selfsame

In Jewish tradition

Used to stress that something happened on that very day, as in "the selfsame day."

Interpretation. Tradition notes that important events happen "on that very day," such as Abraham's circumcision and the Exodus, showing they are fixed in time.

Meaning

exactly the same tree →

Examples

• And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying: (Torah DEU.32.48, JPS 1917) tree →
• In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. (Torah GEN.17.26, JPS 1917) tree →
• And it came to pass the selfsame day that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. (Torah EXO.12.51, JPS 1917) tree →
• But Thou art the selfsame, and Thy years shall have no end. (Writings PSA.102.28, JPS 1917) tree →
• And they did eat of the produce of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn, in the selfsame day. (Prophets JOS.5.11, JPS 1917) tree →
• 'Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day; this selfsame day the king of Babylon hath invested Jerusalem. (Prophets EZK.24.2, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

A record of the Judaism dictionary, written from the corpus.

Early Modern English

Meaning

Exactly the same, the very same one. tree →

Then and now

No longer used in everyday speech; today we say very same. The sentences use the same sense as today.

Examples

• And the LORD spoke unto Moses that selfsame day, saying: (Torah DEU.32.48, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he continued, and said, "About the third cockcrow something else came to the window and said the selfsame thing, and added, 'This shall befall thy lord on his way home. (Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk Tales) tree →
• In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. (Torah GEN.17.26, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: very same.