6757. tsalmaveth
Lexical Summary
tsalmaveth: Shadow of death

Original Word: צַלְמָוֶת
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: tsalmaveth
Pronunciation: tsal-maw'-veth
Phonetic Spelling: (tsal-maw'-veth)
KJV: shadow of death
NASB: deep darkness, deep shadow, shadow of death, thick darkness, black gloom, dark
Word Origin: [from H6738 (צֵּל - shadow) and H4194 (מָוֶת - death)]

1. shade of death, i.e. the grave (figuratively, calamity)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
shadow of death

From tsel and maveth; shade of death, i.e. The grave (figuratively, calamity) -- shadow of death.

see HEBREW tsel

see HEBREW maveth

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from tsel and maveth
Definition
death-like shadow, deep shadow
NASB Translation
black gloom (1), dark (1), deep darkness (6), deep shadow (4), shadow of death (4), thick darkness (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
צַלְמָ֫וֶת noun [masculine] death-shadow, deep shadow, in poetry (probably = צֵל + מָוֶת, ᵐ5. (usually) σκιὰ θανάτου, compare ᵑ6 ᵑ9, so Thes SchwLeben n. d. Tode, 194, see especially NöZAW xvii (1897), 183 ff.; Ew Br and most modern (after older commentaries) read צַלְמוּת darkness, deep darkness, compare Arabic IV, Assyrian [ƒalâmu], Ethiopic be black, dark); **compare darkness; WeKl. Proph. ed. 3, 81 would read feminine plural צְלָמוֺת, like Qor 2:16; 2:18; and frequently. — death-shadow, often "" חשֶׁךְ, לַיְלָה etc., and opposed to בֹּקֶר, אוֺר.

1 = deep shadow, darkness (compare הַרְרֵי אֵל, אַרְזֵי אֵל): Amos 5:8; Job 3:5; Job 12:22; Job 24:17a Job 28:3; Job 34:22; of eyes heavy with weeping Job 16:16; ׳בַּלְהוֺת צJob 24:17b terrors of the darkness.

2 figurative

a. of distress Jeremiah 13:16; Psalm 107:10; Psalm 107:14; ׳אֶרֶץ צ Isaiah 9:1.

b. of extreme danger Jeremiah 2:6; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 44:20.

3 characterizing world of the dead, ׳אֶרֶץ חשֶׁךְ וצ Job 10:21, ׳כְּמוֺ אֹפֶל צ Job 10:22 (text dubious, see Bu Du); ׳וְשַׁעֲרֵי צ Job 38:17 (ᵐ5 πυλωροὶ δὲ ᾅδου; "" שַׁעֲרֵימָֿ֑וֶת).

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope

צַלְמָוֶת denotes the deepest darkness known to human experience—darkness so dense that it is identified with death itself. Scripture employs it both literally, of places where light is absent, and metaphorically, of conditions in which hope, order, and life are eclipsed.

Occurrences and Theological Trajectory

The term appears eighteen times, with the greatest concentration in the Book of Job. Early wisdom literature uses it to expose the frailty of human existence (Job 3:5; Job 10:21-22). Psalms then transform the image into a setting for divine deliverance (Psalm 23:4; Psalm 107:14). The prophets carry the motif forward, contrasting Israel’s self-chosen darkness with the covenant light God supplies (Isaiah 9:2; Jeremiah 2:6; Amos 5:8).

Portrait of Human Suffering

Job repeatedly turns to צַלְמָוֶת to describe life’s most desolate places: “He uncovers the depths of darkness and brings deep darkness into light” (Job 12:22). In Job 16:16 swollen eyes testify to grief; Job 24:17 depicts criminals who love the night because to them “deep darkness is morning.” The vocabulary admits that suffering sometimes feels impenetrable, yet even in lament the righteous do not deny God’s sovereignty (Job 34:22).

Realm of Death and Sheol

Job 38:17 couples the “gates of death” with “the gates of deepest darkness,” suggesting that צַלְמָוֶת borders Sheol, the unseen realm. The phrase thus functions as a poetic parallel to death itself and reminds readers that only the Creator fully comprehends that territory.

Divine Reveal in Deep Darkness

Psalm 23:4 famously reorients the phrase: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” Presence, not circumstance, determines security. Psalm 44:19 adds a national angle: “You have crushed us in the place of jackals and covered us with deepest darkness,” turning calamity into intercession. Psalm 107:14 declares God’s answer: “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.” Deliverance is not merely emotional; it is historical and bodily.

Messianic and Redemptive Hope

Isaiah 9:2 links צַלְמָוֶת with the coming light of messianic salvation: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” Matthew 4:16 applies the verse to Jesus’ Galilean ministry, showing that the Old Testament anticipation of emerging light converges on the person of Christ. Amos 5:8 similarly calls Israel to seek “the LORD … who turns darkness into dawn,” implying that covenant faith returns light where sin had invited darkness.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Comfort in grief: Psalm 23 authorizes believers to name the intensity of pain while clinging to the Shepherd’s guidance.
2. Evangelism: Isaiah 9 invites proclamation that the Light has already dawned in Christ; the shadow remains only where the gospel is resisted.
3. Discipleship: Jeremiah 13:16 urges confession lest “your feet stumble on the darkening hills.” Spiritual vigilance keeps believers from descending into needless gloom.
4. Social justice: Job 24:17 and Psalm 107:10 remind ministries that oppression often flourishes “in darkness,” and gospel light addresses both personal sin and systemic bondage.

Worship and Prayer

These texts shape corporate lament and praise. Congregations may confess, “We sit in darkness,” yet quickly rehearse the Lord’s saving acts. The Psalms demonstrate that praying truthfully about the shadow of death honors God by expecting Him to act within it.

Eschatological Outlook

While צַלְמָוֶת can describe the finality of physical death, Scripture ultimately portrays it as temporary. Revelation 21:23 foresees a city where “the glory of God gives it light,” fulfilling the anticipation seeded in Isaiah 9:2. For those in Christ, the deepest darkness is a passageway, not a destination.

Forms and Transliterations
בְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃ בצלמות׃ וְ֭צַלְמָוֶת וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת וְצַלְמָ֔וֶת וְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃ וצלמות וצלמות׃ לְצַלְמָ֔וֶת לצלמות צַ֭לְמָוֶת צַלְמָ֑וֶת צַלְמָ֔וֶת צַלְמָ֡וֶת צַלְמָ֣וֶת צַלְמָֽוֶת׃ צלמות צלמות׃ ḇə·ṣal·mā·weṯ ḇəṣalmāweṯ lə·ṣal·mā·weṯ ləṣalmāweṯ letzalMavet ṣal·mā·weṯ ṣalmāweṯ Tzalmavet Vetzalmavet wə·ṣal·mā·weṯ wəṣalmāweṯ
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Job 3:5
HEB: יִגְאָלֻ֡הוּ חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְ֭צַלְמָוֶת תִּשְׁכָּן־ עָלָ֣יו
NAS: Let darkness and black gloom claim
KJV: Let darkness and the shadow of death stain
INT: claim darkness and black settle and

Job 10:21
HEB: אֶ֖רֶץ חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: of darkness and deep shadow,
KJV: of darkness and the shadow of death;
INT: the land of darkness and deep

Job 10:22
HEB: כְּמ֥וֹ אֹ֗פֶל צַ֭לְמָוֶת וְלֹ֥א סְדָרִ֗ים
NAS: as darkness [itself], Of deep shadow without
KJV: as darkness [itself; and] of the shadow of death, without any order,
INT: as darkness deep without order

Job 12:22
HEB: וַיֹּצֵ֖א לָא֣וֹר צַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: And brings the deep darkness into light.
KJV: to light the shadow of death.
INT: and brings light the deep

Job 16:16
HEB: וְעַ֖ל עַפְעַפַּ֣י צַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
KJV: and on my eyelids [is] the shadow of death;
INT: is on my eyelids and deep

Job 24:17
HEB: בֹּ֣קֶר לָ֣מוֹ צַלְמָ֑וֶת כִּֽי־ יַ֝כִּ֗יר
NAS: is the same to him as thick darkness,
KJV: [is] to them even as the shadow of death: if [one] know
INT: as the morning thick for is familiar

Job 24:17
HEB: יַ֝כִּ֗יר בַּלְה֥וֹת צַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar
KJV: [them, they are in] the terrors of the shadow of death.
INT: is familiar the terrors darkness

Job 28:3
HEB: אֶ֖בֶן אֹ֣פֶל וְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
KJV: of darkness, and the shadow of death.
INT: the rock gloom and deep

Job 34:22
HEB: חֹ֭שֶׁךְ וְאֵ֣ין צַלְמָ֑וֶת לְהִסָּ֥תֶר שָׁ֝֗ם
NAS: darkness or deep shadow Where
KJV: [There is] no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers
INT: darkness is no deep may hide Where

Job 38:17
HEB: מָ֑וֶת וְשַׁעֲרֵ֖י צַלְמָ֣וֶת תִּרְאֶֽה׃
NAS: the gates of deep darkness?
KJV: the doors of the shadow of death?
INT: of death the gates of deep seen

Psalm 23:4
HEB: אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־ אִ֘ירָ֤א
NAS: through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear
KJV: through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
INT: walk the valley of the shadow no fear

Psalm 44:19
HEB: וַתְּכַ֖ס עָלֵ֣ינוּ בְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: And covered us with the shadow of death.
KJV: and covered us with the shadow of death.
INT: and covered with the shadow

Psalm 107:10
HEB: יֹ֭שְׁבֵי חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת אֲסִירֵ֖י עֳנִ֣י
NAS: in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners
KJV: in darkness and in the shadow of death, [being] bound
INT: dwelt darkness the shadow Prisoners misery

Psalm 107:14
HEB: יֽ֭וֹצִיאֵם מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת וּמוֹסְר֖וֹתֵיהֶ֣ם יְנַתֵּֽק׃
NAS: them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke
KJV: of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake
INT: brought of darkness and the shadow their bands and broke

Isaiah 9:2
HEB: יֹשְׁבֵי֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ צַלְמָ֔וֶת א֖וֹר נָגַ֥הּ
NAS: Those who live in a dark land,
KJV: in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
INT: live land A dark the light will shine

Jeremiah 2:6
HEB: בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ צִיָּ֣ה וְצַלְמָ֔וֶת בְּאֶ֗רֶץ לֹֽא־
NAS: of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land
KJV: of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land
INT: A land of drought deep A land no

Jeremiah 13:16
HEB: לְאוֹר֙ וְשָׂמָ֣הּ לְצַלְמָ֔וֶת [יָשִׁית כ]
NAS: He makes it into deep darkness, [And] turns
KJV: he turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make
INT: light makes deep apply gloom

Amos 5:8
HEB: וְהֹפֵ֤ךְ לַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ צַלְמָ֔וֶת וְי֖וֹם לַ֣יְלָה
NAS: And changes deep darkness into morning,
KJV: and turneth the shadow of death into the morning,
INT: and changes morning deep day night

18 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6757
18 Occurrences


lə·ṣal·mā·weṯ — 1 Occ.
ṣal·mā·weṯ — 10 Occ.
wə·ṣal·mā·weṯ — 7 Occ.

6756b
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