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שַׁמְלַי

𐤔𐤌𐤋𐤉

Shamelay

H8073 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain uncertain, likely a personal or clan name

Definition

Shamlay – a personal name referring to an individual or ancestral house among the Nethinim, a servitor group associated with the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The name is attested in post-exilic genealogical lists, and its precise meaning is unclear, as it appears only in this context. No concrete noun or adjective meaning attaches to the term outside its function as a proper name.

Semantic Range

personal name (uncertain meaning), progenitor of a Nethinim family, variant spelling with Shalmai

Root / Etymology

The etymology of שַׁמְלַי is uncertain. It may be related by similarity to שַׂלְמַי (Shalmai), but the connection and derivation are unclear; both appear to be non-Israelite names, likely of foreign or Aramaic origin, given the context of the Nethinim lists. The root is uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

שַׁמְלַי appears only in Ezra 2:46 as the eponymous ancestor of a family among the Nethinim, who were a distinct group assigned to service roles in the Second Temple era, likely descendants of non-Israelite peoples integrated into the cultic community. The use of such names in genealogical rolls reflects the diverse composition of Jerusalem's population following the return from exile. The textual tradition is complicated by variant spellings (e.g., שַׂלְמַי, Shalmai in Nehemiah 7:48), reflecting possible dialectal or scribal differences. English Bibles often transliterate rather than translate this name, and occasionally represent it as 'Shalmai.' The meaning of both שַׁמְלַי and related names is obscure, and they are used purely as identifiers in the post-exilic lists.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

for שַׂלְמַי; Shamlai, one of the Nethinim; Shalmai (from the margin).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

uncertain (uncertain) — uncertain, likely personal or clan designation

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1085 בִּלְדַּד Bildad
H1095 בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר Belteshatsar
H1114 בִּלְשָׁן Bilshan
H1150 בִּנְעָא Bin'a
H116 אֱדַיִן and then

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8073-01 שמלי shmly HNp Shalmai Shamlay 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8073-01 Ezra 2:46 שמלי shmly HNp Shalmai Shamlay
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