Shâmêm—(שָׁמֵם, Strong's #8074), “to be desolate, astonished, appalled, devastated, ravaged.” This verb is found in both biblical and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 90 times in the text of the Hebrew Old Testament. Shâmêm does not occur until Lev. 26:22: “Your high ways shall be desolate.” Interestingly, the word occurs 25 times in the Book of Ezekiel alone, which may reflect either Ezekiel’s times or (more likely) his personality.

Just how the meanings “be desolate,” “be astonished,” and “be appalled” are to be connected with each other is not clear. In some instances, the translator must make a subjective choice. For example, after being raped by her half-brother, Tamar is said to have remained in her brother Absalom’s house, “desolate” (2 Sam. 13:20). However, she surely was “appalled” at what Amnon had done. Also, the traditional expression, “to be desolated,” sometimes means much the same as “to be destroyed” (cf. Amos 7:9; Ezek. 6:4).

Shâmêm often expresses the idea of to “devastate” or “ravage”: “I will destroy her vines” (Hos. 2:12). What one sees sometimes is so horrible that it “horrifies” or “appalls”: “Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth [i.e., be speechless]” (Job 21:5).