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שִׁלְשׁוֹם

𐤔𐤋𐤔𐤅𐤌

shilshôwm

H8032 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁלשׁ to divide into three, to be threefold, to do (something) for the third time

Definition

An adverb meaning 'before yesterday,' 'formerly,' or 'previously,' used to refer to the time two or more days prior to the present. Shilshom primarily denotes a temporal remoteness: the day before yesterday, or more generally an earlier or former time. It often marks a point further back in time than 'yesterday,' and by extension can mean 'previously,' 'heretofore,' or 'in former times.'

Semantic Range

the day before yesterday, a former time, previously, heretofore, in the past, formerly, time before a specified point

Root / Etymology

From the root שׁ-ל-שׁ (שֶׁלֶשׁ), which means 'three,' with the formative morphology indicating a relationship to three days ago. The lexical pattern indicates derivation related to division or interval in threes, particularly with reference to days.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Used frequently in narrative and legal passages to refer to the day before yesterday or to a time more remote than 'yesterday.' In legal or ritual contexts (e.g., Numbers 11:18), it may indicate time calculations linked to ritual purity or narrative progression. The term appears only in the context of referring to former days, and is distinct from מִשִּׁלְשׁוֹם ('since before yesterday') or תְּמוֹל ('yesterday'). While English Bible translations sometimes render שִׁלְשׁוֹם as 'heretofore,' 'formerly,' or 'in old times,' these choices may obscure the concrete temporal aspect in some passages. Over time, the usage broadened from a literal 'day before yesterday' to a less precise 'past days' or 'previously,' especially in poetic or legal texts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or שִׁלְשֹׁם; from the same as שֶׁלֶשׁ; trebly, i.e. (in time) day before yesterday; [phrase] before (that time, -time), excellent things (from the margin), [phrase] heretofore, three days, [phrase] time past.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שלש (sh-l-sh) — three, threefold division, doing something a third time

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H7969 שָׁלוֹשׁ in the three
H7970 שְׁלוֹשִׁים in the thirty
H7991 שָׁלִישׁ in the third-rank officer
H7992 שְׁלִישִׁי in the third
H8027 שָׁלַשׁ the threefold one

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8032-02 שִׁלְשֽׁוֹם shileshom HNcmsa or the day before three-days-ago 23
H8032-03 שלשום shlshvm HD thirty three-days ago 1
H8032-01 מִ/שִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם mishileshom HR/D since the day before from three-days-back 1

Occurrences in Scripture

25 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8032-02 Genesis 31:2 שִׁלְשֽׁוֹם shileshom HNcmsa before three-days-ago
H8032-02 Genesis 31:5 שִׁלְשֹׁ֑ם shileshom HNcmsa [temporal reference: third day ago] three-days-ago
H8032-01 Exodus 4:10 מִ/שִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם mishileshom HR/D since the day before from three-days-back
H8032-02 Exodus 5:7 שִׁלְשֹׁ֑ם shileshom HD in times past three-days-ago
H8032-02 Exodus 5:8 שִׁלְשֹׁם֙ shileshom HD in times past three-days-ago
H8032-02 Exodus 5:14 שִׁלְשֹׁ֔ם shileshom HD and the day before three-days-ago
H8032-02 Exodus 21:29 שִׁלְשֹׁ֗ם shileshom HD or the day before three-days-ago
H8032-02 Exodus 21:36 שִׁלְשֹׁ֔ם shileshom HD the-third-day three-days-ago
H8032-02 Deuteronomy 4:42 שִׁלְשׁ֑וֹם shileshom HNcmsa the day before three-days-ago
H8032-02 Deuteronomy 19:4 שִׁלְשֹֽׁם shileshom HNcmsa or the day before three-days-ago
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