H8336b H8336b
fine linen, byssus — high-quality white Egyptian linen used for priestly garments and tabernacle furnishings
Shesh is a loanword from Egyptian, designating the fine white linen (byssus) prized throughout the ancient Near East. Its 38 occurrences cluster overwhelmingly in Exodus 25-39, where it is the signature fabric of the tabernacle: curtains, veils, priestly ephods, sashes, and turbans are all made of shesh or shesh moshzar ('twisted fine linen'). The material first appears on Joseph, whom Pharaoh clothes in 'garments of fine linen' as a mark of royal favor (Gen 41:42). Ezekiel 16:10, 13 uses shesh metaphorically: God clothed Jerusalem in fine linen, symbolizing covenant splendor. Proverbs 31:22 praises the virtuous woman whose coverings are shesh and argaman ('fine linen and purple'). The later Hebrew synonym buts eventually replaced shesh in postexilic texts. The multilingual glosses converge: Spanish 'lino fino,' French 'fin lin,' German 'feines Leinen.'
Senses
1. fine linen (fabric) — Fine Egyptian linen or byssus, a premium white textile associated with royalty, priesthood, and sacred space. In the tabernacle texts (Exod 25-28, 35-39), shesh is the base fabric for nearly every woven element — curtains (26:1, 31, 36), the court hangings (27:9, 18), and the priestly garments (28:5, 6, 8, 15, 39; 39:2-29). Women skilled in spinning produced the thread (Exod 35:25). Outside the tabernacle corpus, it marks royal investiture (Gen 41:42), covenant metaphor (Ezek 16:10, 13; 27:7), and domestic virtue (Prov 31:22). The word is an Egyptian loanword (Coptic shens), confirming that Israel imported both the material and its name from Egypt. 38×
AR["بُوصٍ", "كَتّانًا", "كَتّانٍ", "مِن-كتّانٍ", "وَ-بُوصٌ", "وَ-بُوصٍ", "وَ-كتّاناً", "وَ-كتّانٌ", "وَ-كَتّاناً", "وَ-كَتّانٌ", "وَ-كَتّانٍ"]·ben["এবং-মসীনা-সুতা", "এবং-মসৃণ-মসিনা", "এবং-মসৃণ-শণ", "মসৃণ-শণ", "মসৃণ-শণের", "মিহিন-সুতার"]·DE["Leinen", "feines-Leinen", "und-fein-Leinen", "und-feines-Leinen"]·EN["and-fine-linen", "fine-linen"]·FR["et-fin-lin", "fin-lin"]·heb["ו-שש", "שש"]·HI["और-बारीक-कपड़ा", "और-बारीक-सन", "और-सन", "बारीक-कपड़ा", "बारीक-सन", "मलमल-के"]·ID["dan-lenan halus", "dan-lenan-halus", "lenan halus", "lenan-halus", "linen-halus"]·IT["e-fine-lino", "e-lino-fino", "lino-fino"]·jav["lan-lena-alus", "lan-linen", "lan-linen-alus", "lena-alus", "linen", "linen-alus,"]·KO["고운-베", "고운-베의", "그리고-고운-베", "그리고-고운-베와", "그리고-세마포", "세마포의"]·PT["e-linho", "e-linho-fino", "e-pôs", "linho-fino"]·RU["виссон", "виссона", "и-виссон"]·ES["lino", "lino-fino", "y-lino"]·SW["kitani", "kitani-laini", "na-kitani", "na-kitani-bora", "na-kitani-laini", "ya-kitani-laini"]·TR["ince-keten", "ve-ince-keten"]·urd["اور-باریک-کتان", "اور-کتان", "باریک-کتان", "باریک-کتان-کا", "باریک-کتان-کے"]
Gen 41:42, Exod 25:4, Exod 26:1, Exod 26:31, Exod 26:36, Exod 27:9, Exod 27:16, Exod 27:18, Exod 28:5, Exod 28:6, Exod 28:8, Exod 28:15 (+26 more)
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† III. שֵׁשׁ n.m. Ex 26:1 byssus (loan-wd. prob. from Egyptian šen-suten Reinischap. DHM VOJ viii (1894), 7 Copt. šens, cf. Copt. šent, weave; v. MʿLeanEncy. Bib. linen; on spinning, weaving, and wearing of linen in Egypt ErmanAegypten 594 ff.; Eng. Trans. 448 f.);—always abs. שׁ׳ (שׁשׁי Ez 16:13 is error):—byssus, fine Egyptian linen (בּוּץ, q.v., is later synon.), i.e. the linen thread (spun by…