Psalm 46/Notes/Lexical.v. 9.803857

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The noun devastation (שמה) in v. 9 represents "a state in which an area has become empty as a result of destruction and depopulation" (SDHB). As such, it can be used to speak of land, cities, and other locales.[1] Additionally, it can communicate a negative response to destructive actions, that is, appallment or horror.[2] In Isa 13:9, turning the land into a desolation (לשום הארץ לשמה) is linked to the Day of the Lord... The plural form שׁמות in v. 9 could be a plural of amplification, emphasizing the special character of God's actions, i.e., God's decisive, great devastation in the land.[3] Notably here, in Psalm 46, people are invited to come and see the works of YHWH and how he brought about great devastation in the land. Cf. "Therefore the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror/לשמה, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes" (2 Chr 29:8).

  1. ↑ Hos 5:9; Isa 5:9; 13:9; 24:12; Zech 7:14; Jer 2:15; 4:7; 18:16; 19:8; 46:19; 48:9; 50:3; 51:29 (BDB).
  2. ↑ Deut 28:37; 2 Kgs 22:19; Mic 6:16; Zeph 2:15; Jer 5:30; 25:9,11,18, 38; 29:18; 44:12, 22; 49:13, 17, etc. (BDB).
  3. ↑ GK §124e; cf. JM §136g, which notes that abstract nouns in the plural can have the meaning of multiple manifestations of a quality or a state.