שְׁנָא (she.na)
she.na
to change
A:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 17 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb shena means to change or be altered. It appears seventeen times in the Old Testament, with a heavy concentration in the books of Daniel and Ezra. In these contexts, it describes shifts in circumstances, laws, or physical states rather than internal emotional shifts.
Its usage often highlights the contrast between human plans and divine sovereignty. For instance, when Nebuchadnezzar’s decree changed regarding the three Hebrew youths, the text uses shena to show how their situation was transformed from death to life (Daniel 3:28). Similarly, in Ezra, it describes how the work on the temple was halted because the authorities issued a new order that changed the previous permission (Ezra 4:23).
This word carries a sense of external alteration. It is not about personal repentance or a change of heart, but about a shift in reality or policy. The sources note its use in the Hiphil stem to mean changing something deliberately, such as altering a law or a command. This distinction helps readers see that biblical "change" can refer to historical events and political decrees just as much as personal growth.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shena reminds us that change is often outside our control. In Daniel and Ezra, it describes shifts in laws, decrees, and physical states. Nebuchadnezzar’s anger changed his face; a new decree halted temple work; the fire failed to alter the youths’ clothes. These are not stories about personal growth but about how external realities shift around us.
Yet this instability points to a steady God. Daniel 2:21 says He changes times and seasons, removing and setting up kings. When laws change or plans fail, we see that human power is temporary. Our trust does not rest in stable policies but in the One who remains constant through every alteration.
This word invites us to look beyond our circumstances. Whether a decree favors you or opposes you, God’s sovereignty holds firm. We can find peace not because everything stays the same, but because He does. In a world of shifting laws and sudden turns, His character is the only ground that never moves.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 17 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- they were changed2×
- to/ violate1×
- to/ change1×
- they violated1×
- they changed/ him1×
- they be changed1×
- it will be different1×
- it will be changed1×
- it was changed1×
- he will violate1×
- he will be different1×
- different1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תִשְׁנֵ֖א1×
- שָׁנַ֣יִן1×
- שָׁנְיָ֖ן1×
- שָֽׁנְיָ֖ה1×
- שַׁנִּ֔יו1×
- שְׁנ֔וֹ/הִי1×
- שְׁנ֑וֹ1×
- מְשַׁנְּיָ֗ה1×
- מְהַשְׁנֵ֤א1×
- לְ/הַשְׁנָיָה֙1×
- לְ/הַשְׁנָיָ֛ה1×
- יִשְׁתַּנּֽוֹ\׃1×
Key Verses
-
Daniel 2:21
He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.
This verse explicitly attributes the changing of times and seasons to God, establishing His sovereignty over historical shifts.
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Ezra 6:12
May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples who stretch out their hand to alter this, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree. Let it be done with all diligence.
Here shena describes a deliberate human attempt to alter a royal decree, showing the word's use in legal contexts.
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Daniel 3:27
The local governors, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed. The smell of fire wasn’t even on them.
The fact that the youths' clothes were not changed demonstrates God’s power to preserve stability within sudden danger.
-
Daniel 5:6
Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.
Belshazzar’s face changing reflects a physical reaction to divine judgment, linking external alteration to spiritual reality.