שֵׁת (shet)
shet
six
A:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:A
Word Overview
The word shet is the Aramaic form for the number six, functioning as a cardinal numeral in the Old Testament. It appears only twice in Scripture, both within books written partly or wholly in Aramaic: Ezra and Daniel. In these contexts, it serves its straightforward grammatical purpose of counting items or marking time periods without additional symbolic weight attached to the digit itself.
Etymologically, shet is directly related to the Hebrew word shesh (H8337). The shift from the Hebrew "sh" sound to the Aramaic "sh" spelling reflects the linguistic transition between the two Semitic languages used in these biblical texts. While the Hebrew Bible frequently uses shesh, the Aramaic sections of Ezra and Daniel employ shet to maintain consistency with the surrounding language.
Its usage is purely numerical. In Daniel 4:33, it helps specify the duration of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness as "six months." Similarly, in Ezra 6:3, it counts the number of storeys or levels in the temple structure. Translators render it simply as "six," preserving the exact quantity intended by the original authors without adding interpretive layers.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shet is simply the Aramaic numeral for six. It appears in two places in the Old Testament where the text switches from Hebrew to Aramaic, such as in Ezra and Daniel. In these verses, it does not carry hidden symbolism or deep spiritual code. It serves a clear, practical purpose: counting objects or measuring time.
For example, in Daniel 3:1, shet helps describe the width of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image as six cubits. This detail grounds the story in real history and physical reality. It reminds us that God works within the specific details of our world, not just in abstract ideas.
When you read this word, you can trust that the text is being precise. The Bible values accuracy in its numbers. This precision shows care for the truth of what happened. You do not need to search for secret meanings in simple counts. God’s word is clear and reliable in both its big themes and its small details.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- six2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שֵׁ֔ת1×
- שִׁ֑ת1×
Key Verses
-
Daniel 3:1
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
This occurrence specifies the exact width of the golden image, anchoring the narrative in tangible historical detail rather than symbolic abstraction.
-
Ezra 6:15
This house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
Here the word marks the sixth year of King Darius’s reign, providing a precise chronological marker for the completion of the temple.