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שְׁנָה

𐤔𐤍𐤄

shᵉnâh

H8139 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שנה to sleep, rest, cease activity

Definition

A period of sleep, the state or act of sleeping; used to refer to literal, physiological rest involving the cessation of activity or consciousness, typically as a daily human experience. May convey the sense of normal sleep or, contextually, the portrayal of sleep as symbolic of inactivity, unawareness, or vulnerability, but not idiomatically for death in the available Aramaic contexts.

Semantic Range

sleep (physical rest), sleeping period, state of being asleep

Root / Etymology

From the root שנה (שׁ־נ־ה) meaning 'to sleep' in both Hebrew and Aramaic. שְׁנָה is the direct Aramaic cognate of Hebrew שֵׁנָה (shênâh), both deriving from the verbal root connected to the act of sleeping. The root itself is ancient and well-attested across North-West Semitic languages; in Akkadian, cognate forms express the same concept. The form שְׁנָה is the standard Aramaic noun for 'sleep.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

שְׁנָה occurs in biblical Aramaic portions of Daniel (e.g., Daniel 2:1; 6:19) as the ordinary noun for 'sleep'—clear everyday physiological rest, with no idiomatic uses for death as in some poetic Hebrew texts (where other words or expressions may evoke such figurative meaning). Unlike in certain later stages (e.g., Talmudic Aramaic), in biblical Aramaic שְׁנָה is not found used for dreamy states or visions. The Hebrew שֵׁנָה is more widely attested in the Hebrew Bible and sometimes occurs with figurative overtones. In Daniel, שְׁנָה fits regular Near Eastern semantic patterns for 'sleep.' English translations usually render it as 'sleep,' capturing the basic sense, but do not always convey subtle cultural associations of sleep with vulnerability or with divine intervention in dreams.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to שֵׁנָה; {sleep}; sleep.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שנה (sh-n-h) — sleep, rest, cessation of activity

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4932 מִשְׁנֶה in the second
H8132 שָׁנָא and he altered
H8133 שְׁנָא to cause to change
H8136 שִׁנְאָן repeated multitude
H8138 שָׁנָה I will alter

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8139-01 וְ/שִׁנְתֵּ֖/הּ veshineteh AC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and-his-sleep and his sleep 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8139-01 Daniel 6:19 וְ/שִׁנְתֵּ֖/הּ veshineteh AC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and-his-sleep and his sleep
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