H0269 H0269
Sister, female sibling or close kinswoman; idiomatically, 'counterpart' or 'one to another' of paired objects.
At its heart a kinship term for a female sibling -- Sarah as Abraham's half-sister (Gen 20:12), Miriam as Aaron's sister (Exod 15:20), Tamar as Absalom's sister (2 Sam 13:1). Spanish hermana, French soeur, and German Schwester all track the literal blood-kinship reading. In a handful of passages, however, the word takes an idiomatic turn: tabernacle curtains are joined 'each to her sister' (Exod 26:3), and cherub wings touch 'each its sister' (Ezek 1:9) -- a pairing idiom where the 'sister' is not a person but a matching counterpart.
1. sister (female sibling) — A female sibling or close female relative by blood -- the dominant kinship sense across 113 occurrences. Sarah called Abraham's sister (Gen 12:13; 20:2), Dinah as Jacob's daughter and the brothers' sister (Gen 34:13-31), Tamar and Absalom (2 Sam 13). Spanish hermana mia, French ma soeur, and German meine Schwester uniformly confirm the literal familial relationship. 113×
AR["أَحُوتِي","أُختي","أُختي-","أُخْتَ","أُخْتِي","يا أُختي","يا أُختي-"]·ben["আমার-বোন","বোন","বোন-আমার","হে-আমার-বোন"]·DE["die-Schwester","mein-Schwester","meine-Schwester"]·EN["my-sister","sister-my","sister-of","the-sister-of"]·FR["le-soeur-de","ma-sœur,","mon-soeur","mon-sœur","mon-sœur-moi","soeur-de","soeur-mon"]·heb["אחות","אחות-י","אחותי"]·HI["बहन","बहन-मेरी","मेरि-बहिन","मेरी-बहन"]·ID["Saudariku","saudara-perempuan","saudara-perempuanku","saudariku"]·IT["il-sorella-di","mio-sorella","sorella-di","sorella-mio"]·jav["dhimas-kula","rayi-èstri-kula","sadherek-kula","sadherekipun-èstri","sadherèk","sadherèk-èstri-kula","sadhèrèk-èstri-kula","sadhèrèkipun"]·KO["나-의-자매-다","나의-누이","내-누이라고","내-누이여","누이","누이-나의","누이-나의야","누이-인","자매"]·PT["Minha-irmã","irmã-de","irmã-minha","minha-irmã"]·RU["«Сестра-моя","сестра-моя","сестру"]·ES["hermana-de","hermana-mía","mi-hermana"]·SW["dada-wa","dada-ya","dada-yangu","kaka"]·TR["Kız-kardeşim","Lavan'ın","kiz-kardesim","kız-kardeşi","kız-kardeşim"]·urd["بہن","بہن-میری","میری-بہن"]
Gen 12:13, Gen 12:19, Gen 20:2, Gen 20:5, Gen 20:12, Gen 24:30, Gen 24:30, Gen 24:59, Gen 25:20, Gen 26:7, Gen 26:9, Gen 28:9 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. counterpart, one to another — An idiomatic extension meaning 'counterpart, matching piece, one to another,' applied to non-personal objects paired together. Tabernacle curtains are coupled 'each to her sister' (Exod 26:3, 5-6), and paired wings or boards stand 'each facing its sister' (Ezek 1:9; 3:13). Spanish su hermana and French sa soeur preserve the feminine possessive form even when the referent is an inanimate object, marking this as a frozen idiom rather than a living kinship use. 6×
AR["أُختِها","مِنْ-أُخْتِهَا"]·ben["তাঁর-বোনের-প্রতি","তার-বোনের"]·DE["auf-ihre-Schwester","ihr-Schwester"]·EN["her-sister","of-sister-her"]·FR["de-soeur-sa","sa-soeur"]·heb["אחותה","ב-אחות-ה"]·HI["अपनी-बहन-से","दूसरी","दूसरे"]·ID["saudaranya","terhadap-saudara perempuannya"]·IT["di-sorella-suo","suo-sorella"]·jav["dhateng-sadhèrèkipun","sadhèrèkipun","sadhèrèkipun,","sadhèrèkipun."]·KO["그녀의-언니에게","그의-자매에"]·PT["de-irmã-dela","irmã-dela"]·RU["другой-её","другому-его","к-сестре-своей"]·ES["a-hermana-suya","su-hermana"]·SW["kingine","kwa-dada-yake","lingine","nyingine"]·TR["kız-kardeşini","kızkardeşine"]·urd["بہن-اپنی-سے","دوسری","دوسرے"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0001 1. father, immediate male parent (1031×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אָחוֹת114 n.f. sister (Ph. אחת, Aramaic אֲחָת, ܚܳܬܳܐ, Arabic أُخْتٌ, Assyrian aḫâtu, DlW Ethiopic እኅት Sab. in n.pr. אחֿתאמהו OsZMG 1865, 273)—abs. אָ׳ 2 S 13:1 + (never with art.); cstr. אֲחוֹת Gn 4:22 +; sf. אֲחֹתִי (אֲחוֹתִי) Gn 12:13 +, etc.; pl. sf. אַחְוֹתַי (Qr אַחְיוֹתַי) Jos 2:13; אֲחוֹתַיִךְ Ez 16:51 (Qr; Kt אחותך) + 2 times (Co all אחיו׳); אַחֲיוֹתֵךְ Ez 16:52 (Co ־תיך); אֲחוֹתֵךְ Ez…