Hebrew word · H3453

יָשִׁישׁ

yashish

aged

The aged, very old men. The word occurs only in Job (12:12; 15:10; 29:8; 32:6), and a near-identical form occurs at 2 Chr 36:17. It is a poetic, somewhat elevated synonym for zeqenim ("elders/old men"), stressing great age. In Israelite society great age meant accumulated wisdom and authority.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

aged, old man, aged one

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 Job 29:8

Range of meaning

The aged, very old men. The word occurs only in Job (12:12; 15:10; 29:8; 32:6), and a near-identical form occurs at 2 Chr 36:17. It is a poetic, somewhat elevated synonym for zeqenim ("elders/old men"), stressing great age. In Israelite society great age meant accumulated wisdom and authority.

Against the English

"The aged" (KJV, WEB, YLT) and "the old men" (BSB) are accurate. What modern English loses is the built-in status: these are not simply elderly people but the senior figures of the community.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Job 12:12 the word stands beside wisdom: "Is not wisdom with the aged?" In 15:10 Eliphaz appeals to "the gray-haired and the aged" as authorities. In 32:6 the young Elihu says he held back out of respect for the yeshishim. The Septuagint here uses πρεσβῦται, "old men."

Where it appears

Job · 4

  1. Job 12:12 בִּֽישִׁישִׁ֥ים [is] with aged [people]

    Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.

  2. Job 15:10 יָשִׁ֣ישׁ [the] aged

    Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.

  3. Job 29:8 וִֽ֝ישִׁישִׁים and old [men]

    the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.

    Here: "And the aged," the oldest men of the town, who were normally the most honoured people at the gate. A rare poetic word found almost only in Job. Its point here is that even the people others rose for rose for Job.

  4. Job 32:6 יְשִׁישִׁ֑ים [are] aged

    So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

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