Original Word: שָׁלַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shalal
Pronunciation: shah-LAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-lal')
KJV: let fall, make self a prey, X of purpose, (make a, (take)) spoil
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to drop or strip
2. (by implication) to plunder

let fall, make self a prey, of purpose, make a, take spoil

A primitive root; to drop or strip; by implication, to plunder -- let fall, make self a prey, X of purpose, (make a, (take)) spoil.

I. [שָׁלַל] verb draw out (Arabic draw, especially sword from scabbard, drawn sword, new-born child (compare Frä⁷⁵, but also Schulth^{Hom. Wurz. 80 f.}); Talmud שָׁלִיל, ᵑ7 שְׁלִילָא embryo or abortion); — Imperfect2masculine plural + Infinitive absolute שֹׁלתָּֿשֹׁלוּ ׳לָהּ מִן וגו Ruth 2:16 ye shall by all means draw out for her from the sheaves.

II. שָׁלַל verb spoil, plunder (usually identification with I. ׳שׁ; Late Hebrew id. (Jastr, compare Dalm); Assyrian šalâlu, id.; Hom^{Chr 33} compare Sabean תַלל plunder, connecting this with Arabic a flock of sheep (or goats); then ᵑ7 שְׁלָלָא booty, and (rare) Syriac are loan-words); —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular consecutive ׳וְשׁ Ezekiel 26:12; 2masculine singular שַׁלּוֺתָ Habakkuk 2:8, etc.; Imperfect3masculine plural suffix יְשָׁלּוּךָ Habakkuk 2:8; construct לִשְׁלֹ Isaiah 10:6 +; Participle plural שֹׁלְלִים Zechariah 2:12, etc.; — spoil, plunder (usually "" בָּזַז), with accusative of congnate meaning with verb שָׁלָל Isaiah 10:6; Ezekiel 29:19; Ezekiel 38:12,13 (twice in verse), accusative חַיִל wealth Ezekiel 26:12; accusative of person, שֹׁלְלִים Jeremiah 50:10; Habakkuk 2:8; Ezekiel 39:10, גּוֺיִם רַבּים Habakkuk 2:8, compare Zechariah 2:12.

Hithpo`el Perfect3plural אֶשְׁתּוֺלְלוּ אַבִּירֵי לֵב (א in ׳אֶשְׁתּ is Aramaic, or scribal error: Ges^{§ 54a} n., compare 58 k) Psalm 76:6 the stout of heart are spoiled; Participle מִשְׁתּוֺלֵל Isaiah 59:15 he that departs from evil is one despoiled.

Overview

The verb שָׁלַל (šālal) pictures the active removal of goods, persons, or honor—usually by force, sometimes by right—so as to make them one’s own. Its 16 appearances form a tight cluster around four domains: covenant kindness, military conquest, social injustice, and eschatological judgment-reversal.

Covenant Kindness and Protection (Ruth 2:16)

Boaz commands his reapers, “Pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her” (Ruth 2:16). The only non-violent use of שָׁלַל, it turns plunder into provision. Boaz voluntarily “lets himself be plundered” so that Ruth may eat—anticipating the kinsman-redeemer motif fulfilled in Christ. Here שָׁלַל teaches that covenant love transforms the right to take into the grace to give.

Military Conquest under Divine Sovereignty

1. Instruments of Judgment
• “I send him against a godless nation, and I give him orders to plunder” (Isaiah 10:6).
• “Chaldea will become plunder; all who plunder her will have their fill” (Jeremiah 50:10).

The verb underscores that victory and loss both lie in God’s hand. Nations may seize spoil, but only because the LORD appoints “the day of calamity” (Jeremiah 46:21).

2. Post-Battle Reversal
• Psalm 76:5 pictures valiant warriors stripped of their spoil by the Divine Warrior.
• Ezekiel 39:10 envisions Israel “plundering those who plundered them.”

God reverses fortunes, turning oppressors into the despoiled, thereby vindicating His name.

Social Injustice and Moral Diagnosis

Isaiah singles out the dissolution of truth in society: “He who turns from evil becomes prey” (Isaiah 59:15). When integrity is looted, the covenant community itself is under siege. Habakkuk twice warns Babylon: “Because you have plundered many nations, the remainder of the peoples will plunder you” (Habakkuk 2:8). שָׁלַל thus becomes a litmus test of national morality: those who steal will be stolen from.

Eschatological Concentration: Gog and the Latter Days (Ezekiel 38–39; Zechariah 2:8)

Ezekiel 38:12–13 thrice employs שָׁלַל to frame Gog’s motivation—material greed cloaked in geo-political ambition. Yet the prophecy culminates with the house of Israel gathering the invaders’ weapons as fuel (Ezekiel 39:10). Zechariah intensifies the theme: “He who touches you touches the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). To molest God’s people is to rob God Himself, inviting catastrophic retaliation.

Theological Motifs

• Divine Ownership: All possessions ultimately belong to the LORD; any act of plunder occurs within His jurisdiction.
• Justice and Retribution: שָׁלַל is never morally neutral; it discloses either divine wrath or covenant mercy.
• Reversal Principle: Those who seize unlawfully will, in God’s timing, suffer loss.
• Messianic Foreshadowing: Boaz’s deliberate self-plundering prefigures Christ, who “though He was rich…became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Ministry and Discipleship Implications

1. Generosity over Greed: Like Boaz, believers are called to relinquish legitimate rights for the sake of the vulnerable.
2. Confidence in Justice: Oppression will not stand unchallenged; pastors may comfort the afflicted with God’s promise to repay.
3. Spiritual Warfare: Jesus applies the plunder imagery to His victory over Satan (Luke 11:22), urging the church to proclaim liberation.
4. Eschatological Hope: The Gog narrative assures that end-time hostilities cannot annul God’s covenant; final reversal is certain.

Intercanonical Resonance

While שָׁלַל is confined to the Old Testament, its conceptual thread runs into the New: Christ “disarmed the powers and authorities” (Colossians 2:15) and shares the spoils (Ephesians 4:8). The church, therefore, stands as both beneficiary and steward of a plunder already secured by the cross.

Summary

שָׁלַל is a barometer of covenant fidelity: it exposes greed, announces judgment, and highlights grace. Whether on the threshing floor of Bethlehem or the battlefields of the last days, the LORD remains the decisive actor—granting, restricting, and ultimately reversing every act of plunder for His glory and His people’s good.

אֶשְׁתּוֹלְל֨וּ ׀ אשתוללו הֲלִשְׁלֹ֤ל הַשֹּׁלְלִ֣ים הלשלל השללים וְשָׁלְל֣וּ וְשָׁלַ֤ל ושלל ושללו יְשָׁלּ֖וּךָ ישלוך לִשְׁלֹ֖ל לִשְׁלֹ֤ל לִשְׁלֹ֥ל לשלל מִשְׁתּוֹלֵ֑ל משתולל שַׁלּ֙וֹתָ֙ שֹׁלְלֵיהֶ֗ם שֹׁלְלֶ֥יהָ שֹׁל־ של־ שלות שלליה שלליהם תָּשֹׁ֥לּוּ תשלו ’eš·tō·wl·lū ’eštōwllū eshtolLu hă·liš·lōl halishLol hălišlōl haš·šō·lə·lîm hashsholeLim haššōləlîm liš·lōl lishLol lišlōl miš·tō·w·lêl mishtoLel mištōwlêl šal·lō·w·ṯā šallōwṯā shalLota shol sholeLeiha sholeleiHem šō·lə·le·hā šō·lə·lê·hem šōl- šōləlehā šōləlêhem tā·šōl·lū taShollu tāšōllū veshaLal veshalLu wə·šā·lal wə·šā·lə·lū wəšālal wəšāləlū yə·šāl·lū·ḵā yəšāllūḵā yeshalLuchaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts