שִׁתִּין (shit.tin)
shit.tin
sixty
A:NQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:N
Word Overview
The Aramaic word shitin simply means sixty, or threescore. It appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both within the Aramaic sections of Ezra and Daniel where it functions as a straightforward numerical descriptor rather than a theological term.
Its presence highlights the bilingual nature of these texts. In Daniel 4:30, the king boasts about his great city built by his own power, implicitly referencing the long period of his reign or the magnitude of his achievements, though the number itself anchors the statement in concrete reality. Similarly, Ezra 2:13 uses it to list the returnees from a specific family line, providing precise genealogical data for the post-exilic community.
As an indeclinable noun borrowed into Hebrew contexts, it shows how Aramaic served as the administrative language of the empire. The word carries no hidden metaphor or spiritual weight; it is a practical tool for record-keeping and historical narrative, ensuring that counts of people and durations of time were understood clearly across linguistic boundaries.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shitin is simply the number sixty. It appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both in the Aramaic sections of Ezra and Daniel. These books were written during a time when the Jewish people lived under foreign rule, using the administrative language of the Persian Empire for official records.
In these texts, the number serves as a precise marker of reality. In Daniel 3:1, it describes the towering height of an idol erected by King Nebuchadnezzar. This detail grounds the story in a concrete historical setting, showing how human pride often tries to reach great heights. It reminds us that even the most impressive structures built by human power are temporary.
Similarly, Ezra 6:3 uses the number to define the dimensions of the temple foundation. Here, sixty cubits represent God’s provision and order for His people after exile. The word itself carries no hidden spiritual code; it is a straightforward count. Yet, its presence in Scripture shows that God cares about the details of history, including measurements, dates, and names.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- sixty3×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שִׁתִּ֔ין2×
- שִׁתִּֽין\׃1×
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.
The word specifies the height of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, emphasizing the scale of human pride in contrast to God's sovereignty.
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Ezra 6:3
In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning God’s house at Jerusalem, let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid, with its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits;
It defines the dimensions of the temple foundation, marking a moment of restoration and divine order for the returned exiles.