Bible HebrewNumbers 1–10
Five at a time: 1 to 5, then 6 to 10, then the two forms and the 3–10 surprise.
Numbers 1 to 10
Each number has two forms. Which one you use depends on the noun it counts.
| With a masculine noun | With a feminine noun | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | אֶחָד | אַחַת |
| 2 | שְׁנַיִם | שְׁתַּיִם |
| 3 | שְׁלֹשָׁה | שָׁלֹשׁ |
| 4 | אַרְבָּעָה | אַרְבַּע |
| 5 | חֲמִשָּׁה | חָמֵשׁ |
| 6 | שִׁשָּׁה | שֵׁשׁ |
| 7 | שִׁבְעָה | שֶׁבַע |
| 8 | שְׁמֹנָה | שְׁמֹנֶה |
| 9 | תִּשְׁעָה | תֵּשַׁע |
| 10 | עֲשָׂרָה | עֶשֶׂר |
The surprise: from 3 to 10, the form ending in ־ָה goes with masculine nouns, the opposite of what you'd expect. שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים “three sons” (Genesis 6:10), but שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים “seven years” (Genesis 29:18), because שָׁנָה “year” is feminine.
Numbers can also mean “the two of”, “the ten of”: אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת “the two lights” (Genesis 1:16), עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים “the Ten Words” (Exodus 34:28).
Genesis 1 counts its days: יוֹם אֶחָד “day one” (1:5), יוֹם שֵׁנִי “a second day” (1:8), יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי “a third day” (1:13) … יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי “the sixth day” (1:31).
The tens look like plurals, with ־ִים: עֶשֶׂר ten → עֶשְׂרִים twenty, שְׁלֹשִׁים thirty, אַרְבָּעִים forty, as in “forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:4).
Check yourself
In שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים “three sons” (Genesis 6:10), why does “three” end in ־ָה?
✓ From 3 to 10, the ־ָה form goes with masculine nouns · בָּנִים is feminine · It means “the three” · It is plural
From three to ten, the form ending in ־ָה goes with masculine nouns like בָּנִים “sons”. That is the reverse of what you might expect, since ־ָה usually marks feminine words.
What does יוֹם אֶחָד mean in Genesis 1:5?
✓ day one · the first man · one year · every day
יוֹם is masculine, so “one” is אֶחָד.
Which is “seven”, as in שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים “seven years”?
✓ שֶׁבַע · שֵׁשׁ · שְׁתַּיִם · עֶשֶׂר
שָׁנָה “year” is feminine, so seven has no ־ָה.
What does שְׁנֵי mean in אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת (Genesis 1:16)?
✓ the two (of) · the second · years · again
שְׁנֵי is the “of” form of שְׁנַיִם “two”: “the two lights”.
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