שָׁמַיִם
heaven
also: heavens, sky fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Dual
- Exactly two — for natural pairs and some measures of time.
Every verse where H8064 appears in the Book of Genesis — 39 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis
- Genesis 1:1 הַ/שָּׁמַ֖יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Genesis 1:8 שָׁמָ֑יִם n c mp God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
- Genesis 1:9 הַ/שָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so.
- Genesis 1:14 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
- Genesis 1:15 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth," and it was so.
- Genesis 1:17 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,
- Genesis 1:20 הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
- Genesis 1:26 הַ/שָּׁמַ֗יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
- Genesis 1:28 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
- Genesis 1:30 הַ/שָּׁמַ֜יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.
- Genesis 2:1 הַ/שָּׁמַ֥יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Genesis 2:4 הַ/שָּׁמַ֛יִם וְ/שָׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp conj + n c mp This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and the heavens.
- Genesis 2:19 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
- Genesis 2:20 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper suitable for him.
- Genesis 6:7 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Yahweh said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground; man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."
- Genesis 6:17 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp I, even, I do bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die.
- Genesis 7:3 הַ/שָּׁמַ֛יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.
- Genesis 7:11 הַ/שָּׁמַ֖יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep were burst open, and the sky's windows were opened.
- Genesis 7:19 הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.
- Genesis 7:23 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, cattle, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
- Genesis 8:2 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יִם הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp ptcl def.art + n c mp The deep's fountains and the sky's windows were also stopped, and the rain from the sky was restrained.
- Genesis 9:2 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand.
- Genesis 11:4 בַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם prep det + n c md They said, "Come, let's build us a city, and a tower, whose top reaches to the sky, and let's make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth."
- Genesis 14:19 שָׁמַ֥יִם n c mp He blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:
- Genesis 14:22 שָׁמַ֥יִם n c mp Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
- Genesis 15:5 הַ/שָּׁמַ֗יְמָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c mp + sfx dem Yahweh brought him outside, and said, "Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." He said to Abram, "So shall your seed be."
- Genesis 19:24 הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.
- Genesis 21:17 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Don't be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
- Genesis 22:11 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The angel of Yahweh called to him out of the sky, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He said, "Here I am."
- Genesis 22:15 הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of the sky,
- Genesis 22:17 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.
- Genesis 24:3 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live.
- Genesis 24:7 הַ/שָּׁמַ֗יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed.' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
- Genesis 26:4 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp I will multiply your seed as the stars of the sky, and will give to your seed all these lands. In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed,
- Genesis 27:28 הַ/שָּׁמַ֔יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp God give you of the dew of the sky, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine.
- Genesis 27:39 הַ/שָּׁמַ֖יִם ptcl def.art + n c mp Isaac his father answered him, "Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and of the dew of the sky from above.
- Genesis 28:12 הַ/שָּׁמָ֑יְמָ/ה ptcl def.art + n c mp + sfx dem He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
- Genesis 28:17 הַ/שָּׁמָֽיִם ptcl def.art + n c mp He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."
- Genesis 49:25 שָׁמַ֨יִם֙ n c mp Even by the God of your father, who will help you, By the Almighty, who will bless you, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies below, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew noun שמים centers on the idea of “heaven.” First canonically at Genesis 1:1, it enters the text early. It turns up in 395 verses across 33 books, a common footprint. Beyond “heaven” it also covers “heavens” and “sky” — see its full sense range. It clusters with שמין under a shared root. Dig into 395-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H8064 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 395
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 395 distinct verses.
- 33 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 33 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #117
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 117 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 395 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 70 verses 18%
- Genesis 39 verses 10%
- Deuteronomy 38 verses 10%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 395 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 158 verses · 40%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 145 verses · 37%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 92 verses · 23%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Heaven 227×, Heavens 80×, Air 21×
- American Standard Version: Heaven 172×, Heavens 133×, Toward heaven 11×
- Berean Standard Bible: Heaven 154×, Heavens 139×, Air 43×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Heavens 297×, Heaven 47×, Sky 21×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H8064 across 419 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 33 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H8064 across 419 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 53 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H8064 across 410 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 14 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 11 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H8064 across 414 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 12 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
5 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 5 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1.
- a. visible heavens, sky, where stars, etc., are
- b. phrases
- 2.
- a. as abode of God
- b. Elijah taken up הַשּׁ׳ in whirlwind
- 3. הַשּׁ׳ personified in various relations
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
[ שָׁמַי ] n.m. only pl. שָׁמַיִם 421 heavens, sky
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: from an unused root meaning to be lofty
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
שָׁמַיִם
- du. m. du. (b. h.)
- 1. heaven; trnsf. Heaven, God. Gen. R. s. 1 הש׳ נבראו תחלה the heaven was first created. Tam. 32ᵃ top מן הש׳ לארץ וכ׳ is it farther from heaven to earth, or from east to west? Lam. R. introd. (R. Joh. 1) מִשְּׁמֵי מרום from the high heavens. Ned. XI, 12 (90ᵇ) ש׳ ביני לביניך heaven is between me and thee (I have an unconquerable aversion to associating with thee, v. Y. ib. 42ᵈ bot., quot. s. v. רָחִיק II; differ. in comment.). R. Hash. 19ᵃ אי ש׳ by Heaven! B. Mets. 37ᵃ לצאת ידי ש׳ to do his duty towards God (v. יָצָא).—Kidd. 40ᵃ, a. e. רע לש׳, v. רַע.—Snh. XI, 5, a. e. בידי ש׳, v. מִיתָה.—ירא ש׳, יראת ש׳, מלכות ש׳ &c., v. respective determinants.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 97 distinct written forms H8064 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 37 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H8064, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 362 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 395 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:1
- Exodus 9:8
- Leviticus 26:19
- Deuteronomy 1:10
- Joshua 2:11
- Judges 5:4
- 1 Samuel 2:10
- 2 Samuel 18:9
- 1 Kings 8:22
- 2 Kings 1:10
- 1 Chronicles 16:26
- 2 Chronicles 2:6
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.