Hebrew noun (masculine) · H7723
שָׁוְא
shaveshawv
vanity: false
53 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: shâvᵉʼ
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H7723is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 13 of 39Old Testament books
- 23spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H7723
evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjective), uselessness (as deceptive, objective; also adverbially, in vain)
The King James renders it: false(-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
shave is rendered "vanity: false". It stands 53 times in the Hebrew text, across thirteen books.
- Fifteen of the uses stand in Psalms, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Exodus 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- The Greek text spells it twenty-three different ways.
The first use
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
Exodus 20:7לַשָּׁ֑וְא
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Fifteen of the word's fifty-three uses are in Psalms.
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- worthlessness15
- falsehood14
- for the emptiness4
- for the vanity4
- to the falsehood3
- vanity3
- and worthlessness2
- emptiness2
- deceitfulness1
- futility1
- in the worthlessness1
- nothingness1
and 2 more, 53 uses in all
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
The words it stands beside
All 53, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
23 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- שָׁ֑וְא11
- שָׁ֔וְא5
- שָׁ֖וְא4
- שָׁ֤וְא׀4
- לַשָּׁ֣וְא3
- לַשָּׁוְא֙3
- שָׁוְא֙3
- וְ֝שָׁ֗וְא2
- לַשָּׁ֑וְא2
- שָׁ֤וְא2
- שָׁ֣וְא2
- בַּשָּׁ֣יו1
and 11 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- noun · masculine singular37HNcmsa
- preposition with the article + noun · masculine singular12HRd/Ncmsa
- conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine singular2HC/Ncmsa
- the definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singular2HTd/Ncmsa
Exodus
three uses
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- לַשָּׁ֑וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the emptiness
- לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ פlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the emptiness
“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Deuteronomy
three uses
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- לַשָּׁ֑וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the emptiness
- לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ סlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the emptiness
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- שָֽׁוְא׃ סshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Job
six uses
So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed me.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
- בַּשָּׁ֣יוbashovpreposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: in the worthlessness
- שָׁ֝֗וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it.
- שָׁ֭וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: emptiness
Psalms
fifteen uses
They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- שָׁ֤וְא׀shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.
- לַשָּׁ֣וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: to the falsehood
I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- שָׁ֤וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
- וְ֝שָׁ֗וְאveshav'conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: and worthlessness
Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
- שָּׁ֝֗וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: emptiness
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
- וְ֝שָׁ֗וְאveshav'conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: and worthlessness
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- שָׁ֤וְא׀shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: vanity
- שָׁ֤וְא׀shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: vanity
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat— for He gives sleep to His beloved.
- שָׁ֤וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: vanity
who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
- לַשָּׁ֣וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: to the falsehood
whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Set me free and rescue me from the grasp of foreigners, whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Proverbs
one use
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
- שָׁ֤וְא׀shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: deceitfulness
Isaiah
four uses
Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me— your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.
- שָׁ֔וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
- הַשָּׁ֑וְאhashav'the definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the emptiness
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- שָׁ֔וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Jeremiah
five uses
“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- לַשָּׁוְא֙lashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the vanity
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life.
- לַשָּׁ֖וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the vanity
The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
- לַשָּׁוְא֙lashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the vanity
Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.
- לַשָּׁ֣וְאlashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: to the falsehood
Go up to Gilead for balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you try many remedies, but for you there is no healing.
- לַשָּׁוְא֙lashav'preposition with the article + noun · masculine singulartagged: for the vanity
Lamentations
two uses
The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
- שָׁ֣וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
- שָׁ֖וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Ezekiel
nine uses
For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,
- שָׁ֖וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- שָׁוְא֙shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?
- שָׁוְא֙shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
- שָׁ֔וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.
- שָׁוְא֮shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
- שָׁ֚וְאshavnoun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.
- שָׁוְא֙shav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
- שָׁ֔וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- שָׁ֔וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Hosea
two uses
They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- שָׁ֖וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: falsehood
Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
- שָׁ֣וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: worthlessness
Jonah
one use
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- שָׁ֑וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: nothingness
Zechariah
one use
For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
- הַשָּׁ֣ואhashav'the definite article (“the”) + noun · masculine singulartagged: the worthlessness
Malachi
one use
You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
- שָׁ֖וְאshav'noun · masculine singulartagged: futility
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.