Hebrew word · H3483
יְשָׁרָה
uveyishrat
uprightness
Yishrah, which occurs only here, comes from yashar, "straight, level, right." Levav is the heart as the place of thought, will and intention. Together: an inner purpose that is straight, with nothing crooked, hidden or two-faced.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
uprightness
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
- Range of meaning
Yishrah, which occurs only here, comes from yashar, "straight, level, right." Levav is the heart as the place of thought, will and intention. Together: an inner purpose that is straight, with nothing crooked, hidden or two-faced.
- Against the English
"Uprightness of heart" (KJV, BSB, WEB). The English is accurate, though a modern reader may hear "heart" as emotion. The Hebrew points to intention and loyalty of will.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The related phrase yosher levav appears in Deut 9:5, 1 Kgs 9:4 (God to Solomon: "if you walk before me as David your father walked, in completeness of heart and in uprightness"), and Ps 119:7. Compare the Akkadian royal formula "with a whole/perfect heart (ina libbi gamri)."
Where it appears
1 Kings · 1
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1 Kings 3:6 וּבְיִשְׁרַ֥ת and in uprightness of
Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
Here: A rare noun (it occurs only here) from yashar, "straight, level." It pictures an inner life with no hidden bends or double-dealing.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.