Original Word: שֶׁרֶשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: sheresh
Pronunciation: sho-resh
Phonetic Spelling: (sheh'-resh)
KJV: bottom, deep, heel, root
NASB: root, roots, base, deep root, depths, line, pretext
Word Origin: [from H8327 (שָׁרַשׁ - taken root)]

1. a root (literally or figuratively)

bottom, deep, heel, root

From sharash; a root (literally or figuratively) -- bottom, deep, heel, root.

see HEBREW sharash

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a root
NASB Translation
base (1), deep root (1), depths (1), line (1), pretext (1), root (17), roots (10), soles (1).

שֹׁ֫רֶשׁ noun masculine^{Deut 29:17} root; — ׳שׁ absolute Deuteronomy 29:17 +, construct Isaiah 11:10 +; suffix שָׁרְשִׁי Job 29:19, etc.; plural construct שָׁרְשֵׁי Job 13:27 (see below) Job 36: suffix שָֽׁרָשָׁיו Amos 2:9 +, שָֽׁרָשֶׁיהָ Ezekiel 17:7 +; —

1 root of people under figure of tree, involving firmness, permanence, Amos 2:9; Hosea 9:16; Hosea 14:6; Isaiah 14:30; 2 Kings 19:30 = Isaiah 37:31; — שָׁרְשָׁם Judges 5:14 is probably corrupt, see GFM; — so of person (compare Phoenician, Eshmunazar¹¹ GACooke^{pp. 30, 36}) Isaiah 5:24; Malachi 3:19; Job 8:17; Job 18:16; Job 29:19; Proverbs 12:3,12; = stock, family Isaiah 11:1,10; Daniel 11:7, compare (of serpent) Isaiah 14:29; = source or cause Deuteronomy 29:17, דָּבָר ׳שׁ Job 19:28.

2 literally root of tree or shrub Jeremiah 17:8 (simile), Ezekiel 31:7 (metaphor of people). Isaiah 53:2 (simile), Job 14:8; Job 30:4; of vine (metaphor of people) Ezekiel 17:6,7,9 (twice in verse); Psalm 80:10 (accusative of congnate meaning with verb with שׁרשׁ Hiph`il).

3 root, figurative=lowest stratum, of mountain Job 28:9, of sea Job 36:30= bottom (text strange and dubious: Du רָאשֵׁי הָרִים, with אֵרוֺ in v^a); of feet, שָׁרְשֵׁי רַגְלַי Job 13:27, i.e. soles Ew Di De Da and others (elsewhere כַּף), Bu place of treading, footholds; Du (arbitrarily) שָׁרְשִׁי, strike out רגלי.

[שֹׁ֫רֶשׁ] noun masculine^{Dan 4:12} root (see Biblical Hebrew); — plural suffix שָׁרְשׁוֺ֫הִי of tree Daniel 4:12; Daniel 4:20; Daniel 4:23.

Hebrew Concept of the Root

שֶׁרֶשׁ speaks of the unseen life-source that anchors and nourishes a plant. Scripture transfers this physical reality into the moral, covenantal, and eschatological realms, making “root” a rich symbol of origin, stability, hidden potency, and future hope. What lies beneath determines what will appear above; the root is therefore both a verdict on past choices and a prophecy of coming fruit.

Literary Distribution

Approximately thirty-three occurrences span the Pentateuch, Wisdom Books, and Prophets. Narrative passages employ the word literally, while Wisdom and Prophetic texts press it into metaphoric service—either to promise steadfast blessing or to warn of inevitable judgment.

Literal Botanical Usage

Job describes trees whose “roots entwine the stones” (Job 8:17) and a stump that “at the scent of water will bud and put forth branches like a sapling” (Job 14:9). Such observations ground later theological images: the hidden root is alive even when the trunk appears dead, foreshadowing the theme of remnant and resurrection.

Stability and Righteousness

Wisdom literature links strong roots to moral integrity:
• “A man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted” (Proverbs 12:3).
• “The wicked covet the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous bears fruit” (Proverbs 12:12).

What the righteous have beneath the surface—faith, fear of the Lord, obedience—guarantees endurance when storms come.

Covenant Loyalty and Apostasy

Moses warned of a hidden cancer within Israel: “Make sure…there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison” (Deuteronomy 29:18). Apostasy starts invisibly, then flowers into public rebellion. Later prophets pick up the warning: “Ephraim is struck down; their root is dried up; they bear no fruit” (Hosea 9:16). Malachi heightens it: the coming day “will not leave them root or branch” (Malachi 4:1). Judgment plucks up the very origin of evil, leaving no possibility of regrowth.

Messianic Hope: The Root of Jesse

Against the backdrop of failed kingship, Isaiah promises, “On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will seek Him” (Isaiah 11:10). The stump of Davidic monarchy seems dead, yet a hidden root guarantees a shoot, a Branch (Isaiah 11:1). Revelation echoes this with Christ’s self-designation as “the Root and the Offspring of David,” linking Old and New Testaments in a single redemptive line.

The Remnant and Restoration

During Assyrian crisis Isaiah comforts Judah: “The surviving remnant…will again take root downward and bear fruit upward” (Isaiah 37:31; cf. 2 Kings 19:30). Exile is not the end; God preserves a root so that covenant promises continue. Ezekiel dramatizes the same truth in the allegory of the transplanted cedar (Ezekiel 17:6).

Historical Significance

Israel’s agricultural setting made root imagery immediately intelligible. A withered crop signaled covenant curse; deep roots after early rains pictured divine favor. Prophets exploited seasonal cycles to interpret national events: drought paralleled spiritual barrenness, while unexpected regrowth after cutting (as in Job 14) mirrored the improbable return from exile.

Ministry Applications

1. Discipleship – Ground new believers in Scripture and prayer so that, like the righteous, they “cannot be uprooted.”
2. Church Discipline – Address hidden sin early; a poisonous root tolerated will spread (compare Hebrews 12:15’s use of the Greek cognate).
3. Hope in Decline – Even when visible structures collapse, God may preserve a root for future revival, encouraging perseverance in barren seasons.
4. Christ-Centered Preaching – Present Jesus as both the ancestral Root (source) and fruitful Branch (fulfillment), uniting Old Testament promise with New Testament realization.

Representative References

Job 8:17; Job 14:8-9; Job 19:28

Deuteronomy 29:18

Proverbs 12:3; Proverbs 12:12

Isaiah 11:1, 10; Isaiah 37:31

Ezekiel 17:6-9

Hosea 9:16

Malachi 4:1

In every occurrence שֶׁרֶשׁ reminds readers that what is hidden before men is fully known to God, that He deals with causes as well as symptoms, and that in His sovereign grace He preserves a righteous root that will unfailingly blossom into covenant fulfillment.

וְכַשֹּׁ֙רֶשׁ֙ וְשָׁרְשֵׁ֖י וְשָׁרָשָׁ֖יו וְשֹׁ֖רֶשׁ וְשֹׁ֥רֶשׁ וכשרש ושרש ושרשי ושרשיו מִשָּׁרָשֶֽׁיהָ׃ מִשָּׁרָשָׁ֥יו מִשֹּׁ֣רֶשׁ מִשֹּׁ֤רֶשׁ משרש משרשיה׃ משרשיו רשיה שָֽׁרָשָׁ֔יו שָֽׁרָשָׁ֣יו שָׁ֝רָשֶׁ֗יהָ שָׁרְשִׁ֣י שָׁרְשֵׁ֔ךְ שָׁרְשֵׁ֥י שָׁרְשָׁ֥ם שָׁרְשָׁם֙ שָׁרְשׁ֑וֹ שָׁרְשׁ֖וֹ שָׁרֳשֶׁ֣יהָ שָׁרָשֶׁ֖יהָ שָׁרָשֶׁ֨יהָ שָׁרָשָׁ֖יו שֹׁ֛רֶשׁ שֹׁ֣רֶשׁ שֹׁ֥רֶשׁ שרש שרשו שרשי שרשיה שרשיו שרשך שרשם miš·šā·rā·šāw miš·šā·rā·še·hā miš·šō·reš mishsharaShav mishsharaSheiha mishShoresh miššārāšāw miššārāšehā miššōreš rā·še·hā rāšehā raSheiha šā·rā·šāw šā·rā·še·hā šā·rə·šām šā·rə·šê šā·rə·šêḵ šā·rə·šî šā·rə·šōw šā·ro·še·hā šārāšāw šārāšehā šārəšām šārəšê šārəšêḵ šārəšî šārəšōw šārošehā sharaShav sharaSheiha shareSham shareShech shareShei shareShi shareSho Shoresh shoroSheiha šō·reš šōreš vechashShoresh vesharaShav veshareShei veShoresh wə·ḵaš·šō·reš wə·šā·rā·šāw wə·šā·rə·šê wə·šō·reš wəḵaššōreš wəšārāšāw wəšārəšê wəšōrešInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts