שְׁלשִׁים H7970
Thirty; also used as a title for David's elite corps of warriors ('the Thirty').
The cardinal number thirty, appearing throughout the Hebrew Bible in ages, measurements, counts, and monetary sums—from the thirty cubits of Noah's ark (Gen 6:15) to the thirty shekels of Zechariah's shepherd allegory (Zech 11:12-13). Beyond simple counting, the word takes on a quasi-proper-noun function in the military lists of 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11-12, where 'the Thirty' designates David's elite warrior corps, a titled rank distinct from mere enumeration. All major translation traditions render it with the expected numeral—Spanish treinta, French trente, German dreißig—but the substantival military use stands apart.
1. thirty (cardinal number) — The cardinal number thirty used in counting, measurement, age formulas, monetary amounts, and date expressions. This covers the overwhelming majority of occurrences: thirty years old (Gen 5:3, 2 Sam 5:4), thirty cubits (Gen 6:15), thirty shekels (Exod 21:32), thirty days (Num 20:29). All languages render it straightforwardly—Spanish treinta, French trente, German dreißig—with no semantic ambiguity. 168×
AR["ثَلاثونَ","ثَلاثينَ","ثَلاثِينَ","ثَلاَثِينَ","ثَلَاثٌ","ثَلَاثُونَ","ثَلَاثِينَ"]·ben["তিরিশ","তেত্রিশ","ত্রিশ"]·DE["dreissig","dreißig","hundertdreißig"]·EN["thirty"]·FR["trente"]·heb["שלושים","שלשים"]·HI["तिस","तीस"]·ID["seratus","tiga puluh","tiga-puluh"]·IT["trenta"]·jav["satus-tigang-dasa","tigang-dasa","tigangdasa"]·KO["백삼십","삼십","삼십과","삼십의","서른"]·PT["trinta"]·RU["тридцати","тридцать"]·ES["treinta"]·SW["miaka-mia-nne-na-thelathini","miaka-thelathini","thelathini"]·TR["otuz"]·urd["تیس"]
Gen 5:3, Gen 5:16, Gen 11:14, Gen 11:17, Gen 11:18, Gen 11:22, Gen 18:30, Gen 18:30, Gen 32:15, Gen 41:46, Gen 46:15, Gen 47:9 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. the Thirty (David's warriors) — A substantival, quasi-titular use: 'the Thirty,' referring to David's elite military corps listed in 2 Samuel 23:13, 24 and 1 Chronicles 11-12. Here the numeral functions as a proper title for a military rank or group, much like 'the Three' (הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה) for the top warriors. Spanish los treinta and English 'the thirty' mark this with the definite article, signaling its shift from quantity to designation. 5×
AR["[الثَّلَاثِينَ]","فِي-الثَّلاثِينَ","فِي-الثَّلَاثِينَ","مِنَ-الثَّلاثِينَ"]·ben["-ত্রিশজনের-মধ্যে","[ত্রিশ-জনের]","ত্রিশজনের-থেকে","ত্রিশজনের-মধ্যে"]·DE["dreissig","in-dreissig","unter-der-dreissig","von-der-dreissig"]·EN["[the-thirty]","among-the-thirty","of-the-thirty"]·FR["de-le-trente","in-trente","parmi-le-trente","trente"]·heb["ב-ה-שלושים","ב-שלושים","ה-שלושים","מ-ה-שלושים"]·HI["[तीसों-का]","[तीसों]","तीस-में","तीस-में-से","तीसों-में"]·ID["[ketiv]","dari-tiga-puluh","di-antara-tiga-puluh"]·IT["di-il-trenta","fra-il-trenta","in-trenta","trenta"]·jav["[tigang-puluh]","antawis-tigang-dasa","ing-antawis-tigang-puluh","saking-tigang-dasa"]·KO["(크티브)","-에서-그-서른","[삼십]","에-그-삼십","에-그-서른"]·PT["[os-trinta]","dos-trinta","entre-os-trinta"]·RU["[тридцати]","из-тридцати","среди-тридцати"]·ES["[los-treinta]","de-los-treinta","entre-los-treinta"]·SW["[wa-thelathini]","katika-thelathini","kutoka-miongoni-mwa-thelathini","miongoni-mwa-thelathini"]·TR["[otuzların]","otuz-içinde","otuzdan","otuzların-içinde"]·urd["[تیسوں]","تیس-میں","تیس-میں-سے","تیسوں-میں"]
3. three (anomalous reading) — An anomalous occurrence at 2 Samuel 23:13 where multilingual glosses render the value as 'three' rather than 'thirty,' likely reflecting a textual variant (cf. the ancient confusion between שְׁלֹשִׁים 'thirty' and שְׁלֹשָׁה 'three' in parallel passages). The bracketed glosses in multiple languages suggest editorial uncertainty about the correct reading at this point. 1×
AR["ثَلاثَةٌ"]·ben["(কেতিব)"]·DE["[k]"]·EN["[k]"]·FR["[k]"]·heb["שלושה"]·HI["तीन"]·ID["[tiga-puluh]"]·IT["[k]"]·jav["[tigang]"]·KO["[셋이]"]·PT["[trinta]"]·RU["[кетив]"]·ES["[treinta]"]·SW["watatu"]·TR["[üçü]"]·urd["[تیس]"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שְׁלשִׁים (very seldom שְׁלשִׁם, שְׁלוֹשׁים)174 n. indecl. thirty;— 1. bef. n. sg.: אַמָּה Gn 6:15 + 3 times, +, c. בָּאַמָּה Ex 26:8 + 3 times; שָׁנָה 2 S 5:4 + 12 times (age of paternity, of Levitical or royal duty, etc.), אִישׁ Ju 14:19 + 3 times, etc.; bef. n.pl. בָּנִים Ju 10:4; 12:9, אֲנָשִׁים Je 38:10 (read here prob. שְׁלשָׁה Ew Hi Gf al.), less common words Ez 40:17 Ezr 1:9, 10, etc.;…