Hebrew · Strong's H8346
שִׁשִּׁים
(shih-SHEEM)
numeral
The cardinal number sixty, often used as a direct count or as part of a larger numerical expression.
The Hebrew word "shishshim" denotes the number sixty. In the Old Testament, numbers often carry significance beyond their simple arithmetic value, sometimes representing completeness, a generation, or a large quantity. While "shishshim" primarily functions as a straightforward numeric descriptor, its repetition or inclusion in lists can subtly emphasize the scale or abundance of what is being counted. It appears in contexts ranging from population counts and military tallies to measurements for construction and offerings for the tabernacle. Rather than holding a deep symbolic meaning on its own, "shishshim" contributes to the broader narratives by providing specific details that ground the accounts in historical or practical realities. It serves to quantify people, cities, offerings, or provisions, helping the reader grasp the magnitude of the events or the extent of resources described. Its usage across various books demonstrates its role as a common numerical unit in ancient Israelite society, integral to record-keeping and vivid descriptions.
Common English renderings
- sixty
- threescore
- three score
Key verses
"And Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath, and the villages thereof, even threescore cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead."
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"The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were forty and four thousand seven hundred and threescore, that were able to go forth to war."
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"and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace-offerings twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed."
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"Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars);"
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"And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,"
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"Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,"
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Related words