SHALEM shā’ ləm (שָׁלֵ֜ם; LXX Σαλημ; whole or sound) 1. Place name (Gen 33:18, KJV). The Heb. form is identical with “Salem” in Genesis 14:18 and of “Jerusalem.” It prob. is not a place name and should be tr., “Jacob came safely” (RSV). Some of the ancient VSS, e.g. Septuagint, Peshitta, and Vulgate, take it as a name. Others take it adverbially.

2. Same consonants as “s̱lm,” a Canaanite deity attested at Ugarit (texts 17:12 and 52:52). Some suggest that “Jerusalem” reflects the name of this deity (cf. also element, “shalom”; e.g. Abishalom, 1 Kings 15:2).