Shalom (Strong's #7965) pronounced shaw-lome - From 7999; safe, well, happy, friendly, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, favor, perfect, prosperous, rest, wholeness....
KJV Usage: Occurs 236x in 208 verses in OT. Peace (175x), Well (4x), Peaceably (9x), Welfare (5x), Salute (4x), Prosperity (4x), Safe (3x), Health (2x), Misc (20x).
The Old Testament meaning of Shalom is peace, completeness, soundness, and well-being of the total person. This peace was considered God-given, obtained by following the Law (Torah) (Psalm 119:165). Peace sometimes had a physical meaning, suggesting security (Psalm 4:8), contentment (Isaiah 26:3), prosperity (Psalm 122:6-7), and the absence of war (1 Samuel 7:14). The traditional Jewish greeting, shalom, was a wish for peace.
In the New Testament, peace often refers to the inner tranquility and poise of the believer whose trust is in God through Messiah. This understanding was originally expressed in the OT writings about the coming Messiah/Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7).
The peace that Jesus spoke of was a combination of hope, trust, and quiet in the mind and soul, brought about by a reconciliation with God. Such peace was proclaimed by the host of angels at Messiah's birth (Luke 2:14) and by Jesus Himself in His Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 5:9) and during His ministry. He also taught about this kind of peace at the Last Supper, shortly before His death (John 14:27).
The Apostle Paul later wrote that such peace and spiritual blessedness was a direct result of faith in Messiah (Romans 5:1) and the He Himself is our peace...(Ephesians 2:14).
Another interesting thought, the word Jerusalem in Hebrew is Yerushalayim, which is made up of two Hebrew words; yeru which means "to flow, to point the way, to teach" and shalom which means "the peace of God". So Jerusalem is supposed to be the place where we will learn and experience the peace of God.
In the Book of Revelation (and many OT prophecies) we read that the followers of God will live in a "New Jerusalem" in God's Kingdom - and we will have a 1,000 years of shalom (peace, perfection, completeness, wholeness) when the Messiah rules from Jerusalem. Can you wait for that?
Peace out!
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