Reward - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words

Usage Number: 1
Strong's Number: H7999
Original Word: shalem
Usage Notes: "to recompense, reward, be whole, be complete, sound." A common Semitic term, this verb is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic and in all periods of Hebrew. The root is familiar to most people in the word shalom, which is the common Jewish greeting. The verb shalem occurs just over 100 times in the Hebrew Bible.

In its first occurrence in the Old Testament, the word has the sense of "repaying" or "restoring": "Why have you returned evil for good?" (Gen. 44:4, rsv). Sometimes it means "to complete or finish", for example, completing the temple (1 Kings 9:25). In Lev. 24:18, shalem describes compensation for injury: "And he that killeth a beast shall make it good [life for life]."

Perhaps it should be noted that the Arabic terms Muslim and Islam are derived from the Arabic cognate to shalem and imply "submission to Allah."

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words