שֵׁת
Definition
The Hebrew word שֵׁת (shêth) is the Aramaic form of the number 'six'. It functions identically to its Hebrew counterpart, denoting the cardinal number six or the ordinal sixth. In the two biblical passages where it appears, it specifies a quantity: in Ezra 6:15, it marks the day of the month ('the sixth day'), and in Daniel 3:1, it describes the dimensions of King Nebuchadnezzar's golden image ('its height was sixty cubits'). There are no distinct semantic senses; its meaning is consistently numerical.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively in the Aramaic portions of the Old Testament, specifically in the books of Ezra and Daniel. In both occurrences, it functions adjectivally to modify a noun. In Ezra 6:15, it specifies a date ('the sixth day of the month of Adar'), providing chronological precision for the completion of the temple. In Daniel 3:1, it is part of a compound number, specifying the immense height of the idol ('sixty cubits'), which emphasizes its grandiose and imposing nature.
Etymology
שֵׁת (shêth) is the Aramaic cognate of the Hebrew number שֵׁשׁ (shesh, H8337), meaning 'six'. It is derived from a common Semitic root for the number six. The Aramaic form appears in biblical texts that were originally written or preserved in that language, demonstrating the linguistic shift within the biblical corpus while retaining the same fundamental numerical meaning.
Semantic Range
The use of the number six in Daniel 3:1 to describe Nebuchadnezzar's image (sixty cubits high and six cubits wide) may carry symbolic weight in its cultural context. In Babylonian and biblical numerology, six often represents incompleteness or falling short of the divine perfection symbolized by seven. The idol's dimensions, rooted in the number six, could subtly underscore its human, impermanent, and ultimately false nature in contrast to the true God.
שֵׁשׁ (shesh, H8337) — The standard Hebrew word for 'six', used throughout the Hebrew portions of the Old Testament.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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