Hebrew word · H6716

צִי

vetzim

ship

Ship or vessel, used both of large sea craft and of river boats. It is rare, appearing only four times (Num 24:24; Isa 33:21; Ezek 30:9; Dan 11:30). Lexicons (HALOT) generally treat it as a loanword from Egyptian ḏꜣy, 'ferry-boat, vessel'.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament.

What it means

ship

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Numbers 24:24

Range of meaning

Ship or vessel, used both of large sea craft and of river boats. It is rare, appearing only four times (Num 24:24; Isa 33:21; Ezek 30:9; Dan 11:30). Lexicons (HALOT) generally treat it as a loanword from Egyptian ḏꜣy, 'ferry-boat, vessel'.

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'ships'. To make a sentence they must add a verb ('shall come'), which the Hebrew does not have.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 33:21 pairs tsi with 'galley with oars'. Ezekiel 30:9 has messengers going out 'in ships' (tsiyyim) to Cush. Daniel 11:30, 'ships of Kittim shall come against him', is a deliberate quotation of this verse. The Septuagint of Numbers does not translate a word 'ships' here, and the Vulgate has 'in triremes'.

Similar words

Where it appears

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 24:24 וְצִים֙ and ships

    Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”

    Here: 'And ships.' A rare word, probably borrowed from Egyptian, used only for seagoing or river vessels (Isa 33:21; Ezek 30:9; Dan 11:30). The line opens on an image of a fleet appearing over the horizon. There is no verb, so English adds 'will come'.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 33:21 וְצִ֥י and a ship

    But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will row, and no majestic vessel will pass.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 30:9 בַּצִּ֔ים in the ships

    On that day messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten Cush out of complacency. Anguish will come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom. For it is indeed coming.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 11:30 צִיִּ֤ים <the> ships of

    Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.