Hebrew word · H5805

עֲזוּבָה

ha'azuvah

desolation

Formally the feminine passive participle of 'azav, 'to leave, let go, abandon, forsake': 'the abandoned/forsaken one'. Used as a noun it means 'abandoned area, desertion, deserted place'.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

forsakenness, desolation

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 Isaiah 6:12

Range of meaning

Formally the feminine passive participle of 'azav, 'to leave, let go, abandon, forsake': 'the abandoned/forsaken one'. Used as a noun it means 'abandoned area, desertion, deserted place'. 'Azav covers leaving a place, abandoning a person, and Israel abandoning God (Isa 1:4, 'they have forsaken YHWH').

Against the English

KJV has 'a great forsaking' and WEB/ESV/NASB 'the forsaken places are many'. BSB and NIV make it an adverb plus adjective: 'the land is utterly forsaken'. YLT has 'the forsaken part'. BSB/NIV read smoothly but lose the picture of abandonment spreading and multiplying.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah uses the same word in reverse: 'You shall no more be called Forsaken ('azuvah)' (62:4), and 'instead of your being forsaken and hated' (60:15). He also uses the image of 'a wife forsaken ('azuvah) and grieved in spirit' (54:6). Isaiah 7:16 and 17:2, 9 speak of land and cities being 'forsaken'. Strong's lists H5805 as a noun found only here. As a name, 'Azubah' is borne by women in 1 Kings 22:42 and 1 Chronicles 2:18.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 6:12 הָעֲזוּבָ֖ה the abandoned [land]

    until the LORD has driven men far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

    Here: In form, a feminine passive participle of 'azav ('to leave, abandon, forsake'): 'the abandoned [one]'. The feminine fits an implied 'land' or 'territory', so it means the abandoned area, the deserted places. The word is relational as well as physical: Isaiah uses it of a wife left by her husband (54:6) and of Zion called 'Forsaken' (62:4).

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