חֲמִשִּׁים

𐤇𐤌𐤔𐤉𐤌

chămishshîym

H2572 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root חמשׁ five, to be five, to take a fifth

Definition

A cardinal number designating 'fifty,' used to indicate a total quantity of 50 objects, people, or units. It may function as both an adjective and a substantive, marking an exact sum or an ordinal interval. In legal, cultic, and narrative contexts, it designates age, amounts, groupings, time periods (such as days or years), and dimensions.

Semantic Range

fifty (in counting, census, age, amount, or dimension); group of fifty people, fifty units of measure, fiftieth year, interval of fifty

Root / Etymology

From the root חמשׁ, meaning 'five.' The word חֲמִשִּׁים is formed by the masculine plural ending -ים (-im), literally indicating 'fifties' or 'five tens.' The term is a regular formation for numeric multiples in Hebrew.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חֲמִשִּׁים appears throughout the Hebrew Bible as the standard term for fifty. It is used in a range of contexts: census figures (Numbers 1:23); age requirements (Leviticus 27:3); dimensions of objects or spaces (Exodus 27:18); temporal intervals such as the 'fiftieth year' (Leviticus 25:10, in connection with the Jubilee); and groupings (e.g., 50 men as a military or civic unit in 2 Kings 1:9). The base term חָמֵשׁ (ḥāmēsh, 'five') forms the foundation for all numerals from five to fifty. In later Hebrew and in rabbinic tradition, the use of the term retains this strict numeric value; the usage does not develop metaphorical meanings. English translations reliably convey the quantitative sense with 'fifty,' though some contextual nuance (e.g., the significance of fifty in the Jubilee cycle) may be lost in general translation. Unlike related terms for other tens (e.g., שְׁלֹשִׁים 'thirty,' אַרְבָּעִים 'forty'), חֲמִשִּׁים is not used as a symbolic number but simply as an exact count.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

multiple of חָמֵשׁ; fifty; fifty.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חמשׁ (ḥ-m-sh) — five, to be five, to take a fifth

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2568 חָמֵשׁ in five

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2572-05 חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty 97
H2572-09 וַֽ/חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים vachamishim HC/Acbpa and fifty and fifty 45
H2572-06 הַ/חֲמִשִּׁים֙ hachamishim HTd/Acbpa the fifty the fifty 8
H2572-01 בַּ/חֲמִשִּׁ֗ים bachamishim HR/Acbpa at fifty in fifty 4
H2572-08 וַ/חֲמִשָּׁ֑י/ו vachamishayv HC/Acbpc/Sp3ms and his fifty and his fifty 3
H2572-02 חֲמִשָּֽׁי/ו chamishayv HAcbpc/Sp3ms his fifty his fifty 2
H2572-04 חֲמִשֶּׁ֑י/ךָ chamisheykha HAcbpc/Sp2ms your fifty your fifty 2
H2572-03 חֲמִשֵּׁי/הֶ֑ם chamisheyhem HAcbpc/Sp3mp their fifties their fifties 1
H2572-07 לַ/חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים lachamishim HR/Acbpa fifty to fifty 1

Occurrences in Scripture

163 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2572-05 Genesis 6:15 חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 7:24 חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 8:3 חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים chamishim HAcbpa hundred and fifty fifty
H2572-09 Genesis 9:28 וַֽ/חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים vachamishim HC/Acbpa and fifty and fifty
H2572-09 Genesis 9:29 וַ/חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים vachamishim HC/Acbpa and fifty and fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 18:24 חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 18:24 חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים chamishim-2 HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 18:26 חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Genesis 18:28 חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים chamishim HAcbpa fifty fifty
H2572-05 Exodus 18:21 חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים chamishim HAcbpa fifties fifty