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שֶׁמֶן

𐤔𐤌𐤍

shemen

H8081 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A liquid fat, primarily referring to olive oil, used for consumption, lighting, ritual, and anointing. The term extends to oil obtained from seeds or plants, and by extension, the concept of abundance or richness. In some contexts, it also denotes perfumed ointment made with oil.

Semantic Range

olive oil for consumption; oil for lighting; perfumed oil or ointment; oil used in ritual offerings; oil for anointing; oil or ointment as a symbol of prosperity or blessing; metaphor for richness or abundance; oil as a trade commodity

Root / Etymology

From the Hebrew root שָׁמַן (sh-m-n), 'to be fat, grow fat, become rich.' The noun שֶׁמֶן (shemen) directly derives from the root, signifying the substance that embodies fatness or richness—specifically, liquid oil.

Historical & Contextual Notes

שֶׁמֶן (shemen) in the Hebrew Bible most often denotes olive oil, a vital commodity in ancient Israelite society. Used for food, lighting, offerings, anointing kings, priests, and sacred objects, and as a base for perfumed ointments. In metaphorical contexts, it signifies prosperity or abundance, reflecting oil's economic and symbolic importance. Olive oil was distinct from animal fat (חֵלֶב, chelev), which was not used for anointing or offerings except by burning. The transition from strictly olive oil to broader uses (including perfumed ointments) is attested in later biblical and Second Temple literature. English translations sometimes obscure the technical or ritual nuances of שֶׁמֶן, rendering both שֶׁמֶן and חֵלֶב simply as 'fat,' though the Hebrew makes a clear distinction.

Translation Consistency

primary "oil" 50 occurrences

"Oil" is the natural, common English word that covers the full range of שֶׁמֶן: olive oil for food, oil for lighting, anointing/ritual oil, perfumed ointment, and metaphorical richness. It is the most frequent rendering in the corpus and is flexible—specifics (e.g., "olive oil," "anointing oil") can be added as modifiers when needed.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from שָׁמַן; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively, richness; anointing, [idiom] fat (things), [idiom] fruitful, oil(-ed), ointment, olive, [phrase] pine.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

שמן (mashmân) — to be fat, to grow fat, to become rich

Root שמן to be fat, to grow fat, to become rich
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4924 מַשְׁמָן in his fat abundances
H8066 שְׁמִינִי the eighth
H8080 שָׁמַן the rich oil
H8082 שָׁמֵן the stout one
H8083 שְׁמֹנֶה in eight

Word Forms

26 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H8081-16 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil 43
H8081-21 וָ/שֶׁ֖מֶן vashemen HC/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil 28
H8081-05 הַ/שֶּׁ֖מֶן hashemen HTd/Ncmsa the oil the oil the oil 22
H8081-26 וְ/שֶׁ֛מֶן veshemen HC/Ncmsa and oil and rich oil and oil 18
H8081-10 שָׁ֑מֶן shamen HNcmsa of oil rich oil rich oil 14
H8081-02 בַּ/שֶּׁ֖מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil 11
H8081-01 בַּ/שָּֽׁמֶן bashamen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil 8
H8081-20 בַ/שָּׁ֑מֶן vashamen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil with oil 7
H8081-03 בְּ/שֶׁ֣מֶן beshemen HR/Ncmsc with oil in rich oil in rich oil 6
H8081-04 הַ/שָּֽׁמֶן hashamen HTd/Ncmsa of the oil the oil the oil 6

Occurrences in Scripture

193 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H8081-16 Genesis 28:18 שֶׁ֖מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-10 Genesis 35:14 שָֽׁמֶן shamen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 25:6 שֶׁ֖מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-07 Exodus 25:6 לְ/שֶׁ֣מֶן leshemen HR/Ncmsc for oil for oil of for oil of
H8081-16 Exodus 27:20 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-02 Exodus 29:2 בַּ/שֶּׁ֔מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-01 Exodus 29:2 בַּ/שָּׁ֑מֶן bashamen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-16 Exodus 29:7 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-19 Exodus 29:21 וּ/מִ/שֶּׁ֣מֶן umishemen HC/R/Ncmsc and of the oil and from oil of and from oil of
H8081-16 Exodus 29:23 שֶׁ֛מֶן shemen HNcmsa made with oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-03 Exodus 29:40 בְּ/שֶׁ֤מֶן beshemen HR/Ncmsa with-oil in rich oil in rich oil
H8081-26 Exodus 30:24 וְ/שֶׁ֥מֶן veshemen HC/Ncmsc and oil and rich oil and oil
H8081-16 Exodus 30:25 שֶׁ֚מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 30:25 שֶׁ֥מֶן shemen-2 HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 30:31 שֶׁ֠מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 31:11 שֶׁ֧מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-26 Exodus 35:8 וְ/שֶׁ֖מֶן veshemen HC/Ncmsa and oil and rich oil and oil
H8081-07 Exodus 35:8 לְ/שֶׁ֣מֶן leshemen HR/Ncmsc for oil for oil of for oil of
H8081-16 Exodus 35:14 שֶׁ֥מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 35:15 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-04 Exodus 35:28 הַ/שָּׁ֑מֶן hashamen HTd/Ncmsa oil the oil the oil
H8081-17 Exodus 35:28 וּ/לְ/שֶׁ֨מֶן֙ uleshemen HC/R/Ncmsc and for oil and for rich oil and for oil
H8081-16 Exodus 37:29 שֶׁ֤מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 39:37 שֶׁ֥מֶן shemen HNcmsc the oil rich oil the oil
H8081-16 Exodus 39:38 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Exodus 40:9 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 2:1 שֶׁ֔מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-18 Leviticus 2:2 וּ/מִ/שַּׁמְנָ֔/הּ umishamenah HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3fs and from its oil and from her oil and from her oil
H8081-02 Leviticus 2:4 בַּ/שֶּׁ֔מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-01 Leviticus 2:4 בַּ/שָּֽׁמֶן bashamen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-21 Leviticus 2:5 בַ/שֶּׁ֖מֶן vashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-10 Leviticus 2:6 שָׁ֑מֶן shamen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-02 Leviticus 2:7 בַּ/שֶּׁ֖מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa in oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 2:15 שֶׁ֔מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-18 Leviticus 2:16 וּ/מִ/שַּׁמְנָ֔/הּ umishamenah HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3fs and from its oil and from her oil and from her oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 5:11 שֶׁ֗מֶן shemen HNcmsa oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-18 Leviticus 6:8 וּ/מִ/שַּׁמְנָ֔/הּ umishamenah HC/R/Ncmsc/Sp3fs and-from-its-oil and from her oil and from her oil
H8081-02 Leviticus 6:14 בַּ/שֶּׁ֛מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa in oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-21 Leviticus 7:10 בַ/שֶּׁ֖מֶן vashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-02 Leviticus 7:12 בַּ/שֶּׁ֔מֶן bashemen HRd/Ncmsa with-oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-01 Leviticus 7:12 בַּ/שָּׁ֑מֶן bashamen HRd/Ncmsa with-oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-01 Leviticus 7:12 בַּ/שָּֽׁמֶן bashamen-2 HRd/Ncmsa with-oil in the oil in the oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 8:2 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 8:10 שֶׁ֣מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-09 Leviticus 8:12 מִ/שֶּׁ֣מֶן mishemen HR/Ncmsc some of the oil from rich oil from the oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 8:26 שֶׁ֛מֶן shemen HNcmsa with-oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-09 Leviticus 8:30 מִ/שֶּׁ֣מֶן mishemen HR/Ncmsc from the oil from rich oil from the oil
H8081-20 Leviticus 9:4 בַ/שָּׁ֑מֶן vashamen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil with oil
H8081-16 Leviticus 10:7 שֶׁ֛מֶן shemen HNcmsc oil rich oil rich oil
H8081-21 Leviticus 14:10 בַ/שֶּׁ֔מֶן vashemen HRd/Ncmsa with oil in the oil in the oil
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