Original Word: שָׁקַץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shaqats
Pronunciation: shah-KATS
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-kats')
KJV: abhor, make abominable, have in abomination, detest, X utterly
NASB: detest, abhorred, make detestable, render detestable, utterly detest
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to be filthy, i.e. (intensively) to loathe, pollute

abhor, make abominable, have in abomination, detest, utterly

A primitive root; to be filthy, i.e. (intensively) to loathe, pollute -- abhor, make abominable, have in abomination, detest, X utterly.

Word Origin
denominative verb from sheqets
Definition
to detest, make detestable
NASB Translation
abhorred (1), detest (2), make...detestable (1), render...detestable (1), utterly detest (1).

[שִׁקֵּץ] verb Pi`el denominative detest, make detestable; — Perfect3masculine singular שִׁקַּץ Psalm 22:25; Imperfect2masculine plural תְּשַׁקְּצוּ Leviticus 11:13 +, etc.; Infinitive absolute שַׁקֵּץ Deuteronomy 7:26; —

1 detest,

c. accusative of thing Deuteronomy 7:26 (Imperfect + Infinitive absolute; "" תַּעֵב תְּתַעֲבֶּנּוּ), Leviticus 11:11,13 (P); "" בָּזָה Psalm 22:25

2 make detestable, object נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם (= reflexive) Leviticus 11:43 (P), Leviticus 20:25 (H).

Meaning and Scope

שָׁקַץ expresses an intense revulsion that moves one to reject, avoid, and declare something off-limits. In Scripture the verb always stands in a moral or ceremonial context, identifying whatever is incompatible with divine holiness.

Occurrences within the Torah

1. Leviticus 11:11 and Leviticus 11:13 place the verb at the center of the dietary code. Sea creatures lacking fins and scales and certain birds are said to be “detestable”, signaling that Israel must neither eat them nor treat their remains casually.
2. Leviticus 11:43 extends the principle to “any crawling creature,” warning, “Do not defile yourselves… do not make yourselves detestable with them.” The concern is not hygiene but covenant identity; uncleanness alienates worshipers from the sanctuary (compare Leviticus 11:44–45).
3. Leviticus 20:25 revisits the verb as Israel prepares to enter Canaan. The people are commanded to “distinguish between the clean and the unclean” so that they “do not become detestable” through contact with forbidden animals. Separation safeguards the nation from the moral contagion that destroyed the previous inhabitants (Leviticus 18:24–30).
4. Deuteronomy 7:26 (verb used twice) transfers the same vocabulary from food laws to the realm of idolatry: “You are to utterly detest and abhor it.” The verb’s double use intensifies the command. Idols are to be expelled with the same seriousness shown toward unclean carcasses, lest the worshiper share their judgment (“lest you become devoted to destruction like it”).

Holiness, Cleanliness, and Covenant Identity

The Torah does not label something detestable because it is innately repulsive; rather, the object is detestable because God has set it outside the sphere of covenant fellowship. By declaring certain creatures off-limits, God drilled an embodied lesson into Israel: holiness requires discernment. Obedience trained the conscience to recoil from anything God rejects, preparing the heart to make moral distinctions in every sphere of life (Hebrews 5:14).

Detesting Idolatry

When Deuteronomy applies שָׁקַץ to idols, it shows that ritual revulsion points beyond diet to the deeper abomination of false worship. Physical uncleanness was a shadow; spiritual adultery is the substance. The exile proved that ignoring this revulsion leads to national ruin (Ezekiel 8; 2 Kings 17).

Messianic Application in Psalm 22

Psalm 22:24 offers a striking reversal: “For He has not despised or abhorred (שָׁקַץ) the affliction of the afflicted”. The suffering servant speaks after apparent divine abandonment (Psalm 22:1), affirming that the Lord did not find His suffering detestable. What sinners should have borne, the Messiah bore, and the Father received Him. The verb that had fenced sinners away from holiness is answered by a sacrifice God does not detest, opening the way for all who trust in Him.

Doctrinal and Ministry Themes

• God alone defines what is pure or detestable; His judgments are never arbitrary but flow from His holy character.
• External categories train internal sensitivities. Rightly used, ceremonial laws cultivate moral alertness; abused, they degenerate into legalism (Matthew 23:23–26).
• Idolatry is the ultimate uncleanness. Any object, ideology, or desire that rivals God must be treated with the same revulsion Israel was to show toward carcasses and carved images.
• The cross satisfies divine revulsion against sin. Because the Father did not “abhor” the afflicted Christ, sinners who hide in Him are accepted (Romans 5:1–2).

Practical Implications for Believers Today

1. Nurture holy revulsion. What God labels sinful must never be accommodated or trivialized, whether in entertainment, private habits, or corporate life.
2. Guard the home. Deuteronomy 7:26 directs believers to keep detestable objects out of their dwellings. Modern equivalents include occult objects, immoral media, and any item that normalizes idolatry.
3. Proclaim the gospel’s cleansing. While sin is detestable, sinners are redeemable. Ministry must pair a clear call to separation from defilement with the assurance that Christ was not despised, so the penitent will not be forsaken.

שִׁקַּ֡ץ שַׁקֵּ֧ץ ׀ שקץ תְּשַׁקְּצ֣וּ תְּשַׁקְּצֶ֛נּוּ תְּשַׁקְּצוּ֙ תְּשַׁקֵּֽצוּ׃ תְשַׁקְּצ֨וּ תשקצו תשקצו׃ תשקצנו šaq·qêṣ šaqqêṣ shakKetz shikKatz šiq·qaṣ šiqqaṣ tə·šaq·qə·ṣen·nū tə·šaq·qê·ṣū tə·šaq·qə·ṣū ṯə·šaq·qə·ṣū təšaqqəṣennū təšaqqêṣū təšaqqəṣū ṯəšaqqəṣū teshakkeTzennu teshakKetzuInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts