Bible Word Study
שִׁלְשָׁה
Shilshâh · Shilshah, an Israelite
שִׁלְשָׁה
Shilshah, an Israelite
Definition
Shilshah is a proper name of an Israelite man, appearing only once in the Bible as a descendant of Asher. He is listed among the sons of Zophah in the genealogy of the tribe of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:37). The name itself means 'triplication' or 'third,' deriving from a root related to the number three. As a personal name, it likely carried a symbolic or numerical significance, perhaps indicating birth order or a notable characteristic.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively as a proper name in a single genealogical list. It appears only in 1 Chronicles 7:37, within a chapter dedicated to detailing the descendants of the tribes of Israel. Its usage is purely for identification within a family lineage, with no narrative context or repeated appearances elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Etymology
The name Shilshah (שִׁלְשָׁה) is a feminine noun form derived from the same root as the word for 'three' (שָׁלֹשׁ, H7969) and the related term Shelesh (שֶׁלֶשׁ, H8028). It literally means 'triplication' or 'a third (part).' This connects it to the concept of threefoldness, a common pattern in Semitic languages for forming names with numerical significance.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often meaningful and descriptive. A name like Shilshah, meaning 'triplication' or 'third,' may have indicated that the individual was a third son, born third in a sequence, or perhaps was one of triplets. It reflects the common practice of using numbers or ordinal positions in personal naming conventions to denote family structure or significant events surrounding a birth. Shelesh (H8028) — A related masculine proper name, also meaning 'triplet' or 'third,' borne by a different individual (1 Chronicles 11:45).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]