שֶׁ֖רֶץ

𐤔𐤓𐤑

sherets

swarming thing

from שָׁרַץ; a swarm, i.e. active mass of minute animals; creep(-ing thing), move(-ing creature).

H8318

Leviticus 22:5 · Word #6

Lexicon H8318

Lemmaשֶׁרֶץ
Lemma (Paleo)𐤔𐤓𐤑
Transliterationsherets
Strong'sH8318
In-contextswarming thing

Morphology HNcmsa All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype c — Common — Common noun
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular
State a — Absolute — The noun stands independently

SIBI-P1 H8318-04

a swarming creature

Rootשרץ (š-r-ṣ)
Core Meaningsto swarm, teem, multiply abundantly, creep
Semantic Rangeswarm, swarming thing, teeming creature, creeping animal, especially small land or water creatures
Conceptual SignificanceUsed prominently in creation accounts (e.g., waters that "swarm" with חיים) and in purity laws, שֶׁרֶץ highlights the abundance of life as well as categories of creatures considered ritually impure, emphasizing both divine fecundity and covenantal distinctions.
Morphological NotesCommon masculine singular noun (HNcmsa/HNcmsc), appearing in both absolute and construct states; no pronominal suffixes in the cited forms.
Rendering RationaleThe noun derives from the root שׁרץ (š-r-ṣ), "to swarm" or "to teem," and denotes that which swarms. The morphology indicates a common masculine singular noun (absolute or construct), so the rendering preserves singular number with "a" and reflects the active, teeming sense of the root in "swarming creature."

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root שרץ (to swarm, teem, multiply abundantly, creep)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H8318-01 basherets in the swarming-mass
H8318-02 hasharets the swarming mass
H8318-03 hasherets the swarming-creature

Word Usage (15 occurrences of H8318)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 1:20 שֶׁ֖רֶץ sherets a swarm
Genesis 7:21 הַ/שֶּׁ֖רֶץ hasherets swarming thing
Leviticus 5:2 שֶׁ֣רֶץ sherets swarming thing