the Berasit Hebrew Dictionary

שמ

The first thing to note about 'sem' (pronounced 'shem') is that it has traditionally been split into two separate words. This was based upon two erroneous assumptions that plagued early translators.

The initial error is one that remains a part of popular belief to this day. It is a misconception that the Hebrew language (and in particular the ancient Hebrew dialect) does not contain vowels. This misconception is discussed further in the articles on vowels.

As a workaround to this perceived shortcoming, translators often relied on misleading Medieval diacritics which they incorrectly believed were intended to replace vowels. They thought that the diacritics affected pronunciation by adding vowel sounds, and thus that they also modified the semantic value of the word. Although many translators have mistakenly assumed this to be true, it simply is not the case.

These translators incorrectly assumed (based on diacritics) that שמ represented two separate words:

The most glaringly obvious issue with this claim is that of the spelling itself. Both words are spelled the same: שמ. Both words should be pronounced 'shem'.

If the ancient Hebrew authors had intended to say “sham”, they would have inserted the vowel א which is pronounced similar to the English letter “a”, and spelled the word 'שאמ'. This word would actually be pronounced “sham”. But since 'sem' does not have the א and is spelled 'שמ', it is clearly not pronounced “sham”.

Instead, since there is no vowel specifically spelled in the word, we know that the intended pronunciation is not “a”, or “i”, or “o”, but that instead, the default vowel sound of “e” should be used.

Thus it should be clear that the table shown above is incorrect. Both words are spelled the same and pronounced the same. The supposed word “sham” is actually an erroneous duplicate word. The original Hebrew root word 'sem' can now be analyzed consistently.

The fact that the meaning of 'sem' is often aptly interpreted as “name” seems undeniable. The first appearances of the word are exemplary of this. They occur in Genesis chapter 2.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.¹⁾²⁾

This verse is unanimously and unquestioningly interpreted by all English Bible translations as giving the names of the rivers around Eden (specifically including the Tigris and Euphrates)³⁾⁴⁾ A similar usage occurs shortly thereafter when Adam names the animals.

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals⁵⁾).

In the following two chapters, the narrator tells us the names of some of the early biblical characters and places:

• Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living.⁶⁾
• [Cain's] wife became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.⁷⁾
• His brother’s name was Jubal⁸⁾
• she gave birth to a son and named him Seth… Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.⁹⁾
• At that time people began to call¹⁰⁾ on the name of Jehovah.¹¹⁾

There is no doubt that “name” is indeed an appropriate translation for the word 'sem'. But there's a bit more to it than that…

In English we may say that someone “has really made a name for themselves”, this same implied meaning exists in Hebrew. This figurative meaning of “name” meaning “fame” applies to the ancient Hebrew word 'sem'. 'Sem' can essentially refer to one's literal name, or their “fame”, “reputation”, or perhaps “legendary status”. In fact the name of a person in ancient Hebrew culture was based on and in turn determined their reputation. This why the ancient Hebrews placed great importance and ceremony on the naming of their children. This is also why many of the biblical characters are known to have modified their names intentionally later in life.

It is no surprise then that the word 'sem' is often best understood by the translation of “fame” rather than name, although in the ancient Hebrew mind there would be little need to (and indeed no mechanism by which to) distinguish the idea(s). This usage is explicitly clear in several verses, notably:

• In Genesis 12:2 Ihoh makes a promise to Abraham - I will make you a nation great and I will bless you and make great your fame and you shall be a blessing
• Joshua 9:9 - So they said to him from a country far very have come your servants because of the fame of Yahweh your God for we have heard of His fame and all that He did in Egypt
• Ruth 4:14 - And said the women to Naomi, 'Bless Yahweh who not has left without a kinsman-redeemer this day - whose fame is studied in Israel'
• 1 Kings 4:31 - For [Solomon] was wiser than all men … and was his fame in all the nations surrounding
• 1 Kings 10:1 - Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh and she came to test him with hard questions
• 1 Chronicles 5:24 - And these [were] the heads of houses and Epher and Ishi and Eliel and Azriel and Jeremiah and Hodaviah and Jahdiel - men of mighty valor men famous heads of houses
• 1 Chronicles 12:31 - the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred mighty men of valor men famous throughout house of their father
• 1 Chronicles 14:17 - And went out the fame of David into all lands and Yahweh brought the fear of him upon all nations
• 1 Chronicles 22:5 - And said David … 'the house to be built for Yahweh magnificent [must be] exceedingly famous and glorious throughout all countries'
• 2 Chronicles 26:8 - And brought the Ammonites tribute to Uzziah and spread His fame as far as the entrance of Egypt
• 2 Chronicles 26:15 - And he made in Jerusalem devices invented by skillful men to be on the towers and the corners to shoot arrows and stones large so spread his fame far
• Psalm 8:1 - Yahweh our Lord how excellent [is] Your fame in all the earth
• Psalm 135:13 - Yahweh Your fame goes beyond! Yahweh Your story for generations!
• Ezekiel 16:14 - And went out fame among the nations because of your beauty for perfect it [was] through My splendor which I had bestowed on you says the Lord GOD
• Ezekiel 22:5 - near and far they will mock of ill as infamous [and] full of tumult
• Zephaniah 3:19 - Behold I will deal with all who afflict you at time that and I will save the lame and those who were driven out gather and I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame

We have now established that 'sem' can (maybe not always, but at least sometimes) be interpreted as an indication of fame or a legendary status. It is in this semantic usage that we can begin to comprehend the nuances of the word 'sem' as the root word word of semim.

Interestingly, the Semim appear in the opening verse of Genesis, and the first chapter of Genesis speaks of the Semim numerous times, with the shorter “root” word 'sem' not appearing until the second chapter, after extensive discussion of the Semim. This seems a bit backward. Because of this reversal of expected semantic establishment, the concept of fame and names is really only inherited from the precedent of “the Famous Ones.” The original reader only learns of the concept of fame by comparing the reputation of these legendary beings.

In this way, characters who appear later in the text are always being compared to the original Semim. In fact, the very concept of fame, or greatness in this sense is extracted directly from the legendary Semim. Likewise, the idea of any kind of personal identity comes from the Semim. Since “The Named ones” is another viable interpretation of the Semim, the entire concept of naming can be said to have derived from them. The Semim were unique named personalities in a time before such a concept had been applied to humans.

Reputations, and names as well, are generally built upon certain characteristics. If a man garners a reputation for acting a certain way, this is often because he does in fact often act that way, allowing those around him to observe his actions and build his reputation for better or worse. Thus his fame or infamy or shame is actually based on his own character and characteristics.

Thus, the word 'sem' carries with it the concept of internal character and external characterization. Perhaps a more generalized meaning of “characteristic” is actually a more consistent semantic application to the word 'sem'.

There are many instances throughout the old testament of characters receiving a name. Often this is assumed to occur at or shortly after birth, but there are many examples of a character receiving a new or modified name during adulthood. This is because of the recognition in their culture that things ought to be called as they are. One's name was supposed to reflect and summarize their characteristics.

This interpretation of “characteristic” may actually fix an historic issue that stumped the early translators and which resulted in their splitting the word into “shem” and “sham”, for “name” and “there”. Let us re-examine the passage from Genesis 2. Earlier, we identified only half of the occurrences of the word 'sem' in the passage. Now we reveal the rest:

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

In the highlighted passage, both the names and the theres are actually the word 'sem'. In this one short passage, the word 'sem' supposedly means two completely different things. Something doesn't seem right about this. Perhaps there exists a somewhat more generalized concept that can fill the seemingly very different role of this enigmatic word. What would happen if we apply our more generalized interpretation of “characteristic” instead?

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The characteristic of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where [the] characteristic is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also characteristic. The characteristic of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The characteristic of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.Genesis 2:10-14

This doesn't quite make sense with straight substitution, but it almost does. The remaining perceived problem in this passage is due to the fact that the passage is not actually about rivers. This too has been a terrible mistranslation.¹²⁾ A better interpretation is that the passage is about land areas, and the divisions thereof based on different geological characteristics, and using the convenient method of defining boundaries as identified by rivers.

We have now seen several instances where the word ‘sem’ appears to refer to the “characteristics” and therefore, the “name” of a specific place. It is a relatively small semantic shift for this same word to also be used for “a place” in general. Thus, perhaps there is some credence after all to the interpretation of 'sem' as “place”, and “there”. Still, the etymology suggests that this interpretation arose after the usage of a more specific name. Perhaps there was a certain specific place that the original word referred to, which later became generalized into the idea of place itself. If that was in fact the case, where exactly was the original specific location? The text reveals the answer to this question in the existence of a specific place named 'the Semeron'. Quite literally, the Semeron is “the Named Place” or “the Famous Place”.

Several instances of 'sem' in the book of Genesis occur within an intriguing phrase קרא את שמ (qera et sem). 'Quera' is a verb with meaning along the lines of “study” or “investigate”. Pairing this with 'sem' makes for some fascinating synergies. There is something very intriguing about the idea of the ancient characters who “studied the fame” and “studied the legends” of even more ancient characters who went before them.

• Genesis 4:25 - seems to refer to a study of the legends of “the sons of the Elohim” by Abel. After Abel's death, his study was then picked up and continued by his brother Seth.¹³⁾
• Genesis 4:26 - Seth's son Enosh studied the legends of Jehovah
• Genesis 5:2 - this verse might possibly a description of the study of gender roles or sexuality in ancient legends
• Genesis 5:3 - seems to be referring to a study of an earlier humanoid ancestral race
• Genesis 5:29 - a study involving Noah and Jehovah
• Genesis 17:15-19 - a study led by Sarah and her son Isaac
• Genesis 28:19 - this instance mentions a study of the legends of Bethel, a previously noted famous paranormal activity hotspot¹⁴⁾
• Genesis 30:11-13,20-24 - a study led by Leah
• Genesis 35:10 - a study led by Jacob¹⁵⁾
• Genesis 38:3-5 - a study led by a relatively obscure Canaanite woman named Shua, the wife of Judah

In each of these instances the interpretation of studying legends is feasible, but certainly not definitive.

Although there is certainly something intriguing about the idea of these ancient characters having “studied the fame” and “studied the legends” of those who went before them, it is also possible to interpret this phrase as “studied the characteristics”. Perhaps this commonly occurring phrase is not about studying legends at all, but rather, studying scientific facts and further scientific investigation. Etymologically and semantically this interpretation is actually a better fit.

The possibility that our ancestors “investigated the characteristics” of various physical phenomena is a fascinating idea indeed, and one with profound implications. In this interpretation we see the embodiment of a sense of curiosity and perhaps one could argue, a scientific approach. As we have already seen, this phrase occurs in several prominent stories of the book of Genesis. Examining the same set of references again with this new interpretation in mind may be enlightening.

• Genesis 4:25 - the study of “the sons of the Elohim” led by Abel and Seth may have extended beyond the narrative of the legends to a study and categorization of the characteristics of the Elohim themselves. Indeed, the Elohim (and many related groups) hold a significant amount of content in the ancient Hebrew corpus, and many of the texts appear to address an understanding of how the Elohim fit in with other groups, and how their subgroups relate to one another. This will continue to be a major theme in our textual commentaries.
• Genesis 4:26 - Seth's son Enosh continues the study of the characteristics of Jehovah started by his father and uncle. A study like this would have been relatively simple to perform, by taking a qualitative approach and relying on eyewitness descriptions of the action of Jehovah. Such studies tend to be longitudinal over an extended time period in order to capture a significant body of data. It could be argued that the entire Hebrew scriptures are essentially exactly that body of continuous longitudinal documentation. Is the entire Hebrew corpus actually the generations-long extension of a program started by Abel, Seth, and Enosh?
• Genesis 5:2 - this description of the study of gender roles or sexuality in ancient times was not limited merely to legendary works, but was a pragmatic social science. This too remains a major theme throughout scripture, throughout recorded history, and in contemporary social studies.
• Genesis 5:3 - a study of the physical characteristics of an earlier humanoid ancestral race
• Genesis 5:29 - appears to reference some kind of scientific study involving Noah and Jehovah
• Gen 16:13
• Genesis 17:15-19 - another (or the same continuing) study referring to Sarah and Isaac. Was Sarah the first female scientist?
• Genesis 21:33 - possibly refers to a study by Abraham on range of topics including cosmology and horticulture
• Genesis 28:19 - refers to a study of paranormal phenomena at a specific physical location already noted for its peculiar characteristics, and which would later known as Bethel “the place of the gods” . See also Genesis 28:11
• Genesis 30:11-13,20-24 - refers to Leah as undertaking a scientific study
• Genesis 35:10 - refers to Jacob as undertaking a scientific study
• Genesis 38:3-5 - refers to a Canaanite woman named Shua, the wife of Judah as undertaking a scientific study

This scientific interpretation seems at least as feasible as the previous one, and arguable more so. The fact that Genesis 38 makes a passing mention of Shua really only makes sense in this context, if we assume that Shua was actually an esteemed public figure in her own right, apparently being only the third woman to have led a scientific study. Other interpretations do not offer any reason for Shua to be mentioned at all.

Therefore, 'sem' may be best interpreted as “characteristics”, and the idea of “studying the characteristics” aligns very closely to the scientific method.¹⁶⁾

There is another very well-known verse that contains the phrase 'qera sem', although our modern English translations have all but obliterated any sense of the phrase even existing there.

Look up 2 Chronicles 7:14 in any translation you choose, and you will find something very close to the following “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Where is the concept of studying or investigation within the English translation this well-know verse? It has been utterly removed, whether internationally or not. The English translations (all of them) have obliterated the original meaning of the Hebrew text. But the Hebrew text remains for any who care to look. In the Hebrew this verse begins עמ אשר קרא שמ , “yem asher qera shem”

“If people study the characteristics with humility…”

This verse is a call, not to blind faith, but to scientific inquiry. What follows is not a covenant or promise based on a personal agreement. Rather, it is the acknowledgement of the natural consequences of rational scientific research. Discovery of the natural ways will naturally bring peace and healing to the land and its inhabitants.

Let us return momentarily to the concepts of fame and reputation. It must be noted that in Hebrew, a “famous” or “legendary” status does not necessarily carry a strictly positive connotation. In Hebrew, a reputation can be either a good reputation or a bad reputation. In English, a good reputation is “fame”, and a bad reputation is “infamy”, but in Hebrew 'sem' does not differentiate but is inclusive of both fame and infamy. This is why the word 'sem' eventually evolved across the Proto-Indo-European transformation as “shame” in English (as well as “scham” in German, and “skam” in Norwegian).

There are around 200 instances where the root word 'sem' has been misinterpreted as “destroyed”¹⁷⁾ or “desolate”¹⁸⁾. In these cases, a standardized translation of fame seems more appropriate, with the minor revision of the application of “bad reputation” or “shame”. This usage parallels the modern usage of “destroying” an enemy in a metaphorical sense by destroying their reputation.

Caution must be used when encountering these particular instances, due to the supposed meaning being based more on context than etymological factors. They could just a s easily mean “name” or “fame”.

Coincidentally, the word 'sham' in English means:

1. a thing that is not what it is purported to be. Eg. “the proposed legislation is a farce and a sham”
2. a trick that deludes; a hoax. Eg. “he feared that the deal was a sham”
3. bogus; false. Eg. “the unlicensed Elvis impersonator performed a sham marriage”

Although the exact etymology of this word and its migration into English usage is undocumented, the first known attested use was documented in 1677 and it has been suggested within the field of linguistics that it may derive from “shame” . It might be possible that it comes from an esoteric knowledge of the Shem-sham phenomenon. It is not unreasonable to assume that such rare and likely controversial knowledge may have been noticed by the French Jewish philosopher and controversialist, Isaac Nathan ben Kalonymus, who completed the first Hebrew concordance in 1448. His work was not widely published until 1523, and an improved edition of it edited and expanded by a Franciscan friar, Mario di Calasio, was published in 1622, with several reprints following, not long before the first attestation of “sham” in English.

Is it possible then, that a secret body of knowledge has remained passed down over centuries, of a mysterious group of famed individuals whose reputation may not be as sparkling as the legends would have us believe?

Despite whatever shadowy side may be implied, the term 'sem' retains for the most part a positive reputation. The term was even used a s a proper name. One of Noah's sons was named Shem. According to Genesis 6:10, Noah did have three sons whose names are given as sem (aka Shem), hem (aka Ham) and ipeh (Japeth) (or in other references, oipeh)

Of course, as was common in those days, the names given to the children were actual words. The literal names of Noah's sons were “Fame”, “Them”, and “Burning”. Ham really got the short end of the stick on this deal. It would not be much of a stretch to interpret the sons of Noah as “the Famous One”, “the Burning One”, and “The Other Guy”. Who says the patriarch's did not have a sense of humour.

Before wrapping up the topic, we should mention another issue around 'sem'. The popular author of “the Twelfth Planet”, Zechariah Sitchin claimed that 'sem' means “rocket”. Sitchin was working both with Sumerian texts in various dialects, including Akkadian in cuneiform script, and with the ancient Hebrew texts. Sitchin was Jewish and was very familiar with the Hebrew language and its ancient texts. He was also a keen and dedicated researcher of the Akkadian texts. He recognized that the Akkadian and Hebrew languages were related in several ways. This is a fact that is either downplayed or more commonly outright denied by most scholars today, despite significant evidence. Few Hebrew scholars today will even acknowledge the fact that the ancient Hebrew alphabet was adopted directly from Akkadian.

Although many academics are quick to point out that Hebrew is not directly related to Akkadian and especially not to Proto-Indo-European, the fact is that there are many similarities between all of these languages. For one thing, the ancient Hebrews adopted the standard Akkadian script (the letters, not the words) that were in common use in Babylon after the decline in popularity of cuneiform and the previous standard Paleo-Hebrew script that had been based on Canaanite letters. Secondly, there were (and are) words in all of these languages that are clearly related etymologically.¹⁹⁾ That is to say that words tend to drift across language borders, with minor changes in pronunciation and spelling along the way, and this is very evident both in ancient texts and in even now in today's lingual phenomena. (A very solid example of this in the is that the ancient Hebrew word 'perat' was a direct transliteration of the Akkadian word “Purattu”, a very old word that is still very much alive and well today even though its original languages themselves are long gone. It is still quite recognizable in its modern English iteration (again simply through a series of transliterations with minor tweaks in spelling and pronunciation) as “Euphrates”, the great river, which has already turned up repeatedly throughout this discussion.

So, is the Hebrew 'sem' related to the Sumerian/Akkadian 'sem' as Sitchin claims? It is impossible to say for certain, primarily due to the fact that Sitchin never bothered to cite references or sources, and as an independent researcher did not feel compelled to “show his work” through any documented process. One is left guessing as to where he drew his conclusions from and his work is impossible to check, let alone duplicate. However, keeping in mind his level of expertise with both languages concerned, it would seem rather foolish to disregard his views entirely.

Sitchin's primary point of biblical reference appears to stem from Genesis 11:4, the well-known story of the “Tower Of Babel” which states that the humans wanted to build a 'sem' for themselves to “ascend to the heavens.” Sitchin interprets the story not as building a tower or a reputation, but rather a spaceship of some kind, which he referred to in the parlance of his day as a rocket.²⁰⁾ In this particular instance, a rocket to reach to the heavens actually does seem to fit the context in a sensible way. However, this interpretation relies heavily on a very common mistranslation that affects the words semim and mim (mayim)²¹⁾. Although literally everyone thinks that Genesis 11:4 mentions “the heavens”, it simply does not. The word used here is 'semim' and there is no basis for interpreting semim as “the heavens”²²⁾. So if the destination is not the heavens then a rocket may not be the appropriate vehicle after all.

We should also keep in mind that back in the sixties, a rocket was mostly used as a one-way trip. The moon landings notwithstanding²³⁾, the vast weight of the primary rockets were abandoned in orbit leaving only a much smaller craft to make its way back to earth. Of course, recent technology has shifted this assumption somewhat, with the invention of Space-X's giant re-usable rockets with return-and-land capabilities. If we widen our definition slightly from our historical visions, a “rocket” in modern times is a reusable two-way vehicle capable of flight and landing. Is there even a remote possibility that it had this same meaning in ancient times? As unbelievable as it may seem, there are several pieces of biblical evidence that could possibly support this interpretation, and by extension, Sitchin's general conclusion if not his exact details:

• In Genesis 6 the word 'sem' appears in the tale of the Nephilim, in conjunction with “coming down” and “mighty ones from beyond”, as well as a very intriguing phrase which might be interpreted as “flying legendary ones” - the oyop semim.
• Genesis 15 contains a narrative putting 'sem' in very close proximity to kokebim which is best interpreted as “Star People”.
• In Genesis 25, Abraham is said to “aqah ish sem”, which is typically translated as him taking a foreign wife. However, the combination of specific words could be interpreted to mean that Abraham “took an extraterrestrial woman” as a sexual partner.
• The famed story of “Jacob's Ladder” in Genesis 28 has some occurrences of 'sem' (and semim) that can easily fit contextually as rockets and are actually very difficult to interpret sensibly under any other proposed meaning.
• Genesis 32 contains a few more examples that might fit.
• Exodus 3 contains phrases that could be interpreted as “the Elohim sent a rocket from beyond”
• Exodus 16 contains a narrative involving Moses and Aaron which when examining the Hebrew words is exceedingly difficult to reconcile with the typical interpretation. It seems to refer to Moses placing some bread (manna) “inside the rocket”

These and many other instances of “rockets” or some kind of flying craft are examined thoroughly in the book “UFOs In The Bible” by Ken Goudsward. Perhaps we would be remiss to dismiss Sitchin too quickly. Further investigation is in order.

once we complete this analysis, we will run a merged analysis and weigh whether it is best to consolidate the Strongnumbers, or whether there is any advantage to keeping a separation:

• 8034, 8036 Name
• 8089 “fame”
• 8033 “there”
• 8035 “Sem” as a proper noun, the name “Sem” (son of Noah)
• 8064 14 instances typically translated as “heaven”

all of these are the same Hebrew word: שמ