H8138 — שָׁנָה (shânâh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H8138
Original: שָׁנָה
Transliteration: shânâh
Pronunciation: shaw-naw
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Homograph Note: Shares consonantal lemma שׁנה with the noun H8141 שָׁנָה (shânâh, "year") — distinguished only by morphology and context. The verb is also cognate with H8147 (shenayim, "two") and H8145 (shênîy, "second") through the underlying sense of "doubling / repeating."
Occurrences: 21 unique verses (27 tokens) in OT
Books: 11
First Occurrence: Gen 41:32 — "And for that the dream was doubled (Niphal of shanah) unto Pharaoh twice"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to fold, i.e. duplicate (literally or figuratively); by implication, to transmute (transitive or intransitive): — do (speak, strike) again, alter, double, (be given to) change, disguise, (be) diverse, pervert, prefer, repeat, return, do the second time. (Strong's)

The semantic core is "fold / double." Two branches radiate out: 1. Iterative — "do a second time, repeat, double" (fold the same thing again). 2. Mutative — "alter, change, make different, disguise, pervert" (fold into a different shape).

The same verb therefore covers both "doing again" (repetition of the same) and "making different" (transformation into another). Context and verb stem determine which branch is in view.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	12	repeat, do again, be different/diverse
Piel	7	change (transitive), alter, pervert, disguise
Niphal	1	be doubled/repeated (Gen 41:32)
Hithpael	1	disguise oneself (1 Ki 14:2)

(Tallied by parsing each of the 21 occurrence verses via hebrew_parser.py on ETCBC/BHSA.)

The Qal dominates in iterative senses ("do again," "repeat"), while the Piel clusters around transitive alteration — the stem actually used in Mal 3:6 (שָׁנִיתִי is Qal, but Ps 89:35 אֲשַׁנֶּה is Piel: "I will not alter").

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
again (incl. "the second time," "repeateth," "spake again")	7	33%
change / changed / changest / given to change	7	33%
alter	1	5%
pervert	1	5%
disguise thyself	1	5%
diverse / being diverse	2	10%
preferred	1	5%
doubled / struck / returneth	3	14%

(Totals exceed 100% because some verses receive multiple KJV words from one Hebrew token. Derived from search_strongs.py --lookup.)

The distribution lands almost evenly on two poles: "again/repeat" (≈33%) and "change/alter/pervert" (≈55%). KJV translators chose "change" — not "repeat" — in the two theologically freighted texts (Mal 3:6; Ps 89:34 KJV).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Esther	3	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8
Proverbs	4	0.4
1 Samuel	2	0.2
1 Kings	2	0.2
Nehemiah	1	0.2
Job	2	0.2
Psalms	2	0.1
Genesis	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Jeremiah	2	0.1

Concentration is highest in post-exilic narrative (Esther) and wisdom (Proverbs). The verb is notably absent from the Torah after Genesis, from all major prophets except Jeremiah, and from the entire Deuteronomistic History apart from two Samuel/Kings narrative uses. Its theological density peaks in a single Malachi occurrence.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Constancy — "I do not change / I will not alter"¶

Mal 3:6 — "For I am the LORD, I change not (לֹא שָׁנִיתִי, Qal perfect 1s); therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
Psalm 89:34 (KJV; MT 89:35) — "My covenant will I not break, nor alter (לֹא אֲשַׁנֶּה, Piel imperfect 1s) the thing that is gone out of my lips."

2. Human Instability — people who do change (negatively)¶

Prov 24:21 — "meddle not with them that are given to change (שׁוֹנִים)."
Jer 2:36 — "Why gaddest thou about so much to change (לְשַׁנּוֹת, Piel inf.) thy way?"
Job 14:20 — "thou changest (מְשַׁנֶּה, Piel ptcp.) his countenance, and sendest him away" — death as God-wrought alteration of the human face.

3. Doing Again / Repeating¶

Gen 41:32 — "the dream was doubled (הִשָּׁנוֹת, Niphal inf.) unto Pharaoh twice" — doubled = confirmed.
1 Ki 18:34 — "Do it the second time (שְׁנוּ). And they did it the second time (וַיִּשְׁנוּ)" — Elijah at Carmel.
1 Sam 26:8 — "let me smite him… and I will not smite him the second time (לֹא אֶשְׁנֶה)."
Prov 17:9 — "he that repeateth (שֹׁנֶה) a matter separateth very friends."

4. Disguising / Altering Appearance¶

1 Sam 21:13 — "he changed (וַיְשַׁנּוֹ, Piel) his behaviour before them" — David feigning madness before Achish.
1 Ki 14:2 — "disguise thyself (הִשְׁתַּנִּית, Hithpael) that thou be not known" — Jeroboam's wife.
Jer 52:33 — "[Jehoiachin] changed (שִׁנָּה) his prison garments."

5. Being Diverse / Differentiated from Others¶

Est 1:7 — "the vessels being diverse (שׁוֹנִים) one from another."
Est 3:8 — Haman: "their laws are diverse (שֹׁנוֹת) from all people."

6. Perverting — Moral Alteration¶

Prov 31:5 — "lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert (יְשַׁנֶּה) the judgment of any of the afflicted."
Est 2:9 — "he speedily… preferred (וַיְשַׁנֶּהָ, Piel) her and her maidens" — altered/advanced her status.

7. Doing Violence by Repetition¶

2 Sam 20:10 — "Joab struck him not again (לֹא שָׁנָה), for he died" — a second blow that was unneeded.
Neh 13:21 — "if ye do so again (תִּשְׁנוּ), I will lay hands on you."
Prov 26:11 — "as a dog returneth (שָׁב, different root) to his vomit, so a fool returneth (שׁוֹנֶה) to his folly" — repeating folly.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
לֹא (lôʼ)	H3808	7× (33%)	Negation — "not change / not alter / not again" — the verb is disproportionately negated
אָמַר (ʼâmar)	H559	5× (24%)	Speech frame: "said… again" / "spake not again"
יָד (yâd)	H3027	5× (24%)	"hand" in violence/handing-over contexts (smite again, lay hands again)
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	5× (24%)	Royal context — disguise before/after a king, laws diverse from a king's
פָּנִים (pânîym)	H6440	4× (19%)	"face/countenance" changed (Job 14:20) or hidden (disguise texts)
דָּבָר (dâbâr)	H1697	3× (14%)	"word/matter" — repeating/altering what has been spoken

The H3808 (לֹא) collocation is the single most striking pattern: in one-third of all occurrences, shanah appears negated. Both of the doctrinally weighty texts (Mal 3:6; Ps 89:34) sit in this negated set.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H8141 שָׁנָה (shânâh) — noun "year" (a recurring cycle — same root idea of repetition). Same lemma, different POS.
H8145 שֵׁנִי (shênîy) — ordinal "second" / adjective "double."
H8147 שְׁנַיִם (shənayim) — "two" (cardinal). The entire "two / second / repeat / year" cluster is a single semantic family.
H4932 מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh) — "double / second / copy" (e.g., Deut 17:18 "copy of the law").

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H8138.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H8138.

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV	Key Difference
שׁוּב (shûwb)	H7725	"again," "return"	Directional — turn back to a point of origin. Shanah is iterative ("do a second time"), shuwb is reversal ("go back").
עוֹד (ʻôwd)	H5750	"again"	Adverb/particle: "still, yet, again." Shanah is a finite verb with agent action; owd is mere continuation.
יָסַף (yâçaph)	H3254	"again," "add"	Yasaph = add more, augment (one + more). Shanah = double the same (one + identical one).
הָפַךְ (hâphak)	H2015	"change," "turn"	Hafak = overturn, reverse (same object, opposite state). Shanah = alter, make different (new identity).
חָלַף (châlaph)	H2498	"change"	Halaph = pass by, exchange, replace (substitution). Shanah = modify while preserving identity (transmutation).
מוּר (mûwr)	H4171	"change"	Mur = exchange one thing for another (especially in trade/vows — Lev 27). Shanah = the inner alteration itself.

Mal 3:6's "I change not" is shanah, not muwr or halaph — God is not asserting "I am not traded in / exchanged" but "I am not transmuted / altered in my being or commitment."

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001020] Different — search_relationships.py places shanah in the "different / altered" field, fitting uses like Esther's "diverse" vessels/laws and the broad sense of becoming unlike what one was.
[002001003002] Change — the tool also places the verb in the direct change/alteration domain alongside words such as H2015 הָפַךְ and H2498 חָלַף, matching mutative uses like Ps 89:34 and Mal 3:6.
[002001002010] Foolish — a secondary overlap reflects wisdom-text uses where "changing" shades into instability or perversity (Prov 24:21; 31:5).
[002003001007] Dress — the disguise/garment branch of the verb (1 Sam 21:13; 1 Ki 14:2; Jer 52:33) links shanah to the dress/covering field.
[002001003009] Frequency — the relationship data also captures the iterative "again / second time / repeat" branch of meaning.
[002004002008] Non-Know — another secondary domain fits disguise contexts where a person changes appearance so as not to be recognized.
[002001002024] Respect — the tool surfaces a status/honor field as well, aligning with places where shanah means to alter rank or treatment (e.g., Est 2:9 "preferred her").
[002001001048] Shape — the shape/form field reflects outward alteration, whether of countenance, behavior, or appearance.

LXX Mapping¶

No dominant LXX equivalent — unlike most Hebrew verbs, shanah does not have a single Greek counterpart. Co-occurrences in aligned verses (from PMI-ranked alignment data) are scattered:

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
πρόσωπον (prósōpon) G4383	4	2.22	Alignment catches "face/countenance" context (Job 14:20, Est 1:7), not the verb itself
χείρ (cheír) G5495	4	1.69	"Hand" collocation, not the verb
βασιλεύς (basileús) G935	3	0.78	"King" context alignments
θεός (theós) G2316	3	0.35	Context alignment

The actual LXX verb renderings of shanah vary by context: ἀλλοιόω (alloiōo, "alter") in Mal 3:6 and Ps 88:35 LXX, δευτερόω (deuteroō, "do a second time") in iterative contexts, διπλασιάζω (diplasiazō, "double") in Gen 41:32, etc. The threshold for auto-creating a cross-testament trace (co-occ ≥ 20) is not met — no bridge word carries shanah's full semantic range into the Greek NT.

Mal 3:6 in LXX: διότι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἠλλοίωμαι — using the perfect passive of ἀλλοιόω (G241, "alter, change"). The thought-link to NT immutability texts (Heb 13:8; Jas 1:17 παραλλαγή) runs through that Greek root, not through shanah directly.