Hebrew word · H8143

שֶׁנְהַבִּים

shenhabim

ivory

Ivory, probably literally 'elephant teeth.' Found only here and in 2 Chronicles 9:21.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

ivory

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 1 Kings 10:22

Range of meaning

Ivory, probably literally 'elephant teeth.' Found only here and in 2 Chronicles 9:21.

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'ivory.' The meaning is secure even though how the word was formed is debated.

Used elsewhere in the period

Usually explained as šēn, 'tooth' (the normal Hebrew for ivory, as in 'ivory throne,' kissēʾ šēn, 10:18), plus a word for elephant: compare Egyptian ȝbw and Sanskrit ibha. An alternative divides it into šēn wĕhobnîm, 'ivory and ebony,' the same pair traded at Tyre in Ezekiel 27:15. Egyptian records of voyages to Punt list ivory and ebony together.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 10:22 שֶׁנְהַבִּ֥ים ivori<es>

    For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

    Here: A rare word found only here and in the Chronicles parallel. It probably joins šēn, 'tooth,' with a borrowed word for 'elephant': 'elephant tusks.' The ivory would feed the craftsmen who made Solomon's ivory throne (10:18).

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:21 שֶׁנְהַבִּ֥ים ivori<es>

    For the king had the ships of Tarshish that went with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

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