שָׁגַג (sha.gag)
sha.gag
to go astray
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 4 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb shâgag describes the act of going astray, specifically in the sense of erring mentally or committing a mistake through ignorance. It appears in only four verses, primarily within the legal texts of Leviticus and Numbers, as well as in the Psalms. The core meaning is not willful rebellion but rather a deviation from the correct path due to lack of knowledge or oversight.
Its usage highlights a distinction between intentional sin and inadvertent error. In the Priestly code, this term helps define specific categories of guilt offering for those who sinned unintentionally. This nuance allows the text to address human frailty and the reality that people can violate divine law without malicious intent, requiring a different kind of atonement than that reserved for defiant transgression.
Translators often render shâgag as "err" or "go astray," capturing the idea of wandering off course rather than striking out in defiance. By focusing on the mental aspect of the error, the word emphasizes that sin can stem from a failure to perceive the right way, not just a choice to reject it. This distinction remains important for understanding how ancient Israelite law categorized different types of moral failure.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word shâgag describes a specific kind of wandering—going astray not by rebellion, but through oversight or ignorance. In the ancient legal texts, this distinction mattered deeply. It acknowledged that human frailty often leads to mistakes we do not intend to make. The law provided a path for forgiveness in these cases, showing that God’s justice accounts for our limited understanding.
This concept offers comfort today. We all miss the mark sometimes, not out of defiance, but because we simply did not see the right way. The text reminds us that grace covers these inadvertent errors. It invites us to return to God’s word with humility, trusting in His mercy when we stumble through lack of knowledge rather than willful sin.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 4 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- who/ has gone astray1×
- he has gone astray1×
- [was] going astray1×
- [one who] goes astray1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שֹׁגֵ֥ג1×
- שֹׁגֵ֑ג1×
- שָׁגָ֛ג1×
- הַ/שֹּׁגֶ֛גֶת1×
Key Verses
-
Numbers 15:28
The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs when he sins unwittingly before Yahweh. He shall make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.
This verse explicitly links the verb to atonement for those who err unwittingly, establishing the legal framework for unintentional sin.
-
Psalms 119:67
Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word.
Here the psalmist uses the term personally to describe a past state of wandering before affliction led him to observe God's word.
-
Leviticus 5:18
He shall bring a ram without defect from of the flock, according to your estimation, for a trespass offering, to the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning the thing in which he sinned and didn’t know it, and he will be forgiven.
The passage details the specific offering required when someone sins without knowing it, highlighting the ritual response to this type of error.