Lexical Summary
chamishshim: Fifty
Original Word:חֲמִשִּׁים
Part of Speech:noun plural
Transliteration:chamishshiym
Pronunciation:khah-meesh-sheem
Phonetic Spelling:(kham-ish-sheem')
KJV: fifty
NASB:fifty, fifties, 50, fiftieth, fifty-two, fifty-five, fifty with their fifties
Word Origin:[multiple ofH2568 (חָמֵשׁ חֲמִשָּׁה - five)]
1. fifty
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
fifty
Multiple ofchamesh; fifty -- fifty.
see HEBREWchamesh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originmultiple of
chameshDefinitionfifty
NASB Translation1,052* (2), 1,254* (4), 150* (4), 151,450* (2), 153,600* (1), 156* (1), 157,600* (1), 16,750* (1), 2,056* (1), 2,750* (1), 250* (5), 250,000* (1), 45,650* (2), 450* (2), 454* (1), 50 (4), 50,000* (2), 50,070* (1), 52* (2), 52,700* (1), 53,400* (3), 54,400* (1), 56* (1), 57,400* (2), 59,300* (2), 603,550* (3), 650* (1), 652* (2), 655* (1), 956* (1), fifties (6), fiftieth (3), fifty (87), fifty with their fifties (1), fifty-five (2), fifty-second (1), fifty-two (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
164 (a) (Arabic
Aramaic
, Phoenician ; MI
28 ; Assyrian
—amšâti Di in Lotz
TP 80) —
Genesis 6:15 154t. (including
Ezekiel 40:25,29,33, strike out Co) +
Ezekiel 45:12 (so read A Hi Co for ); suffix
2 Kings 1:10,12,
2 Kings 1:9 4t.,
2 Kings 1:14; — absolute
a fifty, a company of fiftyExodus 18:21,25;Deuteronomy 1:15;1 Samuel 8:12;2 Kings 1:9 (twice in verse) + 13 t.2 Kings 1 (in2 Kings 1:14 =fifties),Isaiah 3:3.
elsewhere, without noun expressed, (1) without other numeralNumbers 31:30,47;Ezekiel 27:18 (twice in verse);Haggai 2:16; (2) with other number precedingExodus 30:23 (twice in verse) + 11 t.; +1 Chronicles 12:34 Baer, van d. H. v.1 Chronicles 12:33 (followed by ); (3) followingExodus 38:26 10t.; (4) between other numberNumbers 1:23 23t.
without other number:
before nounGenesis 6:15 58t. +Exodus 38:12.
after noun2 Samuel 24:24;Exodus 26:11 4t. Chronicles
before other numbers:
followed by nounGenesis 7:24 +.
preceded by noun1 Chronicles 5:21.
after other number, and
this after noun1 Chronicles 8:40;Ezra 8:3,26.
noun repeated e.g.Genesis 9:28,29.
preceded by construct e.g.2 Kings 15:23,27;Leviticus 15:10,11.
= ordinal,fiftiethLeviticus 25:10,11;2 Kings 15:23, compare2 Kings 15:27.
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe number חֲמִשִּׁים (“fifty”) permeates the Old Testament as an exact quantity, a standard of measurement, and a theological signpost. Its 163 appearances touch worship, civil life, military organization, economics, and prophetic imagery, consistently revealing divine order, completeness, release, and empowerment.
Numerical Symbolism
Fifty combines the covenant number five with the factor of completeness (ten), often marking the culmination of a divine cycle. The pattern climaxes in the Jubilee year, but its symbolic weight is discernible wherever liberation, fullness, or transition from one stage of service to another is emphasized.
Jubilee and the Liberation Principle
Leviticus 25:10–12 crowns the Pentateuch’s economic ethics: “You are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants”. After seven sabbatical cycles, the fiftieth year resets the social order—debts cancelled, land restored, and slaves freed—prefiguring ultimate redemption.
The Jubilee laws echo through later prophetic hope (Isaiah 61:1–2) and anticipate the Spirit-empowered proclamation of liberty inLuke 4:18-19, even though the Hebrew term itself is absent in the New Testament. The liberation embedded in “fifty” therefore carries enduring theological weight for gospel ministry and social righteousness.
Festival and Worship Calendar
1. Feast of Weeks: “You are to count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:16). The interval joins Passover deliverance to Sinai revelation, later mirrored at Pentecost with the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2).
2. Tabernacle Construction: Moses was commanded repeatedly to employ sets of fifty—“Fifty loops shall you make in one curtain” (Exodus 26:5, 10; 27:12)—securing unity among diverse coverings. The number underlines ordered beauty in worship structures.
Military and Civil Organization
“Fifty” frequently sizes detachments (2 Kings 1:9–14;2 Kings 4:43;2 Kings 15:25). The unit offered tactical flexibility and symbolized royal prestige when runners preceded a chariot (2 Samuel 15:1;1 Kings 1:5). Elijah’s confrontation with the king’s captains of fifty illustrates the superiority of divine authority over earthly power.
Architecture and Measurements
Noah’s ark measured “fifty cubits wide” (Genesis 6:15). Solomon’s porch stretched “fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide” (1 Kings 6:3). Temple courtyards, gates, and laver bases adopt the same width, reinforcing proportional harmony in sacred architecture.
Economic and Legal Provisions
• Redemption valuations: “If it is for a male, from twenty to sixty years of age, your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver” (Leviticus 27:3).
• David bought the threshing floor of Araunah for “fifty shekels of silver” (2 Samuel 24:24), converting a site of judgment into a place of worship.
• Plunder division after Midian: “From the Israelites’ half take one out of every fifty” (Numbers 31:30), reminding the nation of priestly support and proportional generosity.
Genealogical and Historical Summaries
Census lists and returnees from exile preserve exact tallies of fifty (Numbers 2:6;Ezra 2:11;Nehemiah 7:11), testifying to Scripture’s historical precision. Post-exilic communities, though small, counted every fifty-man family as meaningful to covenant restoration.
Age and Service Transitions
Levites entered service at twenty-five but retired at fifty (Numbers 8:24-25). The age cap protected worship from fatigue and underscored orderly succession. Ministry today still heeds cycles of replenishment and mentorship implied by this divine timetable.
Prophetic and Eschatological Resonances
The Spirit’s descent at the fiftieth day ofActs 2 fulfills the pattern ofLeviticus 23, turning agricultural firstfruits into a harvest of nations. Jubilee previewed an eschatological age where captives are forever freed; Pentecost inaugurated that age inwardly in the Church.
Practical Ministry Implications
1. Liberty: Personal and social debts forgiven mirror God’s forgiveness.
2. Completion: Celebrate milestones (years, projects, discipleship phases) that mark God-ordained cycles.
3. Empowerment: The “fiftieth day” principle invites expectancy for fresh infillings of the Spirit in ministry rhythms.
4. Order: As fifty governed loops, troops, and valuations, churches should adopt clear structures that serve, rather than stifle, worship.
Representative Occurrences
Genesis 18:24;Genesis 45:22
Exodus 26:5–11;Exodus 27:12
Leviticus 23:16;Leviticus 25:10;Leviticus 27:3
Numbers 4:3;Numbers 8:25;Numbers 31:30
Deuteronomy 22:29
2 Samuel 15:1;2 Samuel 24:24
1 Kings 18:4;2 Kings 1:9–14
Ezra 2:11;Nehemiah 7:11
Jeremiah 52:29
Across historical narrative, law, poetry, and prophecy, חֲמִשִּׁים declares God’s intention to bring His people to fullness, restore what was lost, and empower service—an unbroken testimony to divine order and grace.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֣ים בחמשים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֔ים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֛ים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים הַחֲמִשִּׁ֨ים הַחֲמִשִּׁים֒ הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ החמשים וַֽחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים׃ וַחֲמִשִּׁ֑ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֔ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֛ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֣ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֨ים וַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ וַחֲמִשָּׁ֑יו וחמשיו וחמשים וחמשים׃ חֲמִשִּֽׁים׃ חֲמִשִּׁ֑ים חֲמִשִּׁ֔ים חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים חֲמִשִּׁ֗ים חֲמִשִּׁ֛ים חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים חֲמִשִּׁ֧ים חֲמִשִּׁ֨ים חֲמִשִּׁים֙ חֲמִשֵּׁיהֶ֑ם חֲמִשֶּׁ֑יךָ חֲמִשָּֽׁיו׃ חמשיהם חמשיו׃ חמשיך חמשים חמשים׃ לַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים לחמשים ba·ḥă·miš·šîm bachamishShim baḥămiššîm chamishShav chamishSheicha chamishsheiHem chamishShim ha·ḥă·miš·šîm ḥă·miš·šāw ḥă·miš·šê·hem ḥă·miš·še·ḵā ḥă·miš·šîm hachamishShim haḥămiššîm ḥămiššāw ḥămiššêhem ḥămiššeḵā ḥămiššîm la·ḥă·miš·šîm lachamishShim laḥămiššîm vachamishShav vachamishShim wa·ḥă·miš·šāw wa·ḥă·miš·šîm waḥămiššāw waḥămiššîm
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