sham.mah denotes a devastated condition or a spectacle of horror resulting from judgment.

The noun most often marks lands or cities made devastated and uninhabited; it also describes peoples, places, or events as a horrifying spectacle that prompts appalled response. These uses overlap where devastation itself makes a place an object of horror.

1. Devastated, emptied place or land · dominant

   The feminine singular noun occurs where a land, city, house, or vine is brought to a ruined condition. In Jeremiah 50:3 the APB renders the clause that her land will become “a horror” and no inhabitant will remain; Isaiah 24:12 and Joel 1:7 likewise portray a city or vine left in devastation.

   Isaiah 24:12Isaiah 5:9Jeremiah 25:38Jeremiah 50:3Jeremiah 51:43Joel 1:7
2. Object of appalled horror · common

   The feminine singular noun can identify a person, people, city, or occurrence as something that evokes horror or shocked reaction. In Deuteronomy 28:37 the APB renders Israel becoming “a horror” among peoples, while Jeremiah 18:16 and Zephaniah 2:15 connect the resulting condition with passersby being appalled, whistling, or shaking their hands.

   Deuteronomy 28:372 Chronicles 30:7Jeremiah 18:16Jeremiah 29:18Jeremiah 5:30Zephaniah 2:15

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the noun with “horror,” “desolation,” or related ruin imagery, often alongside hissing, curses, or lack of inhabitants. These renderings indicate the verse-level portrayal rather than separate fixed English equivalents.