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שְׂמֹאול H8040
H8040 is the Hebrew word שְׂמֹאול, transliterated sᵉmôʼwl and said sem-ole'. The King James Version most often renders it left hand.
What it means
properly, dark (as enveloped), i.e. the north; hence (by orientation), the left hand.
Where it comes from
or שְׂמֹאל; a primitive word (rather perhaps from the same as H8071 (שִׂמְלָה) (by insertion of the aleph) through the idea of wrapping up).
How the King James Version translates it
Across 41 tagged occurrences, counted from this edition's word index.
Strong's own list of renderings: left (hand, side).
Verses using שְׂמֹאול
All 40 verses, quoted in full.
Genesis 13:9 · KJV
Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
Genesis 14:15 · KJV
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Genesis 48:13 · KJV
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
Genesis 48:14 · KJV
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Numbers 20:17 · KJV
Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
Deuteronomy 17:20 · KJV
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Deuteronomy 28:14 · KJV
And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Joshua 1:7 · KJV
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Judges 3:21 · KJV
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:
Judges 7:20 · KJV
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
1 Samuel 6:12 · KJV
And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
2 Samuel 2:19 · KJV
And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
2 Samuel 2:21 · KJV
And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.
2 Samuel 16:6 · KJV
And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
1 Kings 7:39 · KJV
And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
1 Kings 7:49 · KJV
And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
1 Kings 22:19 · KJV
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
2 Kings 22:2 · KJV
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
2 Kings 23:8 · KJV
And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.
1 Chronicles 6:44 · KJV
And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,
2 Chronicles 3:17 · KJV
And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
2 Chronicles 4:6 · KJV
He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
2 Chronicles 4:7 · KJV
And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.
2 Chronicles 4:8 · KJV
He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.
2 Chronicles 18:18 · KJV
Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
2 Chronicles 34:2 · KJV
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
Nehemiah 8:4 · KJV
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
Job 23:9 · KJV
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
Proverbs 3:16 · KJV
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Proverbs 4:27 · KJV
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Song of Solomon 2:6 · KJV
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
Song of Solomon 8:3 · KJV
His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
Isaiah 9:20 · KJV
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
Isaiah 54:3 · KJV
For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Ezekiel 1:10 · KJV
As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel 16:46 · KJV
And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
Ezekiel 39:3 · KJV
And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Daniel 12:7 · KJV
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Jonah 4:11 · KJV
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Zechariah 12:6 · KJV
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
Common questions
What does Strong's H8040 mean?
H8040 is the Hebrew word שְׂמֹאול (sᵉmôʼwl), meaning properly, dark (as enveloped), i.e. the north; hence (by orientation), the left hand.
How is H8040 translated in the King James Version?
The King James translators rendered it left hand (14 times), left (13 times), or to the left (5 times), nor to the left (4 times), wilt take the left hand (1 time), among others.
How many times does H8040 appear in the Bible?
שְׂמֹאול (sᵉmôʼwl) is tagged in 40 verses of the King James Version in this edition's word index.
Where does H8040 come from?
Strong's gives its derivation as: or שְׂמֹאל; a primitive word (rather perhaps from the same as H8071 (שִׂמְלָה) (by insertion of the aleph) through the idea of wrapping up).
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