Word Study for H8232 (שְׁפַר)

shᵉphar /shef-ar'/ Ask about this word

Root(Aramaic) corresponding to שָׁפַר

Meaningto be beautiful

KJV usagebe acceptable, please

Idioms & phrasesphrase think good.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of shᵉphar — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Aramaic word shᵉphar, represented by H8232, corresponds to a root meaning to be beautiful. It is used to convey what is acceptable, what is pleasing, or what one may think good. It appears 3 times across 3 unique verses in the Bible, exclusively within the book of Daniel, often in the context of royal decisions and counsel.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its biblical usage, H8232 is tied to the perspective of powerful rulers. In Daniel's appeal to King Nebuchadnezzar, he hopes his counsel will be acceptable to the king as a path to tranquility Daniel 4:27. The same king, after witnessing God's power, declares, "I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders" God had performed Daniel 4:2. Similarly, the decision to organize the kingdom under King Darius is described with the phrase, "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom" an hundred and twenty princes Daniel 6:1.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related Aramaic words clarify the context in which something is considered acceptable or good:

H6925 qŏdâm (before; [idiom] I thought; [idiom] it pleased): This word is used idiomatically with H8232 to form phrases like "it pleased" Daniel 6:1 and "I thought it good" Daniel 4:2, indicating a personal judgment or decision made by a king.
H4431 mᵉlak (advice; counsel): This word appears directly with H8232 in Daniel's plea, "let my counsel be acceptable unto thee" Daniel 4:27, highlighting that advice itself can be the object of what is found pleasing.
H6966 qûwm (appoint, establish, make, set (up)): This word often describes the action that follows a pleasing thought. After it "pleased" Darius, he proceeded "to set" princes over the kingdom Daniel 6:1.
H2604 chănan (shew mercy, make supplication): Daniel's counsel becomes acceptable by urging the king to break off sins by "shewing mercy to the poor" Daniel 4:27, linking moral action to what is pleasing.

Theological Significance

The conceptual weight of H8232 is centered on authority and moral judgment.

Royal Prerogative: The term is consistently used to express the will and judgment of a king. What is deemed "good" or "acceptable" is what aligns with the king's decision, whether in administration Daniel 6:1 or personal conviction Daniel 4:2.
Conditions for Acceptance: In Daniel's counsel to Nebuchadnezzar, the path for his advice to be "acceptable" H8232 is through righteousness H6665 and mercy H2604. This suggests that true acceptability is tied to just and compassionate actions Daniel 4:27.
Proclamation of Divine Acts: The word is used when a human king decides it is "good" to declare the works of the "high God" Daniel 4:2. This connects a ruler's pleasure to the acknowledgment of a higher, divine authority.

Summary

In summary, H8232 is a specific Aramaic term that, while appearing infrequently, provides significant insight into the nature of royal authority and judgment in the book of Daniel. It defines what is considered good or acceptable from a position of power, whether it be a king's administrative decision, his response to divine wonders, or his reception of righteous counsel. The word illustrates the intersection of human will and the moral conditions that make an action truly pleasing.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 3 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

שְׁפַר
יִשְׁפַּר

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

3 verses, all in Daniel — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.