---
title: שֵׁשׁ — byssus · The Tanakh dictionary
description: שֵׁשׁ (8336), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 38 times: byssus. BDB 1906: n.m. byssus. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# שֵׁשׁ

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«שֵׁשׁ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **byssus** — 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:** 38 times · **Key:** 8336 · **BDB:** שֵׁשׁ⁵

### Glosses

fine.linen (25); linen (6); \[were\].fine.linen (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

byssus [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8336/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. byssus [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8336/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Ex 26:1 byssus (loan-wd. prob. from Egyptian šen-suten Reinischap. DHM VOJ viii (1894), 7 Copt. šens, cf. Copt. šent, weave; v. MʿLeanEncy. Bib. linen; on spinning, weaving, and wearing of linen in Egypt ErmanAegypten 594 ff.; Eng. Trans. 448 f.);—always abs. שׁ׳ (שׁשׁי Ez 16:13 is error):—byssus, fine Egyptian linen (בּוּץ, q.v., is later synon.), i.e. the linen thread (spun by women Ex 35:25), and the material woven from it: used for garments Gn 41:42 (E), Ez 16:10, 13 (שׁשׁי, read שׁשׁ), Pr 31:22; for sail (in fig. of Tyre as ship) Ez 27:7 (brought from Egypt); elsewhere P, of priestly vestments Ex 28:5, 39(×2); 39:3, 27, 28(×2); also שׁ׳ מָשְׁזָר twisted linen 28:6, 8, 15; 39:2, 5, 8, 28, 29 + v 24 (read וְשֵׁשׁ מ׳ Sam. 𝔊 Bae); שׁ׳ of hangings, etc., in tabern. 25:4; 35:6, 23, 25, 35; 38:23, and so שׁ׳ מָשְׁזָר 26:1, 31, 36; 27:9, 16, 18; 36:8, 35, 37; 38:9, 16, 18.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 35 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (15 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (11 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «שֵׁשׁ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1513/8336/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Exodus 38:16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.38.16/)

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כָּל־קַלְעֵ֧י הֶחָצֵ֛ר סָבִ֖יב שֵׁ֥שׁ מָשְׁזָֽר׃

*Word for word:* all the.curtains of the.courtyard all.around \[were\].fine.linen twisted

*JPS 1917:* All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.

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[Proverbs 31:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.31.22/)

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מַרְבַדִּ֥ים עָֽשְׂתָה־לָּ֑הּ שֵׁ֖שׁ וְאַרְגָּמָ֣ן לְבוּשָֽׁהּ׃

*Word for word:* coverings she.makes for herself \[is\].fine.linen and purple clothing her

*JPS 1917:* She maketh for herself coverlets; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

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