Word study
Peace
6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
In brief
The Hebrew shalom is wider than the absence of conflict: it means wholeness, soundness, well-being, things being as they should be. The Greek eirēnē carries that fuller sense into the New Testament, where it describes peace with God and between people. A related Hebrew word, shelem, names the peace offering (or fellowship offering), which is why "peace" appears so often in Leviticus.
Written and reviewed by our editorial team.
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “peace”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “peace” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שָׁלוֹם shâlômcompleteness, soundness, welfare, peacetranslated this way 146 times of its 223 uses · Strong’s H7965Noun · Translated: peace 135, safely 10, prosperity 8, well 5Full study and all 200 verses →
Genesis 15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
Exodus 4:18 Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.
- שֶׁלֶם shelemsacrifice for alliance or friendship, 'peace-offering'translated this way 85 times of its 85 uses · Strong’s H8002Noun · Translated: peace offering 41, peace offerings 38, peace 4, one's peace offering 1Full study and all 84 verses →
Exodus 20:24 You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
Leviticus 3:1 “If one’s offering is a peace offering and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present it without blemish before the LORD.
- שָׁלַם shâlambe complete, soundtranslated this way 10 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H7999Verb · Translated: repay 20, fulfill 14, make restitution 7, made peace 6Full study and all 106 verses →
Deuteronomy 20:12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.
Joshua 10:1 Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction — doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king — and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.
- שָׁקַט shâqaṭbe quiet, undisturbedtranslated this way 6 times of its 40 uses · Strong’s H8252Verb · Translated: quiet 10, rest 8, peace 6, still 3Full study and all 40 verses →
2 Chronicles 14:1 Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.
Job 3:13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest
- שַׁלְוָה shalvâhquietness, easetranslated this way 3 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H7962Noun · Translated: time of peace 3, prosperity 1, complacency 1, quietness 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Daniel 8:25 Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
Daniel 11:21 In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
- בְּרָכָה Berâkâhblessingtranslated this way 2 times of its 69 uses · Strong’s H1293Noun · Translated: blessing 44, blessings 12, gift 4, according to the blessing 2Full study and all 64 verses →
2 Kings 18:31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,
Isaiah 36:16 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,
Greek words (New Testament)
- εἰρήνη eirḗnēpeace, peace of mindtranslated this way 89 times of its 91 uses · Strong’s G1515Noun · Translated: peace 88, secure 1, terms of peace 1, Peacemakers 1Full study and all 84 verses →
Matthew 10:13 If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it, but if it is not, let your peace return to you.
Mark 5:34 “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.”
- εἰρηνεύω eirēneúōI am peaceful, keep the peace, am at peacetranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1514Verb · Translated: live in peace 2, peace 1, live at peace 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Mark 9:50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Romans 12:18 If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about peace: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.