H8351 H8351
Sheth — likely a personal name (possibly Seth), though BDB suggests 'din of battle' as alternative meaning
This enigmatic word in Numbers 24:17 has sparked considerable debate. Balaam's oracle speaks of striking 'the corners of Moab and the sons of Sheth.' Most versions treat Sheth as a proper name (possibly the line of Seth, representing humanity). However, BDB proposes it might mean 'battle-din' or 'warriors,' based on a connection to the word for uproar. The parallel in Jeremiah 48:45 offers some support for this reading, though the ambiguity remains.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Occurring in Numbers 24:17 in Balaam's oracle, this term is traditionally understood as the proper name Sheth (Seth), referring either to the patriarch or symbolically to a people group. Alternative interpretations suggest 'din of battle' or 'tumult,' making 'sons of tumult' mean 'warriors.' The multilingual glosses uniformly transliterate as a name, following the versional tradition, though the semantic ambiguity in the Hebrew has never been fully resolved. 1×
AR["شَيْتَ"]·ben["শেথের"]·DE["Sheth"]·EN["Sheth"]·FR["Sheth"]·heb["שת"]·HI["शेत-के"]·ID["Set"]·IT["Sheth"]·jav["Set"]·KO["셋"]·PT["Shet"]·RU["Шета"]·ES["Set"]·SW["Sethi"]·TR["Şet'in"]·urd["سیت"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)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×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שֵׁאת n.f. doubtful word; perhaps (for* שֶׁאֶת) din of battle (= שָׁאוֹן); Thes al. devastation, cf. שְׁאִיָּה; either meaning suits הַשּׁ׳ La 3:47 (‖ הַשָּׁ֑בֶר; but WeComp. Hex. 2, 351, from II. שׁוא, desolation); contr. (according to Thes and most) שֵׁת, in בְּנֵי שֵׁת Nu 24:17 (J) sons of (battle-)din (warriors, = בְּנֵי שָׁאוֹן in ‖ Je 48:45); Vrss take שֵׁת here as n.pr.; Gray proposes שֵׂת = שְׂאֵת, pride, or reading as Je, cf. WeComp. 351.