Hebrew word · H3465

יָשָׁן

yashan

old

Old, from a former time, of a previous season. Used of old produce (Lev 25:22; 26:10; Song 7:13 'new and old' delicacies), an old gate (Neh 3:6; 12:39) and an old pool (Isa 22:11). It describes age, not decay or worthlessness.

Appears 7 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

old, store, storage

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 Leviticus 26:10

Range of meaning

Old, from a former time, of a previous season. Used of old produce (Lev 25:22; 26:10; Song 7:13 'new and old' delicacies), an old gate (Neh 3:6; 12:39) and an old pool (Isa 22:11). It describes age, not decay or worthlessness.

Against the English

English 'old' often suggests worn-out or obsolete. Here it means 'carried over from an earlier year', as in 'last year's crop', and that grain is still being eaten with pleasure.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 25:22 uses the same phrase-pattern for the sabbatical-year promise: 'you will eat from the old produce until the ninth year'. Song 7:13 pairs 'new and old' as a full storehouse of good things. The Septuagint renders it with palaios ('old').

Where it appears

Leviticus · 4

  1. Leviticus 25:22 יָשָׁ֑ן יָשָֽׁן׃ old harvest

    While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.

  2. Leviticus 26:10 יָשָׁ֖ן וְיָשָׁ֕ן old harvest, and old harvest

    You will still be eating the old supply of grain when you need to clear it out to make room for the new.

    Here: An adjective used as a noun: 'old [produce]', grain from an earlier harvest still in storage. Nothing negative here. It is good food that is still being eaten.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 3:6 הַיְשָׁנָ֜ה the Jeshanah

    The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 7:13 יְשָׁנִ֑ים old

    The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 22:11 הַיְשָׁנָ֑ה <the> old

    You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

    Here: 'The old pool': an older water installation that had been there long before the emergency works. It quietly sets up the 'long ago' at the end of the verse.

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