H7969 — שָׁלוֹשׁ (shalowsh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7969
Original: שָׁלוֹשׁ
Transliteration: shalowsh
Pronunciation: shaw-loshe'
Part of Speech: Masculine/feminine noun (cardinal number)
Root: Primitive number (no verbal root)
Occurrences: 381 unique verses (457 tokens) across 25 books
First Occurrence: Gen 5:22 — "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or שָׁלֹשׁ shâlôsh; masculine שְׁלוֹשָׁה shᵉlôwshâh; or שְׁלֹשָׁה shᵉlôshâh; a primitive number; three; occasionally (ordinal) third, or (multiple) thrice:— fork, often(-times), third, thir(-teen, -teenth), three, thrice.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
three	262	68.8%
and three	45	11.8%
and	15	3.9%
thirteen	12	3.1%
Three	8	2.1%
of three	8	2.1%
third	7	1.8%
the three	6	1.6%
about three	4	1.0%
on the thirteenth	3	0.8%
thrice	2	0.5%
Other minor translations	9	2.4%

The vast majority (>95%) render the simple cardinal sense "three." Compound uses with H6240 (asar) produce "thirteen/thirteenth." The rare "fork" translation (1 Sam 13:21) reflects the three-pronged implement.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Amos	11	7.5
Ezra	19	6.8
Esther	10	6.0
Jonah	2	4.2
1 Chronicles	35	3.7
Nehemiah	14	3.4
2 Chronicles	27	3.3
Judges	18	2.9
2 Samuel	20	2.9
Numbers	33	2.6
1 Samuel	21	2.6
1 Kings	21	2.6
2 Kings	18	2.5
Daniel	9	2.5
Joshua	16	2.4
Exodus	27	2.2
Genesis	27	1.8
Ezekiel	16	1.3
Job	10	0.9
Deuteronomy	8	0.8
Leviticus	5	0.6
Zechariah	1	0.5
Proverbs	4	0.4
Jeremiah	6	0.4
Isaiah	3	0.2

Highest density in Amos (the "three...and four" judgment formula) and Ezra-Nehemiah (census lists). Concentrated in narrative and historical books. Absent from Psalms, Song of Songs, and most minor prophets. The word appears only in the OT; the NT equivalent is G5140 (treis).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Simple Cardinal Number (Counting People, Objects, Dimensions)¶

Gen 6:10 — "And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth"
Exo 25:32 — "three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches...out of the other side"
Jdg 7:16 — "he divided the three hundred men into three companies"
2 Sam 23:16 — "the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines"

2. Time Periods (Days, Months, Years)¶

Gen 40:12 — "The three branches are three days"
Exo 10:22 — "there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days"
Jonah 1:17 — "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights"
Dan 10:2 — "I Daniel was mourning three full weeks"

3. Census and Military Figures (Hundreds, Thousands)¶

Gen 14:14 — "he armed his trained servants...three hundred and eighteen"
Jdg 7:7 — "By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you"
1 Sam 13:2 — "Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel"
2 Chr 14:8 — "out of Judah three hundred thousand"

4. Sacred/Ritual Usage (Feasts, Offerings, Worship Cycles)¶

Exo 23:14 — "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year"
Deut 16:16 — "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD"
Num 28:12 — "three tenth deals of flour for a meat offering...for one bullock"
1 Ki 9:25 — "three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings"

5. Compound Numbers (Thirteen, Thirty, Three Hundred, etc.)¶

Gen 14:4 — "in the thirteenth year they rebelled"
Est 3:12 — "on the thirteenth day of the first month"
Dan 8:14 — "Unto two thousand and three hundred days"
Dan 12:12 — "the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days"

6. Prophetic/Judgment Formula ("For three...and for four")¶

Amos 1:3 — "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment"
Amos 1:6 — "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four..."
Amos 2:1 — "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four..."
Amos 2:6 — "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four..."

7. Proverbial Groupings¶

Prov 30:15 — "There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four..."
Prov 30:18 — "There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not"
Prov 30:21 — "For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear"
Prov 30:29 — "There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	101x	"three sons" — counting offspring or members of a group
מֵאָה (meah)	H3967	95x	"three hundred" — compound number
יוֹם (yowm)	H3117	74x	"three days" — time period
שָׁנֶה (shaneh)	H8141	70x	"three years" — duration
אֶלֶף (eleph)	H505	59x	"three thousand" — compound number
אֶחָד (echad)	H259	39x	"one...three" — enumeration context
עָשָׂר (asar)	H6240	37x	"thirteen / thirteenth" — compound teen
אַרְבַּע (arba)	H702	36x	"three...four" — paired numbers in lists or prophetic formula
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	36x	"three" + king — regnal chronology
שְׁנַיִם (shnayim)	H8147	35x	"two...three" — enumeration sequences

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7970 שְׁלוֹשִׁים (shloshiym) — thirty (the decade multiple)
H7992 שְׁלִישִׁי (shliyshiy) — third (ordinal derived from shalosh)
H7991 שָׁלִישׁ (shaliysh) — captain, officer (lit. "third-man," a military rank); also a musical instrument
H8027 שָׁלַשׁ (shalash) — to do a third time, to treble
H8029 שִׁלֵּשׁ (shillesh) — pertaining to the third (generation)
H8032 שִׁלְשׁוֹם (shilshowm) — three days ago, formerly (lit. "the day before yesterday")

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H7969.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H7969.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
תְּלָת (telath)	H8532	"three" (10 vv)	Aramaic equivalent of shalosh — used only in Daniel and Ezra
שְׁלִישִׁי (shliyshiy)	H7992	"third" (13 vv)	Ordinal form ("third") vs. cardinal ("three")
שִׁלְשׁוֹם (shilshowm)	H8032	"three" (1 v)	Temporal adverb meaning "formerly / three days ago," not the number

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001042] Quantity — search_relationships.py places shalowsh in the core numeral field alongside other quantity terms such as H259 אֶחָד and the אֶלֶף word family.
[002001003009] Frequency — the same tool also links shalowsh to recurrence/counting language, fitting adverbial uses such as "thrice" and repeated-number formulas.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
τρεῖς (treis)	G5140	245	5.77	Primary — direct cardinal equivalent
τριακόσιοι (triakosioi)	G5145	55	5.80	"three hundred" — compound rendering
τρισχίλιοι (trischilioi)	G5153	19	5.85	"three thousand" — compound rendering
τριάκοντα (triakonta)	G5144	25	3.45	"thirty" — when shalosh appears in compound
τρίτος (tritos)	G5154	21	3.25	"third" — ordinal rendering
τρίς (tris)	G5151	5	5.92	"thrice" — adverbial rendering

The LXX consistently maps shalosh to the Greek τρι- word family. The primary equivalent G5140 (treis) covers the straightforward cardinal uses.