Hebrew word · H8365

שָׁתַם

shetum

to open

Biblical hapax pair (only Num 24:3, 15). Meaning debated: (1) 'opened', supported by the parallel 'eyes uncovered' in v.16, and by later (Mishnaic) Hebrew, where a closely related root is used for opening or boring into a sealed wine jar (m.

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

What it means

1) (Qal) to open

1a) meaning uncertain

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 Numbers 24:15

Range of meaning

Biblical hapax pair (only Num 24:3, 15). Meaning debated: (1) 'opened', supported by the parallel 'eyes uncovered' in v.16, and by later (Mishnaic) Hebrew, where a closely related root is used for opening or boring into a sealed wine jar (m. Avodah Zarah 5); (2) 'closed/shut', understood as if from the similar root satam, 'to stop up'; (3) 'perfect, true', if the letters are divided differently, as she-tam, 'whose [eye] is whole'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, BSB, ESV and NASB give 'open(ed)'. NIV gives a sense like 'sees clearly'. YLT gives 'shut', following the Vulgate and rabbinic tradition.

Used elsewhere in the period

Targum Onkelos: 'the man who sees clearly'. Septuagint: ho alēthinōs horōn, 'the one who truly sees', apparently reading tam ('perfect'). Vulgate: cuius obturatus est oculus, 'whose eye is stopped up'. The Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 105a; b. Niddah 31a) takes it as a slur: Balaam was blind in one eye.

From the study of Numbers 24:3

Range of meaning

The word appears in the Bible only in Num 24:3 and 24:15. Later (Mishnaic) Hebrew uses שָׁתַם for boring a hole or opening a wine jar (m. Avodah Zarah 5), which supports 'opened'. A similar-sounding root, סָתַם (satam), means 'to stop up, close', and ancient readers sometimes confused the two. If the consonants are divided differently, as שֶׁ־תַּם (she-tam), the phrase reads 'whose eye is true/perfect'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, BSB, ESV and NASB say 'open/opened'. YLT says 'shut'. NIV and NLT say 'sees clearly'. Several Jewish and scholarly translations say 'true' or 'clear'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has ho alēthinōs horōn, 'who sees truly'. The Vulgate has cuius obturatus est oculus, 'whose eye is stopped up'. Targum Onkelos has 'who sees clearly'. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 105a) says Balaam was blind in one eye, reading the singular 'eye' literally.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 24:3 שְׁתֻ֥ם <the> opened of

    and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

    Here: This word appears only here and in 24:15, so its meaning is uncertain. In later Hebrew it means to bore or open, as when you tap a wine jar, so 'opened' is the most likely sense. Ancient translators also read it as 'closed' or as 'true/whole'.

  2. Numbers 24:15 שְׁתֻ֥ם <the> opened of

    Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

    Here: Found in the Bible only here and in 24:3. Most likely 'opened' (cf. 'eyes uncovered' in v.16), but ancient readers also took it as 'shut' or 'perfect/true'. Either way it describes a seer whose sight differs from ordinary sight.

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