Hebrew word · H377
אשׁשׁ
vehit'oshashu
be manly
This form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be inferred. There are two main proposals. (1) It comes from a root ʾšš, 'foundation, base'. Related nouns are ʾăshîshôt / ʾāshyôt, 'foundations' or 'supports' (compare Isa 16:7; Jer 50:15).
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Hithpalel) to be a man, show masculinity, champion, great man
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
This form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its meaning has to be inferred. There are two main proposals. (1) It comes from a root ʾšš, 'foundation, base'. Related nouns are ʾăshîshôt / ʾāshyôt, 'foundations' or 'supports' (compare Isa 16:7; Jer 50:15). On this view the verb means 'make yourselves firmly based, steady yourselves, take a firm stand'. (2) It is built from ʾîsh, 'man', and means 'show yourselves men, act manfully, get hold of yourselves'. Strong's (H377) follows the second view.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB/YLT have 'shew yourselves men' (view 2). ESV has 'stand firm' (view 1). BSB has 'be brave', a general reading compatible with both. NASB has 'be assured'. NIV and NLT effectively merge the word into the surrounding 'keep it in mind' phrases. Some critical translations have 'consider' or 'be ashamed', which follow a corrected Hebrew text or the ancient versions.
- How it drifted
Because the word is unique, every English rendering is an educated guess. 'Show yourselves men' sounds to a modern reader like a lecture on masculinity, but the point is steadiness and resolve, not gender. 'Be brave' can sound like a call to emotional courage, when the context is about thinking straight.
- Used elsewhere in the period
No other biblical occurrence. The Septuagint has stenaxate, 'groan', and the Vulgate confundamini, 'be put to shame'. Both suggest that their translators either did not know the word or read a different one, perhaps a form of bôsh, 'be ashamed' (compare the same reflexive pattern in yitbōshāshû, Gen 2:25). Medieval Jewish commentators generally explained it as 'strengthen yourselves, become firm'.
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 46:8 וְהִתְאֹשָׁ֑שׁוּ and pluck up courage
Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!
Here: This word occurs nowhere else in the Bible. The form is reflexive ('do this to yourselves'). It is read either as 'steady yourselves, get a firm footing' (from a root meaning 'foundation') or as 'act like men, get a grip' (from 'îsh, 'man'). In both readings the call is to stop wavering and stand on solid ground.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.