H3967 H3967
Hundred; cardinal numeral for 100 (singular, dual, plural); also a military/administrative unit; rarely a fractional hundredth part.
The basic Hebrew numeral for 'hundred,' מֵאָה appears in singular, dual (מָאתַיִם, 'two hundred'), and plural (מֵאוֹת, 'hundreds') forms throughout the Old Testament. It counts ages in Genesis genealogies, measures temple dimensions, and tallies armies and tribute. Cognates span the Semitic family—Aramaic מְאָה, Arabic مِئَة, Ethiopic ምእት—all preserving the same root. Beyond pure counting, the plural form 'hundreds' became a standard designation for military companies (Exod 18:21), and one passage (Neh 5:11) uses it as a fraction: 'the hundredth part.'
1. cardinal numeral hundred — The cardinal numeral 'hundred' in all its inflected forms—singular, dual ('two hundred'), and plural ('hundreds')—used for counting people, years, measures, and monetary amounts. This is the basic quantitative sense covering ages (Gen 5:4–32), dimensions (Exod 27:9–18), military tallies (Num 31:32–46), and tribute payments. Spanish 'cientos,' French 'cent/centaines,' and German 'hundert' all translate straightforwardly as the numeral. 550×
AR["مِائَةِ"]·ben["শত"]·DE["hundert"]·EN["hundred","hundreds"]·FR["cent","centaines"]·heb["מאה"]·HI["सौ"]·ID["ratus"]·IT["centinaia","cento"]·jav["atus"]·KO["백"]·RU["локтей","сот","сотен"]·ES["cientos"]·SW["mia-za"]·TR["yüz"]·urd["سو"]
Gen 5:4, Gen 5:5, Gen 5:7, Gen 5:8, Gen 5:10, Gen 5:11, Gen 5:13, Gen 5:14, Gen 5:16, Gen 5:17, Gen 5:19, Gen 5:20 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. military unit of hundreds — The plural 'hundreds' (הַמֵּאוֹת) functioning as a designation for military or administrative divisions—companies of roughly one hundred men. Typically appears with the article in the phrase 'captains/officers of hundreds' (שָׂרֵי מֵאוֹת, Exod 18:21, 25; Num 31:14, 48). The multilingual glosses often include the article ('the-hundreds,' 'las-centenas,' 'der-Hunderte'), confirming this is a recognized institutional title rather than a mere count. 32×
AR["الْـ-مِئَاتِ","الْمِئَاتِ","مِئاتٍ","مِئَاتٍ","مِائَاتٍ","وَ-الْمِئَاتِ","وَالْمِئَاتِ"]·ben["-শতের","আর-শতদের","আর-শতের","এবং-শতের","শতগুলির","শতের"]·DE["der-Hunderte","der-hundreds","hundreds","und-der-Hunderte"]·EN["and-the-hundreds","hundreds","the-hundreds"]·FR["cent","centaines","et-cent","le-centaines"]·heb["ה-מאה","ה-מאות","ו-ה-מאה","מאות"]·HI["-के-सैकड़ों","और-सैकड़ों","और-सौओं-के","और-सौकड़ों-के","सैकड़ों-के","सैकड़ों-से","सैकड़ोंके","सौकोन-के"]·ID["-seratus","dan-ratusan","dan-seratus","dan-seratus-orang","ratus","ratusan","seratus"]·IT["centinaia","cento","e-cento","il-centinaia"]·jav["atus","atusan","lan-atusan","lan-ing-atus","satus","satus-an"]·KO["그-백들","그-백들의","그-백의","그-와-그-백인대들","그리고-그-백들의","백-명-의","백의"]·PT["as-centenas","centenas","centenas,","e-das-centenas","e-os-centos","os-centos"]·RU["и-сотен","сот","сотен","сотнями"]·ES["cientos","las-centenas","los-cientos","y-las-centenas","y-los-cientos"]·SW["mamia","mia","na-mamia","na-wa-mamia","tano"]·TR["-yüz","-yüzlerin","ve-yüzlerin","yüzlerin"]·urd["اور-سووں-کے","اور-سینکڑوں-کے","سو","سو-کے","سووں-کے","سوکوں","سینکڑوں-کے","سینکڑوں-کے؟","سیکڑوں-کے"]
Exod 18:21, Exod 18:25, Num 31:14, Num 31:28, Num 31:48, Num 31:52, Num 31:54, Deut 1:15, 1 Sam 22:7, 1 Sam 29:2, 2 Sam 18:1, 2 Sam 18:4 (+20 more)
3. hundredth part (fraction) — A fractional sense: 'the hundredth part of,' appearing in Nehemiah 5:11 where Nehemiah demands the creditors return the מְאַת (hundredth) of money, grain, wine, and oil they had been exacting. The multilingual glosses all show a partitive construction ('and-hundredth-of,' 'y-la-centésima-de'), distinguishing this rare proportional usage from the ordinary cardinal numeral. 1×
AR["وَ-الْمِئَةَ"]·ben["এবং-শতাংশ"]·DE["und-von-(*)"]·EN["and-hundredth-of"]·FR["et-von-(*)"]·heb["ו-מאה"]·HI["और-सौवां-भाग"]·ID["dan-seperseratus"]·IT["e-da-(*)"]·jav["lan-saprasatusipun"]·KO["그리고-백분의-일을"]·PT["e-o-centésimo-de"]·RU["и-сотую"]·ES["y-la-centésima-de"]·SW["na-sehemu-ya-mia-ya"]·TR["ve-yüzdebirini"]·urd["اور-فیصدی"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. מֵאָה583 n.f. hundred (NH id.; MI 20 מאתן (du.); SI5 מאת, מאתים (du.); Ph. מאת, מאתם (du.); Assyrian mê (prob., Dl§ 75), TelAm. me-at WklTelAm. 20; Arabic مِاىَٔةٌ; Sab. מאת, מאתם OsZMG x. 1856, 49; CIS iv. i. 6, 4; 46, 6; מאה EutSin. 457; Ethiopic ምእት:; Aramaic מְאָה, ܡܳܐܐ; Palm. תלת מאה 300 VogPalm. 6, 4; Nab. מאה EutNab 8, 9);—מ׳ Gn 6:3 + 144 times; cstr. מְאַת 5:3 + 30 times (on מְאַת Ec…