Hebrew word · H1214

בָּצַע

botzea'

to gain

The root's basic sense is 'cut off, break off.' Isaiah 38:12 uses it of a weaver cutting finished cloth off the loom. From that comes 'to cut off a piece for yourself,' that is, to take a share.

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to cut off, break off, gain by unrighteous violence, get, finish, be covetous, be greedy

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to cut off

1a2) to stop

1a3) to gain wrongfully or by violence

1b) (Piel)

1b1) to cut off, sever

1b2) to finish, complete, accomplish

1b3) to violently make gain of

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 1:19

Range of meaning

The root's basic sense is 'cut off, break off.' Isaiah 38:12 uses it of a weaver cutting finished cloth off the loom. From that comes 'to cut off a piece for yourself,' that is, to take a share. The noun beṣaʿ can be neutral 'profit' ('What profit is there if we kill our brother?' Gen 37:26; 'What profit is there in my blood?' Ps 30:9). Far more often it is gain taken by violence, extortion, bribery or fraud: Exod 18:21, judges must 'hate beṣaʿ'; 1 Sam 8:3, Samuel's sons 'turned aside after beṣaʿ and took bribes'; Jer 6:13; Ezek 22:27, officials 'shedding blood… to get beṣaʿ'; Hab 2:9.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say 'greedy (for/of) gain,' and BSB just 'greedy.' NASB 1995 has 'gains by violence,' and YLT 'gainer of dishonest gain.' 'Greedy' names a feeling. The Hebrew names an act of taking, and here that act is armed robbery that leaves a body behind.

How it drifted

In modern English, greed is mainly an inner vice: wanting too much. The Hebrew word names what someone does to get it, and it often comes with bloodshed (Ezek 22:27 links beṣaʿ and shed blood directly).

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible beṣaʿ clusters with words for violence, bribery and oppression. The Septuagint here translates the idea as 'those who carry out lawless things' (synteleō ta anoma), an act rather than a mood. Ezekiel 22:12–13, 27 uses the verb and noun for officials who kill for profit.

From the study of Habakkuk 2:9

Range of meaning

The verb's basic sense is 'to cut off'. It is used of a weaver cutting finished cloth off the loom (Isa 38:12) and of God 'cutting off' a life (Job 6:9; 27:8). From there it comes to mean taking one's cut or share, making profit, and very often grabbing profit by force or fraud (Ezek 22:12, 27; Prov 1:19; 15:27). The noun beṣaʿ means profit or gain. It is occasionally neutral ('What profit is there…?', Gen 37:26), but far more often it means ill-gotten gain: bribes (1 Sam 8:3), extortion (Isa 33:15), the greed of rulers (Jer 22:17; Ezek 22:27) and plunder (Judg 5:19).

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'unjust gain' and NASB/ESV-type 'evil gain' get it right. KJV 'coveteth an evil covetousness' changes the picture: in modern English 'covet' means wanting something inside yourself, but the Hebrew describes actually taking the money. YLT 'gaining evil gain' keeps the Hebrew repetition.

How it drifted

The KJV translators used 'covet' and 'covetousness' for this word group, and in 1611 those words could include greedy getting. Today 'covet' means only desire, so the KJV reader now hears a sin of the heart where the prophet describes robbery.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 18:21 (judges must be 'haters of beṣaʿ', i.e. incorruptible); 1 Sam 8:3 (Samuel's sons 'turned aside after beṣaʿ and took bribes'); Jer 22:17 (King Jehoiakim's eyes and heart are 'only on your beṣaʿ'); Ezek 22:27 (officials like wolves 'gaining gain', the same verb-plus-noun phrase as here). LXX renders it here as pleonektōn pleonexian, 'grasping for more, grasping greed'. Lexica: BDB, HALOT s.v.

From the study of Ezekiel 22:12

Range of meaning

Its basic meaning is "to cut off, break off." Isa 38:12 uses it of a weaver cutting thread from the loom. From there: to finish something, and to grab profit by violence. The noun beṣaʿ means "unjust gain" or loot.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say "greedily gained," which puts the stress on greed. NASB has "injured your neighbors for gain," and YLT has "cuttest off thy neighbour." Both keep the picture of the neighbor as the one who is cut.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 22:27 says officials are "shedding blood, destroying lives, to get unjust gain (beṣaʿ)." Jer 22:17 condemns King Jehoiakim's eyes being set "only on your beṣaʿ, on shedding innocent blood, and on ʿosheq", the same cluster of words as this verse. Prov 1:19 says of those greedy for gain that "it takes away the life of its owners."

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 6:9 וִֽיבַצְּעֵֽנִי׃ and may he cut off me

    that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!

  2. Job 27:8 יִבְצָ֑ע he will cut off

    For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

    Here: Most likely 'when [God] cuts [him] off', like a weaver cutting finished cloth from the loom. Job had asked God to do exactly this to him in 6:9. The other ancient reading is 'when he makes gain', meaning the godless man's greedy profit. The KJV and Vulgate take that view (see debates).

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 10:3 וּבֹצֵ֥עַ and [one] greedy for unjust gain

    For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

    Here: A participle, 'one who cuts off a profit.' It means the profiteer who grabs gain by unjust or violent means. It can be read as the object ('he blesses the profiteer') or as a new subject ('and the profiteer…').

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 1:19 בֹּ֣צֵֽעַ [one who] gains unjustly

    Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

    Here: An active participle: 'one who cuts off,' that is, someone who grabs his 'cut' or share. In context this means taking it by ambush and murder (vv. 11–13), not just wanting too much.

  2. Proverbs 15:27 בּוֹצֵ֣עַ [one who] gains unjustly

    He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.

    Here: Participle, 'one who cuts / takes a cut'. The root's basic picture is cutting off or breaking off. In the moral sense it means grabbing a share by illegitimate means: extortion, fraud, skimming, bribery.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 10:12 יְבַצַּ֤ע he will finish

    So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.

    Here: Literally 'cut off', like a weaver cutting finished cloth off the loom; so 'brings to completion'. God's work in Jerusalem has a set length, and he decides when it is done.

  2. Isaiah 38:12 יְבַצְּעֵ֔נִי he cuts off me

    My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 6:13 בּוֹצֵ֣עַ [is] gaining

    “For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

    Here: A participle, which describes an ongoing habit: 'cutting off', 'taking a cut'. It describes actually grabbing profit, not just wanting it.

  2. Jeremiah 8:10 בֹּצֵ֣עַ [is] gaining

    Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

    Here: 'Is cutting / is profiteering'. The form describes ongoing activity. The root pictures cutting off a piece for yourself: grabbing a cut by unfair or violent means.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 2:17 בִּצַּ֤ע he has fulfilled

    The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.

    Here: "He has finished": the root means to cut off. Isaiah 38:12 uses it for cutting finished cloth from the loom, so it comes to mean bringing a job to its end (Zechariah 4:9, Isaiah 10:12). The word was carried through to the last thread.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 22:12 וַתְּבַצְּעִ֤י and you have made unjust gain

    In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

    Here: "And you cut off for profit." The root pictures a weaver cutting thread off the loom, and it came to mean grabbing profit by violence. The neighbors are the object: they are what gets cut. Verse 13 uses the related noun, "your unjust gain."

  2. Ezekiel 22:27 בְּצֹ֥עַ to make unjust gain

    Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.

    Here: 'Cutting off,' that is, carving out a profit. The verb pictures taking a slice that belongs to someone else.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 2:8 יִבְצָֽעוּ׃ they stop

    They do not jostle one another; each proceeds in his path. They burst through the defenses, never breaking ranks.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 9:1 וּבְצַ֙עַם֙ and break off them

    I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.

    Here: 'And sever them / shatter them'. 'Them' most naturally means the broken capitals, brought down onto the people. The root bṣʿ means 'cut off', and its noun often means 'unjust gain', which may be a faint echo of Amos's charges about exploitation.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:9 בֹּצֵ֛עַ [one who] gains

    Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!

    Here: A participle, 'the one who keeps gaining': it describes him by his habit, not one act. The root's basic picture is cutting something off, so the sense is close to 'taking his cut', helping himself to a share that is not his.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 4:9 תְּבַצַּ֑עְנָה they will finish [it]

    “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you.

    Here: An imperfect verb, looking ahead: 'will bring to completion'. The root's basic sense is 'cut off'. In this form it means to bring a job to its end, like cutting a finished piece of cloth off the loom (compare Isaiah 38:12).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.