שֶׁ֫מֶן192 H8081
Oil, fat, ointment; primarily olive oil for anointing, offerings, cooking, and lighting, but also fatness/fertility and perfumed cosmetic oil.
Shemen is the liquid gold of ancient Israel's economy and worship. Jacob pours it on the stone at Bethel (Gen 28:18), priests mix it into grain offerings (Lev 2:1), and lamps burn it nightly in the tabernacle (Exod 25:6). Yet the word stretches well beyond the olive press. Isaiah uses it figuratively for the rich fatness of a fertile hillside (Isa 5:1) and the lavish banquet foods of the messianic feast (Isa 25:6). In Song of Solomon the plural shemanim becomes fragrant perfumed ointment—'your oils are pleasing' (Song 1:3)—a luxury cosmetic far removed from kitchen oil. Spanish splits the difference neatly between 'aceite' (cooking/ritual oil) and 'ungüentos' (ointments), while German consistently uses 'Öl' for both.
1. oil (substance) — Olive oil as a physical substance: The dominant sense covering nearly all occurrences—liquid pressed from olives, used for anointing kings and priests (1 Sam 16:13), mixing into cereal offerings (Lev 2:1–2), fueling lamps (Exod 25:6), and cooking. The material is so central to Israelite life that shemen appears in nearly every genre of Scripture. Spanish 'aceite' and French 'huile' both derive from Latin oleum (olive), and the consistent German 'Öl' confirms how universally translators map this to the core meaning of pressed olive oil. 180×
AR["بِ-الزَّيتِ","بِ-الزَّيْتِ","بِ-الْـزَّيْتِ"]·ben["-তে-তেল","-তেলে","তেলে","তেলে-","সেই-তেলে"]·DE["mit-Oel","mit-der-Oel"]·EN["with-oil","with-the-oil"]·FR["avec-huile","avec-le-huile"]·heb["ב-ה-שמן","ב-שמן"]·HI["और-एक","तेल-में","तेल-से","सानी हुआ"]·ID["dengan-minyak","minyak"]·IT["con-il-olio","con-olio"]·jav["kalayan-lenga","kaliyan-lisah","mawi-lisah"]·KO["그-기름-에","기름-에","기름에","안에서-기름으로","에-그-기름","에-기름"]·PT["com-azeite","com-o-azeite","com-o-óleo","com-óleo","em-óleo","no-óleo"]·RU["в-масле","маслом","с-маслом"]·ES["con-aceite","con-el-aceite"]·SW["Bshmn","kwa-mafuta","mafuta","na-mafuta"]·TR["-da-yağ","-da-yağla","yağ-ile","yağla","yağla-"]·urd["-تیل-سے","-تیل-میں","تیل-سے","تیل-میں","میں-تیل"]
Gen 28:18, Gen 35:14, Exod 25:6, Exod 29:2, Exod 29:2, Exod 29:23, Exod 35:28, Lev 2:1, Lev 2:4, Lev 2:4, Lev 2:5, Lev 2:6 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
2. fatness, richness — Fatness, richness, fertility: A figurative extension where shemen denotes lush abundance rather than a literal liquid. Isaiah 5:1 describes a vineyard on a 'horn of oil'—a richly fertile slope. Isaiah 25:6 promises a feast of 'fat things full of marrow,' doubling shemen for emphasis. The Psalmist's flesh 'wastes away from oil' (Ps 109:24), meaning his body has lost all its healthy fat. Spanish 'fertilidad' (fertility) and 'manjares' (delicacies) show translators reaching for the metaphorical referent rather than the substance itself. 6×
AR["الدُّسْمِ","دَسَمٍ","سَمِينَاتٍ","سَمِينَةً","مِنَ-السَّمن"]·ben["উর্বরের","চর্বি","চর্বি-এর","চর্বির","তেল-থেকে"]·DE["Oel","ohne-Öl"]·EN["like-the-first-ripe-fig","of-rich-foods","of-those-overcome","oil","rich-foods","without-fat"]·FR["de-huile","huile"]·heb["מ-שמן","שמן","שמנים"]·HI["उपजाऊ-की","चिकनी-वस्तुएं","चिकनी-वस्तुओं-का","तेल-के","तेल-से"]·ID["makanan-berlemak","subur","tanpa-lemak","yang-subur"]·IT["olio"]·jav["lemu","panganan-lemu","saking-lenga","subur"]·KO["기름-에서","기름진","기름진-자들의","살진-것을","살진-것의"]·PT["gorduras","sem-gordura","óleo"]·RU["без-жира","жирные-яства","жирных-яств","тучной"]·ES["fertilidad","frondoso","manjares","sin-grasa"]·SW["kwa-kukosa-mafuta","lenye-rutuba","rutuba","vyakula-vinono","ya-vyakula-vinono"]·TR["yagin","yagli","yaglinin","yağsızlıktan"]·urd["زرخیز-کی","زرخیز-کے","چکنائی","چکنائی-سے","چکنائی-کی"]
3. sense 3 — Olive wood (as material): In 1 Kings 6:23, 31–33, shemen designates the wood of the olive tree rather than its oil—the cherubim and doors of the inner sanctuary are carved from 'ets shemen' (oil-tree wood). English 'olive,' Spanish 'olivo,' and French 'olivier' all translate the tree rather than its product. This metonymic sense—naming the tree by its most valued product—occurs only in Solomon's temple construction narrative and represents a genuine semantic extension from liquid to arboreal source. 4×
AR["زَيْتُونٍ"]·ben["জলপাই"]·DE["Olive"]·EN["olive"]·FR["olivier"]·heb["שמן"]·HI["जैतून-की"]·ID["zaitun"]·IT["olivo"]·jav["zaitun"]·KO["기름-나무의"]·PT["oliveira"]·RU["масличного"]·ES["olivo"]·SW["dhiraa","juu-yake","miimo","mraba"]·TR["yağ-ağacı"]·urd["زیتون"]
4. ointment, perfumed oil — Perfumed ointment or cosmetic oil: Fragrant oil blended with spices for use as a luxury cosmetic or personal perfume. Song of Solomon 1:3 praises the beloved's 'oils' (shemanim, plural) as sweeter than any fragrance, and 4:10 compares them to costly spices. Amos 6:6 condemns the idle rich who anoint themselves with the 'finest oils.' Spanish 'ungüentos' (ointments) explicitly distinguishes this aromatic preparation from plain 'aceite,' and the Hebrew plural form itself signals a marked, specialized use distinct from everyday oil. 3×
AR["الأَدْهانِ","شْمَنَيِكْ","شْمَنِيكَ"]·ben["তৈলসমূহে","তোমার-তেলসমূহ","তোমার-তেলের"]·DE["Oel"]·EN["oils","your-oils"]·FR["de-tes-huiles","huile","tes-huiles"]·heb["שמנייך","שמניך","שמנים"]·HI["तेरे-तेलों-की","तेलों-से"]·ID["minyak-minyak","minyak-minyakmu","minyak-urapanmu"]·IT["olio","olio-tua","olio-tuo"]·jav["lisah-panjenengan","lisahipun-panjenengan","pilihan"]·KO["기름들의","네-기름들-의","네-기름들-이"]·PT["de-teus-óleos","teus-óleos","óleos"]·RU["масел-твоих","маслами"]·ES["los-aceites","tus-ungüentos"]·SW["mafuta","mafuta-yako","ya-mafuta-yako"]·TR["yaglarin","yaglarinin","yağların"]·urd["تیرے-تیلوں","تیرے-تیلوں-کی","تیلوں-سے"]
Related Senses
H3196 1. wine (fermented grape juice) (141×)H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H1706 1. honey (54×)H4682 1. unleavened bread/cakes (53×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2461 1. milk (42×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H8492 1. new wine / must (38×)H0400 1. food, nourishment (36×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)G3631 1. wine (34×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H3978 1. food, nourishment (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שֶׁ֫מֶן192 n.m. 2 K 20:13 (on appar. f. Ct 1:3 cf. AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 99, 106) fat, oil;—שׁ׳ abs. Gn 28:18 +, cstr. Lv 8:2 +; שָׁ֑׳ 2 K 4:6 +; sf. שַׁמְנִי Ho 2:7 +, etc.; pl. שְׁמָנִים Am 6:6 +; sf. שְׁמָנֶיךָ Ct 1:3, -נַיִךְ 4:10;— 1. fat, fatness: קֶרֶן בֶּן־שׁ׳ Is 5:1 (of fertile slope); pl. גֵּיא־שְׁמָנִים 28:1, 4; of food (in fig.) 25:6(×2); lit. בְּשָׂרִי כַּחַשׁ מִשָּׁ֑מֶן ψ 109:24 (cf.…