Word study
Third
6 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “third”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “third” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שְׁלִישִׁי shelîshîthirdtranslated this way 97 times of its 106 uses · Strong’s H7992Number · Translated: third 94, Three 4Full study and all 92 verses →
Genesis 1:13 And there was evening, and there was morning — the third day.
Exodus 19:1 In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
- שָׁלוֹשׁ shâlôsha three, triadtranslated this way 11 times of its 383 uses · Strong’s H7969Number · Translated: three 254, third 11, thirteenth 10, thirteen 10Full study and all 342 verses →
Exodus 19:15 “Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.”
Judges 16:15 “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
- שִׁלֵּשׁ shillêshpertaining to the thirdtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H8029Noun · Translated: third 4, third generation 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Genesis 50:23 He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.
Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- שְׁנַיִם shenayimtwotranslated this way 2 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H8147Number · Translated: two 364, twelve 68, both 33, 12 25Full study and all 550 verses →
Exodus 25:35 For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a bud must be under the first pair of branches, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair.
Exodus 37:21 A bud was under the first pair of branches that extended from the lampstand, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair.
- תְּלִיתַי telîthaythirdtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H8523Number · Translated: third 1, made the third 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 2:39 But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
Daniel 5:7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- תְּלַת telatha third parttranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H8531Adjective · Translated: made the third 1, third highest 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 5:16 But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
Daniel 5:29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
Greek words (New Testament)
- τρίτος trítosthirdtranslated this way 54 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s G5154Adjective · Translated: third 48, third time 6Full study and all 47 verses →
Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Mark 12:21 Then the second one married the widow, but he also died and left no children. And the third did likewise.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.