Aramaic word · H8120

שְׁמַשׁ

yeshammeshuneh

to minister

To serve or attend, especially to wait on a superior. In Aramaic and later Hebrew it covers court servants, temple attendants and personal assistants. The later shammash (synagogue attendant) comes from it. Biblical Aramaic uses it only here.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears once in the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Pael) to minister, serve

Aramaic of she.mesh (שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ "sun" H8121)

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 Daniel 7:10

Range of meaning

To serve or attend, especially to wait on a superior. In Aramaic and later Hebrew it covers court servants, temple attendants and personal assistants. The later shammash (synagogue attendant) comes from it. Biblical Aramaic uses it only here.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'ministered' is fine in its 17th-century sense of 'served as a servant'. Modern church readers may hear 'ministry' in the sense of preaching or pastoral care. BSB/NIV 'attended' and ESV 'served' are closer.

How it drifted

'Minister' moved from 'servant' (Latin minister) to 'clergyman' and 'ministry' in the church-program sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek versions use therapeuō (Old Greek), 'wait on, serve', and leitourgeō (Theodotion), 'perform official or cultic service'. Together they show the word could sound both courtly and priestly. Compare 1 Kgs 10:8, the 'servants who stand continually before' Solomon.

Where it appears

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 7:10 יְשַׁמְּשׁוּנֵּ֔הּ they were ministering to him

    A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.

    Here: 'They were attending him.' This is the work of courtiers and attendants waiting on a king. The verb form describes ongoing service throughout the scene.

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