Hebrew word · H3455
יָשַׂם
vaiyisem
to put
The supplied lemma, yāśam, is a rare by-form of the very common verb śîm/śûm, 'to put, place, set.' In meaning it is ordinary: to lay something somewhere.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to put, place, set, appoint, make
1a) (Qal) to put, place
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 Genesis 50:26
- Range of meaning
The supplied lemma, yāśam, is a rare by-form of the very common verb śîm/śûm, 'to put, place, set.' In meaning it is ordinary: to lay something somewhere.
- Against the English
KJV, WEB and ESV-type versions: 'he was put.' BSB: 'placed it.' The Hebrew is grammatically singular and active with no named subject, the way Hebrew sometimes says 'one did X.' A passive in English is the right sense.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The odd spelling with a double yod has attracted comment. Grammars treat it either as a Qal from the by-form yāśam or as an internal passive. Ancient translators smoothed it into a plural ('they placed him') or a passive.
Similar words
Where it appears
Genesis · 1
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Genesis 50:26 וַיִּ֥ישֶׂם and he was put
So Joseph died at the age of 110. And they embalmed his body and placed it in a coffin in Egypt.
Here: 'And he/one was placed.' A rare spelling of the common verb 'to put' (śîm). It is grammatically singular with no stated subject. That works like English 'one placed him,' and translations rightly render it as a passive, 'he was put.'
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.