Original Word: שָׁרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: sharah
Pronunciation: shah-RAH
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-raw')
KJV: sing (by mistake for H7891), wall
Word Origin: [probably feminine of H7791 (שׁוּר - wall)]

1. a fortification (literally or figuratively)

a fortification, wall

Probably feminine of shuwr; a fortification (literally or figuratively) -- sing (by mistake for shiyr), wall.

see HEBREW shuwr

see HEBREW shiyr

Word Origin
fem. of shur, q.v.

Canonical Placement and Singular Occurrence

Strong’s Hebrew 8284 שָׁרָה appears only in Jeremiah 5:10, a chapter in which the prophet indicts Judah for covenant infidelity. The rarity of the term heightens its rhetorical force; when a hapax legomenon surfaces, the Spirit-led author often seeks to arrest the reader’s attention. By using an unusual word for “branches,” the verse underscores the severity and specificity of the coming judgment.

Jeremiah 5:10 in Covenant Context

“Go up through her vineyards and ravage, but do not destroy them completely. Remove her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.” (Jeremiah 5:10)

The vineyard metaphor echoes Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:8-16, passages that portray Israel as God’s carefully tended planting. In Jeremiah, however, the focus shifts to excision: certain “branches” (שָׁרָה) are to be cut away because they “do not belong to the LORD.” The command preserves a remnant (“do not destroy them completely”) while eliminating fruitless or counterfeit growth. The interplay of judgment and preservation reveals God’s unwavering commitment both to holiness and to His redemptive promises.

Imagery of Branch Removal in Scripture

1. Pruning for productivity (Leviticus 25:3-4; John 15:2).
2. Cutting off the boastful (Romans 11:17-22).
3. Uprooting every plant not planted by the Father (Matthew 15:13).

These texts echo the Jeremiah passage by pairing removal with the hope of eventual fruitfulness among the faithful.

Historical Significance

Jeremiah ministered during the last decades of the Judahite monarchy (circa 626-586 BC). Foreign policy vacillation, social injustice, and syncretistic worship had compromised the nation’s witness. The Babylonian threat loomed, yet popular religion promised safety based on mere temple affiliation (Jeremiah 7:4). Against this backdrop, the prophetic call to strip away illegitimate “branches” strikes at institutional complacency and false security.

Theological Themes

• Divine ownership: “they do not belong to the LORD.” Scripture consistently distinguishes between nominal association with God’s people and genuine covenant allegiance (Numbers 16; 1 John 2:19).
• Purifying judgment: The removal of שָׁרָה prefigures the refining fires described in Malachi 3:2-3 and 1 Peter 1:7.
• Mercy in wrath: Though pruning is painful, it spares the vine itself, preserving future fruit (Jeremiah 5:18; Lamentations 3:22-23).

Ministry Applications

1. Church discipline mirrors the prophetic act of removing unfruitful branches, aiming at restoration, not annihilation (Matthew 18:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).
2. Spiritual leaders must guard against the temptation to measure success by visible expansion rather than covenant fidelity.
3. Personal self-examination (2 Corinthians 13:5) aligns the believer with God’s ongoing pruning, producing “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).

Christological Fulfillment

Jesus, the true Vine (John 15:1), gathers within Himself every legitimate branch. Union with Him secures life; detachment invites removal and burning. Jeremiah’s vineyard thus anticipates the gospel in which judgment and mercy converge at the cross—where the barren are cut off in Christ’s death, and the believing remnant rises in His life.

Eschatological Outlook

The ultimate pruning arrives at the final harvest (Revelation 14:14-20). Until then, the Church proclaims both warning and hope: God still removes counterfeit branches, yet He also grafts in all who repent and believe (Acts 2:38-39; Romans 11:23).

Summary

Strong’s 8284 שָׁרָה, though attested only once, contributes a vivid picture of God’s corrective yet preserving action. It reminds the people of God in every age that covenant privilege demands covenant faithfulness, and that the Gardner’s knife, wielded in love, serves the flourishing of the true vine and the glory of the Husbandman.

בְשָׁרוֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ בשרותיה ḇə·šā·rō·w·ṯe·hā ḇəšārōwṯehā vesharoTeihaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts