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 of H2568 (חָמֵשׁ חֲמִשָּׁה - five)]

1. fifty

fifty

Multiple of chamesh; fifty -- fifty.

see HEBREW chamesh

Word Origin
multiple of chamesh
Definition
fifty
NASB Translation
1,052* (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).

חֲמִשִּׁים₁₆₄ noun plural (a) fifty (Arabic Aramaic , Phoenician חמשם; MI²⁸ חמשן; Assyrian —amšâti Di in Lotz^{TP 80}) — חֲמִשִּׁים Genesis 6:15 154t. (including Ezekiel 40:25,29,33, strike out Co) + Ezekiel 45:12 (so read A Hi Co for חמּשׁה); suffix חֲמִשֶּׁיךָ 2 Kings 1:10,12, חֲמִשָּׁיו 2 Kings 1:9 4t., חֲמִשֵּׁיהֶם 2 Kings 1:14; — 1 absolute

a. a fifty, a company of fifty Exodus 18:21,25; Deuteronomy 1:15; 1 Samuel 8:12; 2 Kings 1:9 (twice in verse) + 13 t. 2 Kings 1 (in 2 Kings 1:14 = fifties), Isaiah 3:3.

b. elsewhere, without noun expressed, (1) without other numeral Numbers 31:30,47; Ezekiel 27:18 (twice in verse); Haggai 2:16; (2) with other number ׳ח preceding Exodus 30:23 (twice in verse) + 11 t.; + 1 Chronicles 12:34 Baer, van d. H. v.1 Chronicles 12:33 (followed by אלף); (3) ׳ח following Exodus 38:26 10t.; (4) ׳ח between other number Numbers 1:23 23t.

2 חֲמִשִּׁים without other number:

a. before noun Genesis 6:15 58t. + בָּאַמָּה ׳ח Exodus 38:12.

b. after noun 2 Samuel 24:24; Exodus 26:11 4t. Chronicles

3 ׳ח before other numbers:

a. followed by noun Genesis 7:24 +.

b. preceded by noun 1 Chronicles 5:21.

4 ׳ח after other number, and

a. this after noun 1 Chronicles 8:40; Ezra 8:3,26.

b. noun repeated e.g. Genesis 9:28,29.

5 ׳ח preceded by construct e.g. שָׁנָה ׳בִּשְׁנַת ח 2 Kings 15:23,27; Leviticus 15:10,11.

6 ׳ח = ordinal, fiftieth Leviticus 25:10,11; 2 Kings 15:23, compare 2 Kings 15:27.

Overview

The 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 in Luke 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 of Acts 2 fulfills the pattern of Leviticus 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.

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 waḥămiššîmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts