Home›Strong's concordance›H8121
שֶׁמֶשׁ H8121
H8121 is the Hebrew word שֶׁמֶשׁ, transliterated shemesh and said sheh'-mesh. The King James Version most often renders it sun.
What it means
the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement.
Where it comes from
from an unused root meaning to be brilliant.
How the King James Version translates it
Across 97 tagged occurrences, counted from this edition's word index.
Strong's own list of renderings: [phrase] east side(-ward), sun (rising), [phrase] west(-ward), window. See also H1053 (בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ).
Verses using שֶׁמֶשׁ
The first 40 of 105 verses, quoted in full.
Genesis 15:12 · KJV
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Genesis 15:17 · KJV
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Genesis 19:23 · KJV
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Genesis 28:11 · KJV
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
Genesis 32:31 · KJV
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
Genesis 37:9 · KJV
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Exodus 16:21 · KJV
And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Exodus 22:3 · KJV
If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
Exodus 22:26 · KJV
If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
Leviticus 22:7 · KJV
And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.
Numbers 25:4 · KJV
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
Deuteronomy 4:19 · KJV
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Deuteronomy 4:41 · KJV
Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
Deuteronomy 11:30 · KJV
Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?
Deuteronomy 16:6 · KJV
But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 17:3 · KJV
And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
Deuteronomy 23:11 · KJV
But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
Deuteronomy 24:13 · KJV
In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
Deuteronomy 24:15 · KJV
At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
Deuteronomy 33:14 · KJV
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
Joshua 1:4 · KJV
From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
Joshua 8:29 · KJV
And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
Joshua 10:12 · KJV
Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
Joshua 10:13 · KJV
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
Joshua 10:27 · KJV
And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
Joshua 12:1 · KJV
Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:
Joshua 13:5 · KJV
And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
Joshua 19:12 · KJV
And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chislothtabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,
Joshua 19:27 · KJV
And turneth toward the sunrising to Bethdagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthahel toward the north side of Bethemek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,
Judges 5:31 · KJV
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
Judges 9:33 · KJV
And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
Judges 11:18 · KJV
Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
Judges 19:14 · KJV
And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
Judges 21:19 · KJV
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
1 Samuel 11:9 · KJV
And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
2 Samuel 2:24 · KJV
Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
2 Samuel 3:35 · KJV
And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
2 Samuel 12:11 · KJV
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
2 Samuel 12:12 · KJV
For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
2 Samuel 23:4 · KJV
And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
Common questions
What does Strong's H8121 mean?
H8121 is the Hebrew word שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh), meaning the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement.
How is H8121 translated in the King James Version?
The King James translators rendered it sun (63 times), under the sun (17 times), toward the sunrising (4 times), because the sun (2 times), soon as the sun (2 times), among others.
How many times does H8121 appear in the Bible?
שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) is tagged in 105 verses of the King James Version in this edition's word index.
Where does H8121 come from?
Strong's gives its derivation as: from an unused root meaning to be brilliant.
Nearby entries
Keep reading in TheWay Bible App
Read, study, memorize, journal, and pray — tap any word for its Greek or Hebrew definition, save verses to memorize, and keep a journal. Free on the web and iOS.