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sheni

שֵׁנִי

HebrewH8145second, again, ...

Appears 156 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 1:8Gen 2:13Gen 4:19Gen 6:16Gen 7:11Gen 8:14Gen 22:15Gen 30:7Gen 30:12Gen 32:19(20)Gen 41:5Gen 41:52Gen 47:18Exo 1:15Exo 2:13Exo 16:1Exo 25:12Exo 25:32Exo 26:4Exo 26:5Exo 26:10Exo 26:20Exo 26:27Exo 27:15Exo 28:10Exo 28:18Exo 29:19Exo 29:39Exo 29:41Exo 36:11Lev 13:5Lev 13:6Lev 13:7Lev 13:33Lev 13:54Lev 13:58Num 2:16Num 8:8Num 10:6Jos 5:22Sa 14:291Ki 9:21Ki 19:72Ki 9:192Ki 10:61Ch 3:12Ch 27:5Neh 3:30Est 2:14Ecc 4:8
Root family
Word studysheh-NEEadjective

What sheni means

second: the one that comes next after the first in a sequence, in time, or in rank

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary counting word "second," the number you reach right after "first." It points to whatever follows next: the second river, the second son, the second row of stones, the second chariot in a line.

It does the same work with time. The Bible uses it constantly for the second day, the second month, and the second year, which is why it turns up so often in the creation account, the calendar laws, and the dated records of kings and priests.

The feminine form also slides into an everyday adverb. Instead of naming "the second" of something, it can simply mean "a second time" or "again," as when the word of the Lord comes to a prophet a second time, or an angel calls out again. Underneath all of these is one plain idea: not the first, but the next one after it.

Nuances

1asecond in a series or in rank: the next one after the first
Gen 2:13Gen 4:19Exo 28:18Num 11:26Rut 1:41Sa 1:22Sa 4:22Sa 16:191Ki 6:27Est 2:14Job 42:14Ecc 4:8
1bsecond in time: the second day, month, or year
Gen 1:8Gen 7:11Gen 8:14Gen 47:18Exo 16:1Num 1:1Num 9:1Num 10:111Ki 6:12Ki 19:29Ezr 3:8Isa 37:30
1ca second time, again
Gen 22:15Gen 41:52Sa 14:291Ki 9:21Ki 19:72Ki 10:6Est 2:19Isa 11:11Jer 1:13Jer 13:3Jer 33:1Jon 3:1

What scholars say about sheni

The standard lexica (BDB, HALOT) treat שֵׁנִי as the ordinal corresponding to the cardinal שְׁנַיִם "two," with three well-attested uses: attributive "second" in a sequence or rank, the temporal ordinal in date formulas ("the second day/month/year"), and the feminine שֵׁנִית used adverbially for "a second time, again." The adverbial sense is the only point of any classificatory interest, since the same form can be read either attributively ("the second") or adverbially ("again") depending on syntax; the lexica handle this as one ordinal with an adverbial extension rather than as a separate lexeme. The word's meaning is not contested.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. שֵׁנִיlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. שֵׁנִיlexicon

All attested forms of שֵׁנִי

m s absolute

שֵּׁנִי, שֵׁנִי

Gen 2:13, Gen 7:11, Gen 8:14, Gen 32:19, Gen 41:52, Exo 2:13, Exo 16:1, Exo 25:32

f s absolute

שֵּׁנִית, שֵׁנִית

Gen 4:19, Gen 47:18, Exo 1:15, Exo 25:12, Exo 26:4, Exo 26:5, Exo 26:10, Exo 26:20

f s construct

שֵׁנִית, שֵּׁנִית

Gen 22:15, Gen 41:5, 2Ch 27:5

m p absolute

שְׁנִיִּם

Gen 6:16, Num 2:16