impending doom. Jeremiah’s adoption of this vocabulary situates Philistia’s downfall within the broader prophetic pattern affirming the moral order of the universe. Pastoral and Homiletical Insights 1. Urgency of Repentance: The single occurrence of shāʻătāh warns that when divine judgment finally sounds, response time is past (Hebrews 3:15). Theological Reflection Shāʻătāh supplies a sonic metaphor for the inescapability of God’s rule over nations. Scripture presents history as a procession directed toward consummation; every empire, like Philistia, will finally hear the gallop of perfect justice. In the New Testament this imagery expands to the white horse of Revelation 19:11-16, on which Christ rides to finalize victory. Thus the lone Old Testament occurrence helps frame a canonical symphony where auditory symbols move from dread for the rebellious to hope for the faithful. Ministerial Application Meditation on shāʻătāh encourages believers to: Summary Shāʻătāh is not a mere lexical curiosity; it is the prophetic soundscape of holiness confronting rebellion. Its solitary strike in Jeremiah 47:3 reverberates through Scripture, reminding every generation that the Lord’s approach may be heard before He is seen, and that the wise heart heeds the hoofbeats while there is still time to bow. Forms and Transliterations שַֽׁעֲטַת֙ שעטת ša‘ăṭaṯ ša·‘ă·ṭaṯ shaaTatLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Jeremiah 47:3 HEB: מִקּ֗וֹל שַֽׁעֲטַת֙ פַּרְס֣וֹת אַבִּירָ֔יו NAS: of the noise of the galloping hoofs KJV: At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs INT: of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions 1 Occurrence |
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