שוטר

Hebrew

Root
שׁ־ט־ר (sh-ṭ-r)

שׁוֹטֵר

Etymology

Believed to have originally meant "scribe", and translated thus in the Septuagint, it is likely ultimately derived from Akkadian 𒊬 (šaṭārum, “to write, to inscribe, to jot down”).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʃoˈteʁ/

Noun

שׁוֹטֵר • (shotér) m (plural indefinite שׁוֹטְרִים, singular construct שׁוֹטֵר־, plural construct שׁוֹטְרֵי־, feminine counterpart שׁוֹטֶרֶת)

1. (law enforcement) policeman, cop
   • 2015 September 17, Avi Kohen, “פתק על הניידת: "שוטר טוב זה שוטר מת"”, in Israel HaYom:

     "אם משטרה מתנכלת ותומכת ברצח אזרחים, קריאה לשחיטת שוטרים אינה נחשבת הסתה. שוטר טוב זה שוטר מת..."

     "im mishtará mitnakélet vetoméchet berétsach ezrachím, kri'á leshchitát shotrím eyná nechshévet hasatá. shotér tov ze shotér met..."

     "If the police harass and support murder of civillians, call for the slaughter of police officers is not considered incitement. A good cop is a dead cop..."

   • Tanach, Proverbs 6:7, with translation of the English Standard Version:

     אֲשֶׁר אֵין־לָהּ קָצִין שֹׁטֵר וּמֹשֵׁל.

     ašér ēn-láh qatzín šotér umošél.

     Without having any chief, officer, or ruler.

2. (Biblical Hebrew) A kind of officer or overseer among the Ancient Israelites.
   1. (Mishnaic Hebrew, Talmudic Hebrew) An officer charged with carrying out the judges' decisions and maintaining public order.

Related terms

• מִשְׁטָרָה (mishtará)

References

• H7860 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• “שוטר” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

• שוטר on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he
• שוטר (מקרא) on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he