---
title: שָׁנַן — whet · The Tanakh dictionary
description: שָׁנַן (8150), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 8 times: whet. BDB 1906: vb. whet, sharpen Hithpōʿ. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# שָׁנַן

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«שָׁנַן» in the Tanakh dictionary: **whet** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 8 times · **Key:** 8150 · **BDB:** שָׁנַן

### Glosses

\[are\].sharpened (2); sharpened (2); they.sharpen (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

whet [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8150/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. whet, sharpen Hithpōʿ. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8150/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** vb. whet, sharpen (cf. Arabic سَنَّ id.; Aramaic שְׁנִינָא, ܫܢܺܝܢܳܐ sharp, etc.; Ethiopic \[ሰነነ:\] iii, 2, ተሰነነ: contend, litigate; hence שֵׁן tooth, NH id., Assyrian šinnu, Arabic سِنٌّ, Ethiopic ስን: Aramaic שִׁנָּא, ܫܶܢܳܐ );— whet, sharpen: Pf. 1 s. אִם שַׁנּוֹתִ֫י בְּרַק חַרְבִּי (Ges§ 67 ee) Dt 32:41, of י׳’s preparation for judgment; 3 pl. (כַחֶרֶב) שָֽׁנְנוּ לְשׁוֹנָם ψ 64:4; 140:4 of uttering sharp words; Pt. pass. שְׁנוּנִים sharpened, of arrows, Is 5:28 ψ 45:6, fig. of tongue 120:4, of false witness Pr 25:18. Pf. consec. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ Dt 6:7 i.e. teach the words incisively, Germ. ‘einschärfen.’ Hithpōʿ. Impf. 1 s. ψ 73:21 in my kidneys אֶשְׁתּוֹנָ֑ן I was pierced (of poignant envy).

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 8 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (1 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (1 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «שָׁנַן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8150/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Psalms 120:4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.120.4/)

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חִצֵּ֣י גִבּ֣וֹר שְׁנוּנִ֑ים עִ֝֗ם גַּחֲלֵ֥י רְתָמִֽים׃

*Word for word:* arrows of.a.warrior sharpened with burning.coals of.broom.plants

*JPS 1917:* Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of broom.

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[Psalms 73:21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.73.21/)

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כִּ֭י יִתְחַמֵּ֣ץ לְבָבִ֑י וְ֝כִלְיוֹתַ֗י אֶשְׁתּוֹנָֽן׃

*Word for word:* (dm) it.was.embittered heart my and kidneys my I.was.pierced

*JPS 1917:* For my heart was in a ferment, and I was pricked in my reins.

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