Shafan (שפן) means hyrax in Hebrew.
It can also mean coney. It is a masculine noun, and the Hebrew dictionary's own definitions are below.
hyrax, coney
The stress falls on the part in bold.
The dictionary gives 3 meanings for Shafan.
The definitions are in Hebrew, as the dictionary writes them.
- 1יונק צמחוני וקטן (עד כ־60 ס״מ), השוכן באפריקה ובמזרח התיכון. הוא בעל אוזניים קטנות, רגליים קצרות וחוטם בולט. דומה בצורתו למכרסם (אף שאננו כזה).
וְאֶת הַשָּׁפָן כִּי מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הוּא וּפַרְסָה לֹא יַפְרִיס טָמֵא הוּא לָכֶם.
- 2סלנגאדם פחדן.
- 3אחד מאנשי החצר של המלך יאשיהו, שימש כסופר.
וַיַּגֵּד שָׁפָן הַסֹּפֵר לַמֶּלֶךְ לֵאמֹר סֵפֶר נָתַן לִי חִלְקִיָּה הַכֹּהֵן וַיִּקְרָאֵהוּ שָׁפָן לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ
The verses are quoted from the Hebrew Bible, with the word in bold.
The word Shafan is a masculine noun.
- Written with vowel points
- שָׁפָן
- Written without vowel points
- שפן
- Said
- shafan
- Root
- ש־פ־נ
- Pattern
- קָטָל
- Plural
- שְׁפַנִּים
- Inflections
- ר' שְׁפַנִּים
- Gematria
- 430
This is how Shafan is said in other languages.
- English
- hyrax, coney
These words mean nearly the same as Shafan.
These words mean the opposite of Shafan.
- אמיץ
- גיבורhero
A word with a dashed border has no page of its own in this dictionary yet.
These words rhyme with Shafan.
The word Shafan is part of these phrases and sayings.
- שלף שפן מהכובע
- שפן נסיונות
- שפן סלע
A word with a dashed border has no page of its own in this dictionary yet.
These words come before and after Shafan in the dictionary.
These are the questions people ask about the word Shafan.
What does Shafan (שפן) mean in Hebrew?
Shafan (שפן) means hyrax and coney. It is said shafan, with the stress on fan.
What is a synonym for Shafan (שפן)?
Words that mean nearly the same as Shafan (שפן) are פחדן.
What is the opposite of Shafan (שפן)?
Words that mean the opposite of Shafan (שפן) are אמיץ and גיבור.
What rhymes with Shafan (שפן)?
Words that rhyme with Shafan (שפן) include זמן, חמצן, מימן, לבן, עניין, and פחמן.
The definitions, pronunciation, synonyms and translations on this page are adapted from the entry שפן of the Hebrew Wiktionary, read on 1 November 2026, and are shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.