שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ133 H8121
The sun as celestial body, timekeeper, and symbol of glory; rarely, sun-shaped architectural ornaments (battlements).
Shemesh is the Hebrew Bible's standard word for the sun, appearing in contexts from creation poetry to legal regulation. It serves as the great timekeeper — sunrise (zarach) and sunset (bo) frame daily life, ritual purity periods, and covenant moments like Abraham's vision (Gen 15:12, 17). Figuratively, the sun represents God's justice (Mal 3:20, 'sun of righteousness'), royal splendor (Judg 5:31), and the relentless exposure of hidden deeds (Eccl 1:9). A single puzzling occurrence in Isaiah 54:12 uses the plural shimshot for architectural features — probably sun-shaped ornamental shields or pinnacles atop the walls of the eschatological Jerusalem.
Senses
1. sun (celestial body) — The sun as celestial body in its full semantic range: physical luminary (Gen 37:9), temporal marker for sunrise and sunset (Gen 15:12, 17; Josh 10:12-13), metaphor for glory and righteousness (Judg 5:31; Mal 3:20), and symbol of life's transience under its circuit (Ecclesiastes passim). All major languages render with their primary solar term — el sol, le soleil, die Sonne — confirming total cross-linguistic convergence across 133 occurrences. 133×
AR["الشَّمسُ", "الشَّمسِ", "الشَّمْسَ", "الشَّمْسُ", "الشَّمْسِ"]·ben["-সূর্য", "সূর্য", "সূর্যের", "সূর্যের।", "সেই-সূর্যের"]·DE["der-Sonne", "die-Sonne"]·EN["the-sun"]·FR["le-soleil"]·heb["ה-שמש"]·HI["-सूर्य", "सुरज", "सूरज", "सूरज-के", "सूर्य", "सूर्य-के", "सूर्योदय-के"]·ID["matahari", "matahari-itu"]·IT["il-sole"]·jav["srengenge", "srengengé", "srengéngé"]·KO["그-태양과", "그-해", "그-해가", "그-해의", "해가", "해와"]·PT["O-sol", "o-sol", "o-sol."]·RU["-солнца", "-солнце", "Солнце", "солнца", "солнце"]·ES["El-sol", "el-sol"]·SW["jua", "jua-hilo", "lilirudi", "mwa-jua"]·TR["-Güneş", "-güneş", "-güneşin", "güneş", "güneşin"]·urd["-سورج", "آفتاب-کے", "سورج", "سورج-کے"]
Gen 15:12, Gen 15:17, Gen 19:23, Gen 28:11, Gen 32:31, Gen 37:9, Exod 16:21, Exod 17:12, Exod 22:3, Exod 22:26, Lev 22:7, Num 21:11 (+38 more)
2. battlements, pinnacles — Architectural ornaments described by the plural shimshot in Isaiah 54:12, within a vision of the new Jerusalem whose gates are carbuncles and walls precious stones. The term likely denotes sun-shaped shields or battlements crowning the city walls. English 'battlements' and Spanish 'almenas' (merlons) capture the architectural sense, while French and German retain 'soleil/Sonne,' reflecting the etymological connection to the sun-disc shape that inspired the ornament's name. 1×
AR["نَوَافِذَكِ"]·ben["তোমার-সূর্যকিরণগুলি"]·DE["Sonne"]·EN["your-battlements"]·FR["soleil"]·heb["שמשותיך"]·HI["तेरी-खिड़कियोंको"]·ID["jendelamu"]·IT["sole"]·jav["payon-payonipun"]·KO["네-창들을"]·PT["tuas-ameia"]·RU["башни-твои"]·ES["tus-almenas"]·SW["madirisha-yako"]·TR["pencerelerinni"]·urd["تیرے-کنگرے"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)H7760a 2. make into, turn into (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ133 n.f. Ju 19, 14 et m. Gn 19, 23 (Albr ZAW xv (1895), 324) sun;—abs. שׁ׳ Jos 10:12 +, שָׁ֑מֶשׁ Ju 20:43 +; sf. שִׁמְשֵׁךְ Is 60:20, שִׁמְשָׁהּ Je 15:9; pl. sf. שִׁמְשֹׁתַ֫יִךְ Is 54:12;— 1. sun, Gn 37:9 (E; + moon, stars); marking time: as rising (vb. זָרַח q.v.) Ex 22:2 (E) + 8 times + Mal 3:20 (fig. שׁ׳ צְדָקָה, of reward of the faithful, with wings, i.e. rays? Now GASm; or winged…