Hebrew word · H8149

שְׂנִיר

senir

Senir

A mountain name: according to Deut 3:9 the Amorite name for Hermon. In Song 4:8 ("from the peak of Senir and Hermon") and 1 Chr 5:23 it is listed beside Hermon, so it may name a part of the range, perhaps the northern Anti-Lebanon. Ezek 27:5 mentions its fir or juniper timber.

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

What it means

Senir or Shenir = "snow mountain"

the Amorite name for Mount Hermon

Another name of cher.mon (חֶרְמוֹן "(Mount )Hermon" H2768)

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 Chronicles 5:23

Range of meaning

A mountain name: according to Deut 3:9 the Amorite name for Hermon. In Song 4:8 ("from the peak of Senir and Hermon") and 1 Chr 5:23 it is listed beside Hermon, so it may name a part of the range, perhaps the northern Anti-Lebanon. Ezek 27:5 mentions its fir or juniper timber.

Against the English

Translations split on whether to present Senir as another name for Hermon (BSB, NIV) or as a separate point in a list (KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV, NASB).

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian annals of Shalmaneser III (841 BC) record a battle with Hazael of Damascus at "Mount Saniru", the same name, in the Hermon/Anti-Lebanon area.

From the study of Deuteronomy 3:9

Range of meaning

The Amorite name for Hermon, or for part of the range. Ezekiel 27:5 says Tyre's ship planks were 'fir from Senir'. Song 4:8 ('from the top of Senir and Hermon') and 1 Chr 5:23 ('Baal-hermon, Senir and Mount Hermon') list Senir beside Hermon, which suggests the name could refer to a particular peak or section.

Against the English

KJV spells it 'Shenir' here and in Song 4:8 but 'Senir' in 1 Chr 5:23 and Ezek 27:5, so English readers may not realise these are the same name. Modern versions consistently use 'Senir'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian annals of Shalmaneser III (841 BC) record his campaign against Hazael of Damascus at 'Mount Saniru, a peak in front of Lebanon'. Medieval Jewish commentary (Rashi) took Senir to mean 'snow', and the Aramaic Targums call Hermon 'the mountain of snow'. That is a later folk explanation, not a reliable etymology.

From the study of Ezekiel 27:5

Range of meaning

A name for Mount Hermon or part of its range. Deut 3:9 says 'the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir'. In 1 Chr 5:23 and Song 4:8 Senir is listed beside Hermon, possibly as a neighbouring peak.

Against the English

English versions keep the name 'Senir' without explanation, so most readers do not know it means Hermon.

Used elsewhere in the period

Assyrian annals of Shalmaneser III (9th c. BC) mention 'Mount Saniru' in the Hermon/Anti-Lebanon region, which confirms the name was in use outside the Bible.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 3:9 שְׂנִֽיר׃ Senir

    which the Sidonians call Sirion but the Amorites call Senir—

    Here: The Amorite name, which also shows up in Assyrian records as 'Saniru'. Elsewhere in the Bible Senir is sometimes paired with Hermon or listed beside it (Song 4:8; 1 Chr 5:23). That suggests it may have referred to the range or to one part of it.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:23 וּשְׂנִ֥יר and Senir

    Now the people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous. They settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir, also known as Mount Hermon).

    Here: "And Senir": the Amorite name for Hermon according to Deut 3:9. Elsewhere it may name part of the same range. The "and" can mean either "and" (a list) or "that is" (another name for the same place).

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 4:8 שְׂנִיר֙ Senir

    Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summits of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.

    Here: The Amorite name for Hermon (Deut 3:9), or a nearby part of the same massif (1 Chr 5:23 lists them separately). The poet treats the high ranges of the far north as one whole.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 27:5 מִשְּׂנִיר֙ from Senir

    They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

    Here: 'From Senir'. Senir was the Amorite name for Mount Hermon, or for part of the Hermon range (Deut 3:9). It places the timber in the high forests on the northern edge of Israel's land.

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