שְׁנַ֫יִם, H8147
Two, both, a pair; the cardinal numeral for two in masculine and feminine dual forms, also used in compound numbers.
Shenayim (masculine) and shtayim (feminine) are the Hebrew dual forms of the cardinal number two — among the most frequent numerals in Scripture at 769 occurrences. Beyond simple counting, this word carries a surprising semantic range. With pronominal suffixes it becomes the pronoun 'both of them' (shenehem), shifting from arithmetic to totality. In construct with 'asar/esreh it forms the compound 'twelve,' a number of immense biblical significance — twelve tribes, twelve apostles, twelve gates of the New Jerusalem. A small but legally significant cluster means 'double' or 'twofold,' as in the restitution laws of Exodus 22. The dual morphology itself is a fossil of the Proto-Semitic dual number, preserved in Arabic ithnan and Aramaic trein.
1. cardinal number two — The basic cardinal numeral 'two,' used to count pairs of persons, objects, time units, or measurements — 666 occurrences, by far the dominant sense. Lamech takes 'two wives' (Gen 4:19); Methuselah lives 'two and eighty and seven hundred years' (Gen 5:26); Moses receives 'two tablets of stone' (Exod 31:18). The multilingual evidence is trivially unanimous: Spanish dos, French deux, German zwei, Arabic ithnayn, Korean 둘, and Swahili mbili all select their basic cardinal numeral. Both masculine (shenayim) and feminine (shtayim) forms appear, agreeing with the gender of the counted noun as expected in Semitic grammar. 666×
AR["أُمَّتَانِ","ابْنَتَانِ","اثنَينِ","اثْنَانِ","اثْنَتَيْنِ","اثْنَيْنِ"]·ben["দুই","দুইজন","দুটি","বত্রিশ"]·DE["und-zwei","zwei"]·EN["two"]·FR["deux"]·heb["שנים"]·HI["दो","दो-दो"]·ID["Dua","dua"]·IT["due"]·jav["kalih"]·KO["둘","둘을","둘의"]·PT["Dois","Duas","dois","duas","oitenta","sessenta"]·RU["два","две","двоих","двух","по-два"]·ES["dos"]·SW["Wawili","binti-wangu","mataifa-mawili","mbili","miaka-sitini-na-mbili","miaka-thelathini-na-mbili","miaka-themanini-na-mbili","mkono-wangu","wake-wawili-wa","wawili","wawili-wa"]·TR["iki","ikisi","İki"]·urd["بتیس","دو"]
Gen 4:19, Gen 5:18, Gen 5:20, Gen 5:26, Gen 5:28, Gen 6:19, Gen 6:20, Gen 7:2, Gen 7:9, Gen 7:9, Gen 7:15, Gen 7:15 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
2. both (pronominal) — Pronominal 'both' — 73 occurrences where suffixed forms (shenehem, shenenu, sheneykhem, etc.) mean 'both of them/us/you,' emphasizing the completeness or totality of a pair rather than merely counting. Adam and Eve 'were both naked' (Gen 2:25); Abraham and Abimelech 'both swore an oath' (Gen 21:31); Abraham and Isaac 'went both of them together' toward Moriah (Gen 22:6, 8). Spanish ambos, French tous deux, Korean 둘 다, and German beide all shift from cardinal-numeral to totality-pronoun vocabulary, confirming a genuine pronominal function distinct from simple enumeration. 73×
AR["كِلَاهُمَا","كِلَيْهِمَا"]·ben["উভয়","তাদের-দুজন","তাদের-দুজনকে","তারা-দুজন","দুইটাই"]·DE["beide-von-ihnen","die-beiden"]·EN["both-of-them"]·FR["les-deux-de-eux","tous-deux-de-eux"]·heb["שני","שניהם","שנים-ם"]·HI["दोनों","दोनों-उन्हें","दोनों-को","दोनों-ने"]·ID["keduanya","mereka-berdua"]·IT["ambedue","ambedue-di-loro","both-di-loro"]·jav["kalih-ipun","kekalihipun","kekalihipun;","piyambakipun-kekalih"]·KO["그들-둘-을","둘-다","둘-다-그들","둘-다를","둘다"]·PT["ambos","ambos-eles"]·RU["оба","оба-они","обоих-их"]·ES["ambos","dos-de-ellos","los-dos"]·SW["wote-wawili","zote-mbili"]·TR["ikisi","ikisi-de","ikisini","ikisini-onların"]·urd["دونوں","دونوں-نے"]
3. twelve (compound numeral) — The construct component in the compound numeral 'twelve' (shenem 'asar / shtem 'esreh) — 27 occurrences including ordinal 'twelfth' in dating formulas. Moses sets up twelve pillars (Exod 24:4); the high priest's breastplate has twelve stones for the twelve tribes (Exod 28:21); the showbread consists of twelve loaves (Lev 24:5). Spanish doce, French douze, and German zwolf all use dedicated compound-numeral forms rather than 'two + ten,' while Korean 열둘 and Arabic ithna 'ashar preserve the compositional structure. The theological weight of 'twelve' in Israel's tribal system makes this compound form culturally central. 27×
AR["اثْنا","اثْنَا־","اثْنَتَا־","اثْنَيْ-","اِثْنَتَيْ-","اِثْنَيْ-","بِ-اثْنَيْنِ","في-اِثْنَيْ-","لِ-اثنَي-","لِ-اثْنَيْ","لِ-اِثنَي","لِ-اِثْنَيْ","لِلثَّانِيَ","وَ-اثنَتَي","وَ-اثْنَا-","وَ-اثْنَا-عَشَرَ","وَاثنا"]·ben["-এর-জন্য-বারোটি","আর-বারো-","এবং-বারো","এবং-বারো-","ও-বারো","দুই-","দ্বাদশ-","দ্বাদশে","বার-","বারো","বারো-","বারোটির-জন্য","বারোতে-","সেই-বারোটির-জন্য"]·DE["fuer-zwei","fuer-zwoelf","in-Jahre","mit-der-zwei","und-zwei","und-zwei-","und-zwei-von","zu-zwei","zu-zweiter","zwei","zwei-"]·EN["and-twelve","and-two","and-two-","and-two-of","for-the-twelfth","for-twelve","for-two","for-two-of","on-the-twelfth","two-","with-the-two"]·FR["avec-le-deux","deux","deux-","et-deux","et-deux-","et-deux-de","in-deux","pour-deux","pour-deuxième","pour-douze","zu-deux"]·heb["ב-שנים","ו-שנים","ו-שתים","וּ-שְׁנֵים","ל-שני","ל-שנים","שני","שנים","שתי","שתים"]·HI["-के-बारहवें","और-बारह","और-बारह-","के-लिए-बारह","को-बारह","दो-","बारह","बारह-","बारह-के-लिए","बारहवें-में"]·ID["dan-dua","dan-dua-belas","dan-dua-belas-","dengan-yang-kedua-belas","dua","dua-belas-","pada-tanggal-dua","untuk-dua","untuk-dua belas","untuk-dua-belas"]·IT["a-due","con-il-due","due","due-","e-due","e-due-","e-due-di","in-due","per-dodici","per-due"]·jav["Lan-kalih-welas","dhateng-kaping-kalih-welas","ing-tanggal-kalih-welas","kalih-welas","kalih-welas-","kaliyan-kalih-welas","kanggé-kalih-welas","lan-kalih-welas","lan-kalih-welas-","miturut-kalih-welas"]·KO["그리고-둘-","그리고-만-이천","그리고-열둘","그리고-열둘-","둘","둘-","십이","에-대한-열둘","에-둘","에-열두","에-열둘","에게-열두","에게-열둘","열-둘","열-둘째-에","열둘"]·PT["E-doze","dois","doze","e-doze","no-doze-","nos-doze","para-doze","para-décimo"]·RU["в-двенадцатой-","в-двенадцатый-день","двенадцать-","для-двенадцати","для-двенадцатого-","и-двенадцать","и-двенадцать-"]·ES["Y-doce","con-las-doce","doce","dos","dos-","en-el-doce","para-doce","para-doce-de","para-dos-","y-doce"]·SW["bahari","katika-jozi-ya","kumi-","kumi-na-","kumi-na-mbili","kwa-kumi","kwa-kumi-na-mbili","kwa-makabila","kwa-makabila-","na-elfu-kumi-na-mbili","na-kumi-na-mbili","nguzo","tarehe-kumi"]·TR["Ve-iki","iki-","için-on-iki","on","on-","on-iki-","on-iki-için","on-ikinci","on-ikinci-ile","on-ikisi-için","ve-iki","ve-iki-","ve-on-iki-"]·urd["اور-بارہ","اور-بارہ-","اور-دو","بارہ","بارہ-","بارہ-کے","بارہ-کے-لیے","بارہویں","بارہویں-میں"]
Exod 24:4, Exod 24:4, Exod 28:21, Exod 39:14, Lev 24:5, Num 7:86, Num 7:87, Num 31:5, Josh 4:9, Judg 19:29, 2 Sam 2:15, 1 Kgs 4:26 (+15 more)
4. sense 4 — Multiplicative 'double, twofold' — 3 occurrences in the restitution laws of Exodus 22, where a thief must pay back 'double' (shenayim) what was stolen (Exod 22:4, 7, 9). English 'double,' Spanish el doble, French double, and German doppelt all select multiplicative vocabulary rather than cardinal-numeral glosses, confirming a distinct quantitative-ratio sense. The shift from 'two items' to 'twice the amount' is a natural but real semantic extension, and its restriction to legal-compensatory contexts in the Hebrew Bible gives it a specialized juridical flavor. 3×
AR["اثنَينِ"]·ben["দুইগুণ","দুইগুণ।"]·DE["double"]·EN["double"]·FR["double"]·heb["שניים"]·HI["दोगुना"]·ID["dua kali lipat"]·IT["double"]·jav["kalih-lipet","kalih-lipet."]·KO["두"]·PT["dois"]·RU["вдвойне"]·ES["el-doble"]·SW["mara-mbili"]·TR["iki-kat"]·urd["دوگنا"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם (PhilipiZMG xlix (1895), 202 Ges§ 97b note)768 n.m. et f.du. two (NH id.; Ph. אשנם (and שני second), Pun. שנם Lzb380; Arabic اِثنَانِ; Sab. תֿני HomChr 47, Aramaic תְּרֵין, ܬܪܶܝܢ (תִּנְיָנָא, ܬܶܢܝܳܢܳܐ second); Nab. תרין, Palm. f. תרתן, תרתיא, Lzb388; Assyrian šinâ; on etym v. √, and especially PhilippiZMG xxxii (1878), 21–98);—m. (c. n.m.) שְׁנַיִם Am 3:3 +; cstr. שְׁנֵ�� Is…