she.nah denotes a year as a unit for dating royal events or describing a span of time.

The attested use denotes yearly time units, chiefly in formulas dating events by a king's first, second, or sixth year; it also marks a longer span in the account of a house built many years earlier.

1. Yearly time in dates and durations · dominant

   The singular construct form is used in royal-date clauses: in Daniel 7:1 the APB renders Daniel's dream as occurring “In the first year of Belshazzar,” while Ezra 4:24, Ezra 5:13, Ezra 6:15, and Ezra 6:3 date cessation, a decree, or completion by a ruler's year. The plural absolute form occurs where Ezra 5:11 describes a house built “many years before this”; Daniel 6:1 also has the plural form, though the APB rendering does not make its contribution to that verse clear.

   Daniel 6:1Daniel 7:1Ezra 4:24Ezra 5:11Ezra 5:13Ezra 6:15Ezra 6:3

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term through chronological phrases such as “first year,” “second year,” and “sixth year,” and in Ezra 5:11 through “many years before this.” Daniel 6:1 does not clearly display an English counterpart for its plural form.