8285. sherah
Lexical Summary
sherah: Sherah

Original Word: שֵׁרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: sherah
Pronunciation: SHEH-rah
Phonetic Spelling: (shay-raw')
KJV: bracelet
NASB: bracelets
Word Origin: [from H8324 (שָׁרַר - To be firm) in its original sense of pressing]

1. a wrist-band (as compact or clasping)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bracelet

From sharar in its original sense of pressing; a wrist-band (as compact or clasping) -- bracelet.

see HEBREW sharar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from the same as shor
Definition
a bracelet
NASB Translation
bracelets (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[שֵׁרָה] bracelet, see שׁרר.

[שֵׁרָה] noun [feminine] bracelet (Aramaic שֵׁירָא id., chain, Genesis 24:22 ᵑ6 ᵑ7: Arabic bracelet, Qor 18:30 [Frä56] is said by Lane14645to be from the Persian, and, if Sem., would be from √ ); — plural absolute הַשֵּׁרוֺת Isaiah 3:19 (in list of finery).

Topical Lexicon
Occurrence and Literary Context

Strong’s Hebrew 8285, שֵׁרָה (sherah), is found once in the Old Testament, within Isaiah’s oracle of judgment upon the daughters of Zion (Isaiah 3:16–26). The single reference is Isaiah 3:19, where the Berean Standard Bible lists the item among other costly accessories the Lord will remove: “their pendants, bracelets, and veils” (Isaiah 3:19). By placing שֵׁרָה amid anklets, crescents, sashes, and mirrors, Isaiah highlights it as part of a luxurious ensemble that had come to symbolize pride and spiritual blindness in Jerusalem’s elite women.

Cultural and Historical Background

Archaeology and ancient Near Eastern texts reveal that wealthy women often wore translucent or finely woven veils both for ornamentation and for marking social status. In contrast to thicker everyday coverings, an ornamental veil such as the שֵׁרָה would be crafted from delicate fabrics, sometimes embroidered or scented, and fastened with precious metals. Such finery projected refinement, but it could also advertise privilege and invite the very gaze modest coverings were originally meant to restrain (Genesis 24:65; Song of Solomon 4:1).

Prophetic Purpose in Isaiah

Isaiah names these accessories to expose a deeper issue: Judah’s leaders and ladies were trusting glamor and social clout while neglecting covenant faithfulness. The removal of the שֵׁרָה and its companion trinkets dramatizes the Lord’s stripping away of false securities. The sudden reversal—from fragrant perfume to stench, from well-set hair to baldness, from fine garments to sackcloth (Isaiah 3:24)—foreshadows exile and humiliation. Thus the veil becomes a symbol of misplaced glory: what once concealed and adorned will be taken away to reveal inner poverty.

Symbolic Threads Elsewhere in Scripture

1. Modesty and Reverence: Rebekah’s self-veiling on meeting Isaac (Genesis 24:64–65) reflects humility and honor in contrast to Zion’s haughty display.
2. Authority and Worship: Paul later appeals to head coverings as an outward sign of order and submission to God’s design (1 Corinthians 11:4–10).
3. Inner versus Outer Beauty: Peter exhorts believing women, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment… but from the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:3–4), echoing Isaiah’s critique of empty ornamentation.
4. Removal of Coverings as Judgment: In Hosea 2:3 God threatens to strip adulterous Israel to expose her shame, paralleling the imagery of Isaiah 3.

Theological and Ministry Application

• True security is rooted in covenant faithfulness, not in social display. External trappings—whether clothing, titles, or digital personas—cannot substitute for a heart set on the Lord (Psalm 62:7).
• Leaders and influencers within the covenant community bear particular responsibility to model modesty and humility, lest their example foster vanity among those they lead (James 3:1).
• God sometimes allows the removal of comforts to awaken His people. Seasons of loss, whether material or reputational, may serve as gracious calls to repentance and deeper dependence (Hebrews 12:10–11).
• In discipleship and pastoral counseling, Isaiah 3:19 can help frame discussions on biblical modesty. The aim is not asceticism but alignment of outward life with inward devotion, so that Christ alone is glorified (Colossians 3:17).

Related Themes for Further Study

Adornment and Modesty – Exodus 33:5–6; 1 Timothy 2:9–10

Pride Preceding Judgment – Proverbs 16:18; Isaiah 2:11–17

Shame and Restoration – Zephaniah 3:11–17; Revelation 3:17–18

Veiling and Revelation – 2 Corinthians 3:13–18; Revelation 19:7–8

The solitary appearance of שֵׁרָה in Isaiah functions as a vivid miniature of a larger biblical principle: when outward show eclipses inward holiness, the Lord who sees the heart will intervene, remove false beauty, and invite His people to seek the unfading splendor found in Him alone.

Forms and Transliterations
וְהַשֵּׁיר֖וֹת והשירות vehashsheiRot wə·haš·šê·rō·wṯ wəhaššêrōwṯ
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Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 3:19
HEB: הַנְּטִיפ֥וֹת וְהַשֵּׁיר֖וֹת וְהָֽרְעָלֽוֹת׃
NAS: dangling earrings, bracelets, veils,
KJV: The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
INT: dangling bracelets veils

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 8285
1 Occurrence


wə·haš·šê·rō·wṯ — 1 Occ.

8284
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