The Hebrew verb shaqat (שָׁקַט) means to be at rest, quiet, undisturbed, or still. It implies a state of settled peace — when the land has rest from war, when a heart is at peace, or when God grants tranquility to His people. It differs from shabbat (ceasing from labor) in that it emphasizes undisturbed calm rather than formal cessation.
Shaqat describes the rest that God grants to His people after deliverance. The refrain in Judges — 'and the land had rest forty years' — uses this word, indicating divinely given peace after conflict. Isaiah 30:15 contains one of Scripture's most searching calls: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.' This rest-peace is not passive withdrawal but confident trust in God's power. The promised land was meant to be a place of shaqat — a foretaste of the eternal sabbath-rest (Hebrews 4:1–11).