Original Word: שֵׁאת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: she'th
Pronunciation: shayth
Phonetic Spelling: (shayth)
KJV: desolation
NASB: devastation
Word Origin: [from H7582 (שָׁאָה - devastated)]

1. devastation

desolation

From sha'ah; devastation -- desolation.

see HEBREW sha'ah

Word Origin
from shaah
Definition
perhaps devastation
NASB Translation
devastation (1).

שֵׁאת noun feminine doubtful word; perhaps (for *שֶׁאֶת) din of battle (= שָׁאוֺן); Thes and others devastation, compare שְׁאִיָּה; either meaning suits ׳הַשּׁ Lamentations 3:47 ("" הַשָּׁ֑בֶר; but We^{compare Hex. 2, 351}, from II. שׁוא, desolation); contracted (according to Thes and most) שֵׁת, in בְּנֵי שֵׁת Numbers 24:17 (J) sons of (battle-)din (warriors, = שָׁאוֺןבְּנֵי in "" Jeremiah 48:45); Vrss take שֵׁת here as proper name; Gray proposes שֵׂת = שְׂאֵת, pride, or reading as Jeremiah compare We^{comp. Hex.351}.

Hebrew Term and Conceptual Range

The word שֵׁאת in Lamentations 3:47 conveys a picture of violent desolation—ruin that sweeps away all sense of security or normality. While translated “devastation” in the Berean Standard Bible, its semantic field in Hebrew poetry overlaps ideas such as waste, havoc, ruin and collapse. The term carries an auditory feel of something suddenly torn down, leaving only wreckage in its wake.

Location in Scripture

Occurrence: Lamentations 3:47.

“Panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction.”

Historical Setting

Lamentations mourns the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 B.C. The nation’s capital, temple, and social fabric were dismantled. שֵׁאת captures the civic and spiritual vacuum that followed the siege—houses burned, walls breached, survivors deported, worship suspended. The writer stacks terms—“panic … pitfall … devastation … destruction”—creating an escalating cadence of calamity that mirrors the overwhelming reality Judah faced.

Literary Function in Lamentations

1. Intensifier of Suffering: The chorus-like pairing “devastation and destruction” deepens the lament, forcing readers to linger on the breadth of loss.
2. Link between Cause and Effect: Earlier verses acknowledge sin (Lamentations 1:8–9; 3:42). שֵׁאת names the tangible outcome of covenant violation.
3. Bridge to Hope: The same chapter that speaks of ruin also proclaims, “Because of the LORD’s loving devotion we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22). Shattered circumstances magnify divine mercy that soon follows.

Theological Emphases

• Retributive Justice: National rebellion against God brings not mere misfortune but moral recompense (Deuteronomy 28:47–52). שֵׁאת becomes evidence that the covenant stipulations were neither hollow threats nor outdated regulations.
• Divine Sovereignty: Babylonian armies wield swords, yet the hand ultimately belongs to God (Lamentations 2:17). Recognizing the Lord behind the devastation prevents the book from lapsing into fatalism.
• Hope through Judgment: Even ruin serves redemptive ends. Out of the rubble God reconstructs a remnant (Jeremiah 29:11–14; Ezra 1:1–4).

Echoes Across Scripture

Though שֵׁאת itself appears only once, related expressions of catastrophic judgment abound:
• Isaiah portrays the land “desolate” after rebellion (Isaiah 1:7).
• Joel describes fields laid waste so that priests “wail” (Joel 1:9–12).
• In Revelation the great city is left “in one hour” laid waste (Revelation 18:10).

These echoes underline a consistent biblical theme: persistent sin invites sweeping ruin.

Ministry and Pastoral Implications

1. Naming Pain: Like Jeremiah, believers today may use the vocabulary of שֵׁאת to articulate collective or personal tragedy, validating anguish rather than suppressing it.
2. Prophetic Warning: The term summons preachers to sound alarms when societies drift toward idolatry or injustice.
3. Call to Repentance: Recognition of devastation must push hearers toward confession and renewed allegiance to God.
4. Ground for Mercy: Precisely because ruin is real, comfort is meaningful. “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:25).

Christological Perspective

Jesus entered the world’s שֵׁאת, absorbing ultimate devastation at the cross (“He was crushed for our iniquities,” Isaiah 53:5). His resurrection displays God’s power to reverse ruin. Followers therefore see in Lamentations both an anticipation of Calvary’s darkness and a foreshadowing of Easter dawn.

Devotional Reflection

• Examine: In what areas have complacency or disobedience seeded potential devastation?
• Lament: Bring honest grief to God, echoing the cadence of Lamentations 3.
• Hope: Trust that no ruin lies beyond the reach of the Redeemer who “makes all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Summary

שֵׁאת is a single-word memorial to the day Jerusalem fell, a term heavy with the dust of toppled walls and extinguished lamps. Yet within Scripture’s larger narrative, devastation never has the final word. God who permits ruin also promises restoration, inviting His people to move from ashes to renewed covenant joy.

הַשֵּׁ֥את השאת haš·šêṯ hashShet haššêṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts