שָׁטַח (sha.tach)
sha.tach
to spread
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 4 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb shaṭach means to spread something out over a surface, whether it is laying down a tent cloth or stretching out one’s hands in prayer. It describes an action that covers ground or extends reach, moving from a compact state to an expanded one. In the Old Testament, this word appears only four times, giving it a focused presence in the biblical narrative.
Its usage varies between physical expansion and symbolic gesture. In Numbers 11:32, the Israelites spread the quails they had gathered all around their camp, illustrating a literal scattering of resources. By contrast, Jeremiah 7:21 uses the Piel form when God commands them to "spread out" their hands, turning the physical act into a posture of supplication or perhaps lament. This shift shows how the word can bridge the tangible and the relational.
The root conveys a sense of openness and availability. When used of land or nations, it suggests expansion; when used of the body, it signals engagement with the world or with God. Translators typically render it as "spread," "stretch out," or "scatter," depending on whether the context emphasizes covering an area or extending a limb. The word captures both the physical reality of laying things bare and the intentional act of making oneself available.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When we encounter the Hebrew word shaṭach, we see a movement from hiddenness to visibility. It describes the act of spreading something out so it can be seen, used, or offered. In daily life, this might look like laying out a table for guests or unfolding a map to find a way forward. The word reminds us that God often works through tangible actions and open gestures.
Sometimes we feel our resources are scarce or our options are limited. Yet, the biblical narrative shows how spreading things out can lead to provision, as seen when the Israelites gathered quails around their camp. Other times, it invites us into vulnerability, like stretching out hands in prayer or lament. This word encourages us to trust that what we lay before God, He sees and uses.
Whether it is covering a well to hide a secret or exposing idols to the sun, shaṭach highlights the importance of what we choose to reveal. It calls us to live openly before God, sharing our needs and our praises without hiding behind closed doors. In this openness, we find space for His grace to work in our lives.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 4 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- completely <to spread out>1×
- and/ they will spread out/ them1×
- and/ they spread [them] out1×
- and/ she spread1×
- [he is] spreading out1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שֹׁטֵ֥חַ1×
- שָׁט֔וֹחַ1×
- וּ/שְׁטָחוּ/ם֩1×
- וַ/תִּשְׁטַ֥ח1×
- וַ/יִּשְׁטְח֤וּ1×
Key Verses
-
Numbers 11:32
The people rose up all that day, and all of that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails. He who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all out for themselves around the camp.
This verse shows the physical spreading of gathered quails around the camp, illustrating how God provided food through a communal act of gathering and laying it out.
-
II Samuel 17:19
The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out crushed grain on it; and nothing was known.
Here, the word describes hiding a secret by covering a well with grain, demonstrating its use in concealing something under a layer of ordinary items.
-
Jeremiah 8:2
They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or be buried. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth.
The spreading of idols before the sun and moon highlights the shame and exposure of false worship, showing how what was hidden will be laid bare.