The Hebrew adjective shalem (שָׁלֵם) means complete, whole, sound, undivided, at peace. It shares its root with shalom (H7965) and shalam (H7999) — all pointing to the concept of wholeness and integrity. Shalem can describe a complete (undivided) heart devoted to God (1 Kings 8:61; 11:4), whole stones used in altar construction (Deuteronomy 27:6), or the completed payment of a debt. The word carries the sense of nothing missing, nothing broken.
The pursuit of a shalem heart is a major theme of the Deuteronomic history. Solomon's tragic fall is explained by his failure to maintain a shalem leb (undivided heart) before God (1 Kings 11:4), in contrast to his father David who, despite his sins, had a heart fully devoted to Yahweh (1 Kings 15:3). The New Testament picks up this theme in Jesus's call to love God with all (holos) your heart — total, undivided commitment. Shalem also connects to the eschatological vision of God's shalom: a cosmos fully restored to wholeness, completeness, and right relationship — the world as God intended it to be.