Hebrew word · H5377

נָשָׁא

hishi'ani

to deceive

In its causative form (hiphil), 'to deceive, beguile, lead astray, delude'.

Appears 16 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to beguile, deceive

1a) (Niphal) to be beguiled

1b) (Hiphil) to beguile, deceive

1c) (Qal) utterly (infinitive)

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 Obadiah 1:3

Range of meaning

In its causative form (hiphil), 'to deceive, beguile, lead astray, delude'. Used for false confidence planted in someone's mind: the serpent's deception (Genesis 3:13), Hezekiah warned 'do not let your God deceive you' (2 Kings 19:10), 'do not let Hezekiah deceive you' (2 Kings 18:29), false prophets deceiving (Jeremiah 29:8).

Against the English

BSB, KJV, WEB and the major modern versions say 'deceived'. YLT has 'lifted thee up', following a look-alike root.

Used elsewhere in the period

Same verb, same subject, in Jeremiah 49:16. The Septuagint (epēren se) and Vulgate (extulit te) read 'lifted you up', taking the consonants as nasa', 'to lift'. Both roots are written נשא in Hebrew, and arrogance 'lifting up' the heart is a common image, so the confusion is understandable.

From the study of Psalm 55:15

Range of meaning

The verb nasha' (H5377) means 'to deceive, beguile, lead astray, take by surprise'. Examples: the serpent 'deceived' Eve (Gen 3:13); 'let not Hezekiah deceive you' (2 Kgs 18:29); 'the pride of your heart has deceived you' (Obad 3). In the causative form used here it means to cause someone to be caught off guard.

Against the English

KJV 'seize upon' and BSB 'seize them by surprise' stress the grabbing. NASB's 'come deceitfully' keeps the root idea of deception. ESV 'steal over' hints at stealth. YLT 'desolations' follows the written consonants instead.

How it drifted

This is not drift so much as an old textual puzzle. The consonants were written as one word (ketiv), but the reading tradition splits them into two (qere). Early translators who did not know the verb nasha' guessed at a general 'seize' or 'come'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has ἐλθέτω θάνατος ('let death come') and the Vulgate 'veniat mors'. Both smooth the phrase into simple arrival. BDB lists this verse under נָשָׁא II 'beguile', with the qere. In Canaanite myth from Ugarit, Mot (Death) is an active, devouring figure, which matches the picture of death as an agent.

From the study of Jeremiah 4:10

Range of meaning

Nasha' II is used only in the causative form, meaning 'to deceive, beguile, delude, lead someone to trust what will fail them'. It usually concerns false assurance about safety: a promise that lulls people into staying put.

Against the English

'Deceived' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB, NIV) is accurate. YLT's 'forgotten' comes from reading the form as a different verb, nashah 'to forget'. Almost no one now accepts that reading. NLT-style paraphrases that recast it as 'the people have been deceived by what you said' soften the direct accusation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 3:13 ('the serpent deceived me'); 2 Kings 18:29 and 19:10 / Isaiah 36:14 and 37:10, where the Assyrians warn: don't let Hezekiah or your God deceive you into thinking Jerusalem is safe. Jeremiah 29:8 (don't let your prophets deceive you); 37:9 ('do not deceive yourselves' that the Babylonians will leave); 49:16 and Obadiah 3 (pride has deceived you about your security).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 3:13 הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי <it> deceived me

    Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

    Here: "It led me astray by deceiving me", that is, it misled me into a false confidence. Elsewhere this verb is used for persuading someone to trust a falsehood (2 Kgs 18:29; Jer 29:8). It fits the serpent's assurance in 3:4, "You will not surely die."

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 18:29 יַשִּׁ֥יא he deceive

    This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.

  2. 2 Kings 19:10 יַשִּׁאֲךָ֣ he deceive you

    “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:15 יַשִּׁיא֩ he deceive

    So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!”

    Here: 'Let him not deceive you.' This is the verb Eve uses of the serpent (Gen 3:13). Sennacherib paints Hezekiah as a con-man feeding his people a false hope.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 55:15 יַשִּׁ֤י מָ֨וֶת׀ may it deceive death

    Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

    Here: A wish-form verb (jussive) meaning 'let it deceive / take unawares'. Death is pictured as an ambusher that springs on them when they think they are safe. It is fitting payback for people whose sin is deceit (vv. 11, 21).

  2. Psalm 89:22 יַשִּׁ֣א he will deceive

    No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 19:13 נִשְּׁא֖וּ they have been deceived

    The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are deceived. The cornerstones of her tribes have led Egypt astray.

  2. Isaiah 36:14 יַשִּׁ֥א he deceive

    This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you.

  3. Isaiah 37:10 יַשִּֽׁאֲךָ֣ he deceive you

    “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Jeremiah · 5

  1. Jeremiah 4:10 הַשֵּׁ֨א הִשֵּׁ֜אתָ certainly <to deceive>, you have deceived

    Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”

    Here: The verb repeated in its bare form for emphasis: 'utterly, completely deceived'. Hebrew uses this doubling to make the statement as strong as possible.

  2. Jeremiah 29:8 יַשִּׁ֧יאוּ they deceive

    For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.

    Here: 'Let them not beguile.' The word means leading someone into a false sense of security, the same verb as the serpent's deceiving (Gen 3:13) and the Assyrian taunt 'do not let Hezekiah deceive you' (2 Kgs 18:29).

  3. Jeremiah 37:9 תַּשִּׁ֤אוּ you deceive

    This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!

  4. Jeremiah 49:16 הִשִּׁ֤יא it has deceived

    The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

    Here: 'It has deceived, it has lured astray.' The same verb the serpent's work is described with in Genesis 3:13 and the word for false assurances (e.g. Jer 4:10; 29:8). The form is masculine singular, so grammatically its subject is 'the presumption of your heart', not the feminine 'terror'.

Obadiah · 2

  1. Obadiah 1:3 הִשִּׁיאֶ֔ךָ it has deceived you

    The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’

    Here: 'Has deceived you', 'has led you astray'. The verb is the one Eve uses of the serpent in Genesis 3:13. Edom's own arrogance has talked it into a false sense of safety.

  2. Obadiah 1:7 הִשִּׁיא֛וּךָ they will deceive you

    All the men allied with you will drive you to the border; the men at peace with you will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you without your awareness of it.

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