שַׁלִּיט

From the study of Ecclesiastes 7:19

Range of meaning

A person with power or mastery: a governor, a ruler, a powerful man. In the Hebrew Bible it appears only in Gen 42:6 (Joseph as governor of Egypt), Eccl 7:19, 8:8 ('no one has mastery over the wind/spirit'), 10:5 ('an error that comes from the ruler'), and Ezek 16:30 (as an adjective, 'domineering'). The root š-l-ṭ is very common in Aramaic. In Daniel's Aramaic it is the regular word for having dominion (Dan 2:10; 4:17).

Against the English

Most versions say 'rulers'. KJV's 'mighty men' leans toward warriors. NLT's 'leading citizens' puts it in civic terms. 'Ruler' can make modern readers think of kings. In a city setting this is more like magistrates, local strongmen, the people who run things.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its rarity in older Hebrew and its frequency in Aramaic and later Hebrew are part of why scholars date Ecclesiastes to the Persian or early Hellenistic period (roughly 5th–3rd century BC). In later rabbinic Hebrew, šallit is an ordinary word for 'authority'.

From the study of Ecclesiastes 8:8

Range of meaning

The root sh-l-ṭ means to have authority, to dominate, to be in control. Shallit is the person who has that power (a ruler, someone in charge). Shilton is the power itself, sovereign authority. The root is common in later Hebrew and Aramaic (compare Aramaic sholṭan, 'dominion', in Daniel).

Against the English

English versions spread it across 'power', 'authority' and 'mastery', so readers miss that one root word is running through the whole passage.

Used elsewhere in the period

Within this passage: 8:4 'the word of the king is shilton', 8:8 (twice), 8:9 'a man shalat (lords it) over another to his harm'. Elsewhere in Qohelet: 2:19, 5:19, 6:2, 7:19, 10:5. Aramaic sholṭan is used for the dominion of kings and of God in Dan 4:3, 4:34 and 7:14.

From the study of Genesis 42:6

Range of meaning

From the root š-l-ṭ, 'to have mastery, to hold power'. As a noun it means one who has control: a ruler, a man in charge. As an adjective it can mean 'domineering' or 'imperious' (Ezek 16:30, of a brazen prostitute; the feminine form is shalletet). The stress is on effective power, the ability to command, rather than on a particular title or royal rank.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say 'governor', which today suggests a regional or elected officeholder. BSB and NASB say 'ruler', which is closer. Neither English word conveys that the Hebrew is about raw control: he was the one who held the power.

How it drifted

'Governor' was a natural 1611 word for a high deputy ruling for a sovereign. Modern political use, such as state governors and colonial governors, makes it sound like a regional administrative post.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible the word occurs only here in the Pentateuch. It appears otherwise in Ecclesiastes (7:19 'ten rulers in a city'; 8:8 'no one has power over the wind/spirit'; 10:5 'the ruler'). It is common in biblical Aramaic: Dan 2:10; 4:17, 25 ('the Most High rules over the kingdom of men'); 5:21; Ezra 4:20; 7:24. The root is old in Semitic. Akkadian has šalāṭu, 'to rule, have authority', and the Ugaritic Baal texts call a seven-headed sea monster šlyṭ, 'the Mighty One' (per HALOT). Through Aramaic shulṭānā, 'authority', the same root eventually gave Arabic sulṭān, 'sultan'.