how to say “minister” in Hebrew
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /]שַׂר
The Hebrew word for minister when referring to a government official is שר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /] for a male and שרה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /] for a female.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /]יש הרבה שרים בממשלה החדשה.
There are lots of ministers in the new government.
You may be looking at the word שרה and thinking – isn’t that the name Sarah? The answer is yes: in Biblical Hebrew, שר and שרה refer to someone of stature, such as the wife of Abraham – only in modern times have the words become reserved exclusively for politicians.
What about a minister in the religious sense? For that there are several possibilities, including רועה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /] – pastor, כהן דת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /] – priest of religion, כומר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/שר-#.m4a” /] – (Christian) priest (usually referring to Catholic and Orthodox priests) and others.
