שְׁמִינִי, H8067
the eighth, Sheminith (musical term or ordinal number)
This adjective means 'eighth' and appears both as an ordinary ordinal (the eighth day, the eighth month) and as a mysterious musical term in psalm titles. In ritual contexts it marks the eighth day of ceremonies (Exodus 22:29 and many Levitical texts) or the eighth month in royal building chronology (1 Kings 6:38). More enigmatically, it appears in 1 Chronicles 15:21 describing Levites playing harps 'on the Sheminith,' and in the titles of Psalms 6 and 12. Scholars debate whether this indicates an octave, a particular musical key or mode, or an eight-stringed instrument, but the meaning remains uncertain.
Senses
1. sense 1 — In 1 Chronicles 15:21 and the titles to Psalms 6 and 12, 'the Sheminith' appears as a musical-liturgical direction. The standard interpretation suggests 'according to the eighth' (key, mode, or octave), but this is speculative. The Spanish 'la octava' and English 'the eighth' preserve the numerical term without resolving its musical significance. The phrase distinguishes one group of Levitical musicians from those playing 'according to Alamoth' (maidens/sopranos?), suggesting some technical performance distinction understood in temple practice but now obscure. 3×
AR["الثَّامِنَةِ", "الشَّمِينِيثِ"]·ben["-উপরে", "অষ্টমে-"]·DE["[השמינית]", "der-eighth"]·EN["the-Sheminit", "the-eighth"]·FR["[השמינית]", "le-Sheminith"]·heb["ה-שמינית"]·HI["आठ-तार-की-वीणा", "आठ-तारोंवाली-वीणा", "आठवीं"]·ID["oktaf", "seminit"]·IT["[השמינית]", "l'ottava"]·jav["oktaf", "séminit"]·KO["그-여덟째", "여덟번째-로"]·PT["a-oitava"]·RU["восьмиструнной", "восьмиструнном", "шеминит"]·ES["la-octava"]·SW["sheminimu", "sheminiti"]·TR["sekizli", "sekizlinin"]·urd["-ہشتم", "شمینیت"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שְׁמִינִי, ית —ִ31 adj.num. eighth;—בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי Ex 22:29 + 16 times; הַחֹדֶשׁ הַשּׁ׳ 1 K 6:38 + 4 times; n.m. om. 1 Ch 24:10 + 4 times; הַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁמִנִת Lv 25:22; elsewhere only phr., עַל־הַשְּׁמִינִית 1 Ch 15:21, and titles ψ 6:1; 12:1, usually acc. to the eighth key, or on the octave, but wholly dubious.