Hebrew word · H6066

עֹ֫נֶשׁ

'onesh

fine

A fine, penalty or indemnity, meaning money owed as a punishment. The noun occurs only here (with the parallel in 2 Chr 36:3) and in Prov 19:19 ("a man of great wrath will bear the penalty").

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

fine, penalty, indemnity

Aramaic equivalent: a.nash (עֲנָשׁ "confiscation" H6065)

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 2 Kings 23:33

Range of meaning

A fine, penalty or indemnity, meaning money owed as a punishment. The noun occurs only here (with the parallel in 2 Chr 36:3) and in Prov 19:19 ("a man of great wrath will bear the penalty"). The related verb ʿānaš means "to fine" or "to punish with a fine": Exod 21:22 (a man who causes a miscarriage "shall surely be fined"), Deut 22:19 (fined a hundred shekels for slandering his bride), and Prov 17:26; 21:11; 22:3.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "tribute" and BSB "levy", both of which suggest an ordinary tax or vassal payment. YLT's "fine" is closest to the Hebrew. The ordinary Hebrew word for tribute is a different one (minḥāh, as in 2 Kgs 17:3–4).

How it drifted

Older English translations made the word fit the political setting ("tribute") rather than its legal meaning, "penalty". Later translations followed them.

Used elsewhere in the period

Every other use of the root is legal or punitive: a payment imposed because of a wrong. The Septuagint of Proverbs renders the related idea with words for loss or penalty.

From the study of Proverbs 19:19

Range of meaning

A penalty imposed and paid, normally money: a fine, an indemnity, a levy. The noun is rare. Its root verb ʿānaš means 'to fine, to make pay' (Exod 21:22, a man fined for causing a miscarriage; Deut 22:19, fined a hundred shekels). In Proverbs the verb has the wider sense of 'suffer the cost' (Prov 17:26; 21:11; 22:3 / 27:12, where 'the simple go on and pay for it').

Against the English

KJV 'suffer punishment' and YLT 'punishment' are broad and abstract. BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB all say 'penalty', and BSB/WEB/NIV add 'pay', which is closer to the legal, monetary picture.

How it drifted

Older English 'punishment' covered judicial penalties in general. Modern readers in church tend to hear divine retribution or an abstract 'getting what you deserve,' which loses the concrete courtroom-and-cash picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kings 23:33: Pharaoh Neco 'imposed a fine (ʿōneš) on the land', a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold, a war indemnity. The verb is used in the case laws of Exod 21:22 and Deut 22:19 for court-set fines. Ancient Near Eastern law collections (e.g. the Laws of Hammurabi and the Hittite Laws) likewise settle bodily injuries with silver payments, and Exod 21:18–19 requires a man who injures another in a fight to pay for lost time and healing.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 23:33 עֹ֙נֶשׁ֙ a fine

    And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

    Here: "A fine". This is a penalty payment, not a routine yearly tax. The word suggests that Judah was being made to pay for something, most naturally Josiah's armed resistance at Megiddo and the crowning of a king Egypt had not approved.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 19:19 עֹ֑נֶשׁ [the] penalty

    A man of great anger must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do so again.

    Here: A concrete penalty, normally money paid as a fine or damages. It is not vague 'punishment.' A violent temper gets a man into brawls, injuries and lawsuits, and he ends up paying for them.

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