יָשַׁם
ya.sham
be desolate
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredAccording to the lexicon data for the Hebrew word 'ya.sham' (H3456), its primary meaning is "to be desolate." This verb is situated within the semantic domain of Time & Duration, suggesting that it refers to a state of being over a period of time, rather than a temporary condition. In its 4 occurrences throughout the Bible, the word 'ya.sham' seems to convey a sense of emptiness, loneliness, or barrenness. This meaning is likely evoked in the context where other words with similar connotations are used, emphasizing a state of being devoid of life, people, or resources. Without further context, it's difficult to discern the nuances of its significance, but its use in the Bible undoubtedly highlights the importance of desolation as a state of being in ancient Hebrew thought. The occurrence of "be desolate" as a verb rather than a static adjective suggests it might relate to a process or a change in a state, implying that the condition of being desolate is not static, but rather a dynamic experience of loss or abandonment. This verb's presence in the Bible underscores the value placed on the presence and the absence of human experience, people, and presence in a particular area or time frame.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences across the text
In all your dwelling places, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
Ezekiel 12:19Tell the people of the land, ‘The Lord Yahweh says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: “They will eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and all that is therein, because of the violence of all those who dwell therein.
Ezekiel 19:7He knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities. The land was desolate, with its fullness, because of the noise of his roaring.
Genesis 47:19Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land won’t be desolate.”