Lexical Summary
shelishi: Third
Original Word:שְׁלִישִׁי
Part of Speech:Adjective
Transliteration:shliyshiy
Pronunciation:sheh-lee-shee
Phonetic Spelling:(shel-ee-shee')
KJV: third (part, rank, time), three (years old)
NASB:third, one third, third time, third part, thirty, three
Word Origin:[ordinal fromH7969 (שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁלוֹשׁ שְׁלוֹשָׁה שְׁלוֹשָׁה - three)]
1. third
2. feminine a third (part)
3. by extension, a third (day, year or time)
4. specifically, a third-story cell)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
third part, rank, time, three years old
Ordinal fromshalowsh; third; feminine a third (part); by extension, a third (day, year or time); specifically, a third-story cell) -- third (part, rank, time), three (years old).
see HEBREWshalowsh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
shaloshDefinitionthird (an ord. number)
NASB TranslationEglath-shelishiyah* (2), one third (6), third (92), third part (1), third time (3), thirty (1), three (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
108 ; —Genesis 1:13 31t., etc. (64 t., rarely ); plural (third 50, set of messengers, etc.)1 Samuel 19:21;2 Kings 1:13 4t.;1 Kings 18:1 4t., etc. (33 t.; sometimes , , etc.); =third part, a third2 Samuel 18:2 (3 t. in verse) + 13 t., + (construct)Numbers 15:6 4t., + (Ges§ 91l)Ezekiel 5:12third part of thee; = third time1 Samuel 3:8; alsoIsaiah 19:24third (on par with other two);Ezekiel 42:3in the thirds, i.e.third story; —Ezekiel 15:5;Jeremiah 48:34, see p. 722. —Ezekiel 21:19 is corrupt and doubtful; Krae proposes the sword shall be doubledand trebled; other conjectures in Co Toy.1 Samuel 20:5 strike out We Dr and others, so1 Samuel 20:12.2 Samuel 23:18 read We Dr and others
Topical Lexicon
Overview of UsageUsed roughly 108 times, שְׁלִישִׁי identifies the third element in a sequence or a third part of a whole. It touches days, months, years, ranks, fractions, military units, genealogies, and ritual timing, threading a unified biblical motif of three that communicates completeness, confirmation, and covenant fidelity.
The Third Day
• Creation: “And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.” (Genesis 1:13).
• Covenant Foreshadowing: “On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.” (Genesis 22:4).
• Revelation at Sinai: “On the third morning there was thunder and lightning…” (Exodus 19:16).
• Healing and Worship: “On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.” (2 Kings 20:5).
• Deliverance and Intercession: “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes…” (Esther 5:1).
• Resurrection Promise: “He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up.” (Hosea 6:2).
These cumulative “third day” events prefigure the climactic resurrection of Jesus Christ, revealing an underlying salvific pattern that moves from preparation through crisis to life.
The Third Year
Every third year Israel brought a special tithe for Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows: “When you have finished tithing a tenth of all your produce in the third year…” (Deuteronomy 26:12). The calendar embedded social compassion into Israel’s economic rhythms. Royal and prophetic narratives also signal turning points by a king’s “third year” (e.g.,1 Kings 18:1).
The Third Month
“In the third month…the Israelites came to the Wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1). Redemption at Passover quickly led to covenant instruction, reminding worshipers that salvation and sanctification are inseparable.
A Third Part—Purification and Judgment
•Ezekiel 5:2 divides the prophet’s hair three ways—fire, sword, scattering—portraying measured judgment.
•Zechariah 13:8-9 promises preservation and refinement of a remnant: “This third I will bring through the fire…they will call on My name.”
God’s arithmetic weds justice and mercy: one-third survives to be purified, two-thirds fall in judgment.
Third in Order and Rank
Genealogies and rosters frequently mention the “third” son or official, underscoring orderly succession (e.g.,1 Chronicles 3:2,1 Chronicles 27:5). The term thereby safeguards historical accuracy and covenant lineage.
Military and Administrative Divisions
Leaders regularly deploy forces in thirds for strategic balance:
• Gideon’s three companies (Judges 7:16).
• Saul’s dawn assault (1 Samuel 11:11).
• David’s divisions under Joab, Abishai, and Ittai (2 Samuel 18:2).
The pattern shows prudent stewardship and reinforces the biblical theme that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
Cultic Regulations
• Sacrificial meat left to the third day must be burned (Leviticus 7:17).
• Red-heifer purification requires washing “on the third day and on the seventh day” (Numbers 19:12).
The timing guards holiness, linking time-bound obedience with ritual purity.
Prophetic and Covenantal Dimensions
Shelishi structures prophetic chronology (Isaiah 16:14) and post-exilic hope (Zechariah 13:8-9). Its fractional use anticipates the one-third judgments ofRevelation 8–9, demonstrating the coherence of redemptive history.
Christological Foreshadowing
The Old Testament’s third-day pattern culminates in the gospel declaration “that Christ was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). Creation’s fruitfulness, Abraham’s obedience, Sinai’s revelation, Jonah’s entombment, Hezekiah’s healing, and Hosea’s prophecy converge in the resurrection, affirming the reliability and unity of Scripture.
Practical Ministry Implications
1. Expectation of Life: God often brings new life after a “third-day” season of waiting.
2. Systematic Generosity: The third-year tithe models intentional care for the vulnerable.
3. Urgency in Worship: The third-day burn-off of leftovers warns against letting holy commitments decay.
4. Remnant Hope: Even in severe judgment, God preserves and purifies a third, assuring His people of ultimate restoration.
Shelishi thus enriches biblical theology, historical narrative, worship practice, and pastoral exhortation, demonstrating how God orders time, events, and people to reveal His redemptive purposes.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י בַּשְּׁלִשִֽׁים׃ בַּשְּׁלִשִׁית֒ בשלישי בשלשים׃ בשלשית הַשְּׁלִישִֽׁי׃ הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑ית הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ית הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ת הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗ית הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֛י הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֜י הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי֮ הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁי׃ הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁים׃ הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁית׃ הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֑י הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֔י הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֔ית הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖ית הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֗ית הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֣י הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֤ית הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֨ית הַשְּׁלִשִׁי֙ הַשְּׁלִשִׁית֙ הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֔ה השלישי השלישי׃ השלישית השלישת השלשה השלשי השלשי׃ השלשים׃ השלשית השלשית׃ וְ֠הַשְּׁלִשִׁית וְהַ֨שְּׁלִישִׁ֔ית וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔ית וְהַ֨שְּׁלִשִׁ֔ת וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי֙ וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית֙ וְהַשְּׁלִשִֽׁית׃ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖י וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖ית וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֥ית וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁי֙ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית֙ וּשְׁלִישִׁ֧ת וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים והשלישי והשלישית והשלשי והשלשית והשלשית׃ והשלשת ושלישת ושלשים שְׁלִ֣ישִׁיָּ֔ה שְׁלִֽשִׁיָּ֑ה שְׁלִישִֽׁי׃ שְׁלִישִׁ֑י שְׁלִישִׁ֙תָה֙ שְׁלִישִׁ֥ית שְׁלִשִׁ֔ים שְׁלִשִׁ֖ים שְׁלִשִׁ֗ית שְׁלִשִׁ֣ית שְׁלִשִׁ֥ית שְׁלִשִׁיָּ֑ה שְׁלִשִׁתֵ֞יךְ שלישי שלישי׃ שלישיה שלישית שלישתה שלשיה שלשים שלשית שלשתיך baš·šə·lî·šî baš·šə·li·šîm baš·šə·li·šîṯ bashsheliShi bashsheliShim bashsheliShit baššəlîšî baššəlišîm baššəlišîṯ haš·šə·li·šî haš·šə·lî·šî haš·šə·li·šîm haš·šə·li·šîṯ haš·šə·lî·šiṯ haš·šə·lî·šîṯ haš·šə·lō·šāh hashsheliShi hashsheliShim hashsheliShit hashsheloShah haššəlišî haššəlîšî haššəlišîm haššəlišîṯ haššəlîšiṯ haššəlîšîṯ haššəlōšāh šə·lî·šî šə·lî·ši·ṯāh šə·li·ši·ṯêḵ šə·li·šî·yāh šə·lî·šî·yāh šə·li·šîm šə·li·šîṯ šə·lî·šîṯ šəlîšî šəlišîm šəlišîṯ šəlîšîṯ šəlîšiṯāh šəlišiṯêḵ šəlišîyāh šəlîšîyāh sheliShi sheliShim sheliShit sheliShitah shelishiTeich shelishiYah ū·šə·li·šîm ū·šə·lî·šiṯ ūšəlišîm ūšəlîšiṯ usheliShim usheliShit vehashsheliShi Vehashshelishit wə·haš·šə·li·šî wə·haš·šə·lî·šî wə·haš·šə·li·šiṯ wə·haš·šə·li·šîṯ wə·haš·šə·lî·šîṯ wəhaššəlišî wəhaššəlîšî wəhaššəlišiṯ wəhaššəlišîṯ wəhaššəlîšîṯ
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