שֵׁת (she.tah)
she.tah
buttock
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun sheth refers to the buttocks or the seat of the body. It is a concrete, physical term that appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times in vivid narrative contexts involving physical contact or posture.
In 2 Samuel 6:16, it describes Michal looking out from her window as David dances before the Ark, though the text focuses more on her attitude than the anatomy. More notably, in Isaiah 52:12, the phrase "behind you shall not go" is translated using this word, implying that God’s people will walk with dignity, their backsides covered and respected, rather than fleeing in shame or exposure. The term underscores bodily integrity and public honor.
Its rarity makes each occurrence significant. Rather than a general word for body parts, sheth carries cultural weight regarding modesty and royal dignity. Translators often render it as "buttocks" or "seat," depending on context, preserving the raw physicality of the original text.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word for buttocks appears rarely in Scripture, yet its usage carries significant weight regarding human dignity. In ancient Near Eastern culture, exposing someone’s lower body was a deliberate act of humiliation, designed to strip away their honor and reduce them to a state of shame. This vocabulary reminds us that how we treat others’ physical integrity reflects our respect for the image of God in every person.
When Isaiah describes God’s people walking with their backsides covered, it signals a return to restored dignity after exile. It is not merely about clothing but about public standing and safety. For believers today, this underscores the call to protect the vulnerable from degradation and to walk in the freedom that Christ provides—a freedom where no one needs to fear shame or exposure.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- buttocks/ their1×
- buttock1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שֵׁ֖ת1×
- שְׁתֽוֹתֵי/הֶ֑ם1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 20:4
so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
This verse uses the term to depict the extreme shame of captives, highlighting how bodily exposure was a tool of political humiliation in ancient warfare.
-
II Samuel 10:4
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
Here the word describes the specific manner in which Hanun’s servants were disrespected, showing that cutting garments to this point was an intentional insult against David’s envoys.