Shalom – Hebrew Word of the Month
“שלום – Shalom”: What lies between “peace” and “Hello”?
In Hebrew, we welcome each other with the blessing SHALOM, when we meet and when we separate (Hello / Goodbye), probably dozens of times a day; yet we do not always recall that – in fact – the meaning of the blessing is: May Peace be with You. How beautiful this blessing is!
Here is a great example:
1 Samuel 25:5-6, King James Version:
5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: 6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. (King James Version)
This, while in the original Hebrew the word SHALOM also appears in verse 5, where in English it is translated as Greet him. And here it is interesting to note that the classic translation to English, by Douay-Rheims of the 16th century, here maintains the spirit of the Hebrew:
5 He sent ten young men, and said to them: Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace.