Bible word study

Shaliysh (Strong’s H7991): Meaning in the Bible

Shaliysh (שָׁלִישׁ) is the Hebrew word numbered H7991 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as a triple, i.e. (as a musical instrument) a triangle (or perhaps rather three-stringed lute); also (as an indefinite, great quantity) a three-fold measure (perhaps a treble ephah); also (as an officer) a general of the third rank (upward, i.e. the highest). In the King James Bible it is translated captain, instrument of musick, (great) lord, (great) measure, prince.

שָׁלִישׁ
shâlîysh · Hebrew
Strong’s H7991 · shaw-leesh'

The full Strong’s definition

a triple, i.e. (as a musical instrument) a triangle (or perhaps rather three-stringed lute); also (as an indefinite, great quantity) a three-fold measure (perhaps a treble ephah); also (as an officer) a general of the third rank (upward, i.e. the highest)

Derivation. or שָׁלוֹשׁ; (1 Chronicles 11:11; 1 Chronicles 12:18), or שָׁלֹשׁ; (2 Samuel 23:13), from H7969;

How the King James Bible translates it

captain, instrument of musick, (great) lord, (great) measure, prince, three (from the margin).

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Shaliysh in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words

All Bible word studies

From the word to the Word

These words are worth studying, but they were never meant to stay on the page. Christians believe the meaning behind them, the love, the grace, the life, took on flesh in Jesus. Read the Word, pray, and gather with the family of God on The Living Bread. Free, with no ads, for all people.

Get the appStudy more wordsRead the Gospel of John
Enter Living Breadprayer, Scripture, a family near you