שָׁנָא shânâʼ — to alter

pronounced shaw-naw' · Strong's H8132 · 3 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 3 stems: Pi'el, Pu'al, Qal (Pa'al)

Translated in the KJV as change.

a primitive root; to alter.

shânâʼ in each stem

Pi'el 1×

Intensive · active — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it

Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1

וְשִׁנָּ֕א 2Kgs 25:29 Sequential perfect (weqatal), 3rd person masculine singular

And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. (KJV)

Pu'al 1×

Intensive · passive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject has it done to them

Imperfect (yiqtol) 1

יְשֻׁנֶּֽא Eccl 8:1 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular

Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. (KJV)

Qal (Pa'al) 1×

Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it

Imperfect (yiqtol) 1

יִשְׁנֶ֖א Lam 4:1 Imperfect (yiqtol), 3rd person masculine singular

How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

Open in Hebrew Explorer with Verb Anatomy on →

In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. shânâʼ in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

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