Hebrew word · H8066

שְׁמִינִי

hashemini

eighth

'The eighth,' an ordinal number. In Israel's ritual law the eighth day keeps recurring as the first day of a new status after a seven-day period of transition. A newborn male is circumcised on it (Lev 12:3). A firstborn animal is given to God on it (Exod 22:30).

Appears 28 times in 27 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

eighth (ordinal number)

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 Ezekiel 43:27

Range of meaning

'The eighth,' an ordinal number. In Israel's ritual law the eighth day keeps recurring as the first day of a new status after a seven-day period of transition. A newborn male is circumcised on it (Lev 12:3). A firstborn animal is given to God on it (Exod 22:30). An animal becomes acceptable for sacrifice on it (Lev 22:27). A healed person brings offerings and rejoins worship on it (Lev 14:10, 23). Priests begin to serve on it after seven days of ordination (Lev 9:1).

Against the English

English versions render it straightforwardly. The richness lies in the pattern, not the word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 8:33–9:24 is the closest parallel. After seven days of ordination, 'on the eighth day' (Lev 9:1) Aaron offers burnt and well-being offerings for the people, and fire comes from God and consumes them: the visible sign of acceptance. Exod 29:35–37 prescribes seven days of atonement for the altar, which then becomes 'most holy.' Later, Christian writers (Epistle of Barnabas 15; Justin Martyr) made the 'eighth day' a symbol of resurrection and new creation. That idea is not in Ezekiel.

From the study of Leviticus 12:3

Range of meaning

The ordinal number "eighth," from shəmōneh, "eight." In priestly texts the eighth day comes up again and again as the day after a completed seven-day period, when someone or something passes into a new state.

Against the English

"Eighth day" is an accurate translation. What English readers miss is the pattern behind it, which the first hearers would have recognised.

Used elsewhere in the period

The pattern runs through the Torah. Genesis 17:12 and 21:4 set the eighth day for circumcision. Exodus 22:30 and Leviticus 22:27 say a newborn animal stays with its mother seven days and may be given or offered to God from the eighth day. In Leviticus 9:1 the priests begin their service on the eighth day after seven days of ordination. Healed skin-disease sufferers, people with bodily discharges, and a Nazirite made unclean all bring offerings on the eighth day (Lev 14:10, 23; 15:14, 29; Num 6:10). Sukkot (the Festival of Booths) ends with an eighth-day assembly (Lev 23:36). Luke 1:59 and 2:21 record John and Jesus circumcised on the eighth day, and Paul calls himself "circumcised on the eighth day" (Phil 3:5).

From the study of Leviticus 14:10

Range of meaning

The ordinal 'eighth'. In priestly writing it often marks the day after a seven-day period. Seven days of waiting or preparation are followed by an eighth day on which a new status takes effect.

Against the English

Every English version says 'eighth day'. The translation is accurate, but readers who do not know the pattern of seven days followed by an eighth will miss how loaded the phrase is.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 9:1: on the eighth day after seven days of ordination, Aaron and his sons begin serving as priests. Lev 12:3: circumcision on the eighth day. Lev 22:27: a newborn animal may be offered from the eighth day. Num 6:10: a Nazirite who becomes defiled brings his offering on the eighth day. Lev 15:14, 29: people with bodily discharges bring theirs on the eighth day. Ezek 43:27: the altar begins full use 'from the eighth day onward'.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 22:30 הַשְּׁמִינִ֖י <the> eighth

    You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.

Leviticus · 10

  1. Leviticus 9:1 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

  2. Leviticus 12:3 הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י <the> eighth

    And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.

    Here: The day after a completed seven-day cycle. The Hebrew puts weight on it ("on the day, the eighth one"). It repeats the timing first given to Abraham in Genesis 17:12 and fits a wider pattern in the Torah where the eighth day marks entry into a new status.

  3. Leviticus 14:10 הַשְּׁמִינִ֗י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil.

    Here: The day after a full seven-day period of transition. In Leviticus the eighth day is when something new starts working: the priests begin serving (9:1), a newborn animal can be offered (22:27), a baby boy is circumcised (12:3).

  4. Leviticus 14:23 הַשְּׁמִינִ֛י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD.

  5. Leviticus 15:14 הַשְּׁמִינִ֗י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.

  6. Leviticus 15:29 הַשְּׁמִינִ֗י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

  7. Leviticus 22:27 הַשְּׁמִינִי֙ <the> eighth

    “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the LORD.

  8. Leviticus 23:36 הַשְּׁמִינִ֡י <the> eighth

    For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.

  9. Leviticus 23:39 הַשְּׁמִינִ֖י <the> eighth

    On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.

  10. Leviticus 25:22 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔ת <the> eighth

    While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.

Numbers · 3

  1. Numbers 6:10 הַשְּׁמִינִ֗י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

  2. Numbers 7:54 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near.

    Here: "The eighth." Manasseh's slot follows the order of the camp in Numbers 2. This is a place in a sequence. It carries none of the symbolic weight later attached to an "eighth day" (as in circumcision or a new beginning).

  3. Numbers 29:35 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day you are to hold a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.

1 Kings · 4

  1. 1 Kings 6:38 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.

  2. 1 Kings 8:66 הַשְּׁמִינִי֙ <the> eighth

    On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.

    Here: "The eighth". Israelites would have heard the eighth day that closes the seven-day Feast of Booths (Leviticus 23:36, 39). How it fits the "fourteen days" of verse 65 is debated.

  3. 1 Kings 12:32 הַשְּׁמִינִ֣י <the> eighth

    And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.

  4. 1 Kings 12:33 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

1 Chronicles · 6

  1. 1 Chronicles 12:12 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י the eighth

    Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

  2. 1 Chronicles 24:10 הַשְּׁמִינִֽי׃ the eighth

    the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

  3. 1 Chronicles 25:15 הַשְּׁמִינִ֣י the eighth

    the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

  4. 1 Chronicles 26:5 הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י the eighth

    Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth. For God had blessed Obed-edom.

  5. 1 Chronicles 27:11 הַשְּׁמִינִי֙ הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י [was] the eighth, <the> eighth

    The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

    Here: "The eighth" (commander). It stands alone with no noun because verse 1 has already named the subject: the commanders of the monthly divisions. The list counts down by number, like a duty roster.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:9 הַשְּׁמִינִ֖י <the> eighth

    On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for the dedication of the altar had lasted seven days, and the feast seven days more.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 8:18 הַשְּׁמִינִ֛י <the> eighth

    Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. The Israelites kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly, according to the ordinance.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 43:27 הַשְּׁמִינִ֜י <the> eighth

    At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.’”

    Here: 'The eighth.' This is the first day after a completed seven-day transition, when the newly consecrated thing goes into normal use. It matches the eighth day in Leviticus 9:1, when Aaron's priesthood began offering.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 1:1 הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י <the> eighth

    In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

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