Hebrew word · H611

אָסוֹן

'ason

harm

A serious disaster or fatal harm. Outside this passage it appears only in Gen 42:4, 38 and 44:29, where Jacob fears that ason will 'befall' Benjamin on the journey, which he equates with going down to the grave in grief.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

evil, mischief, harm, hurt

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 Exodus 21:22

Range of meaning

A serious disaster or fatal harm. Outside this passage it appears only in Gen 42:4, 38 and 44:29, where Jacob fears that ason will 'befall' Benjamin on the journey, which he equates with going down to the grave in grief.

Against the English

KJV 'mischief' (in 1611 this meant harm or calamity); BSB and NIV 'no further injury' or 'serious injury'; WEB 'harm'. The word 'further' is not in the Hebrew.

How it drifted

'Mischief' now suggests playful naughtiness. 'Further' quietly assumes the birth itself was not the harm, which supports the premature-birth reading.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX translates it with exeikonismenon ('fully formed'), turning the condition into one about the fetus. Rabbinic tradition (Mekhilta; m. Bava Qamma 5:4) takes ason to mean harm to the woman, specifically her death, and treats the fetus as a matter for money compensation.

From the study of Exodus 21:23

Range of meaning

A calamity or mishap that befalls a person, apparently a serious and often fatal one. It occurs only five times in the Hebrew Bible: here and in v. 22, and three times in the Joseph story (Gen 42:4, 38; 44:29). There Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt 'lest 'asôn befall him'. He spells out what he fears: 'if 'asôn befalls him … you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol' (the grave). Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'mischief, evil, harm' or 'fatal accident'. In later Hebrew the word becomes a standard term for disaster, and it still means 'disaster' in modern Hebrew.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'mischief' meant harm or misfortune in 1611 but now suggests pranks. BSB and NIV 'serious injury' and ESV 'harm' are accurate in direction but may be too mild if the word leans toward a fatal outcome. NASB 'any further injury' adds 'further', which is not in the Hebrew. It assumes the early birth in v. 22 was itself an injury and so already decides one side of the debate.

How it drifted

English 'mischief' weakened over centuries from 'harm, misfortune' to 'playful naughtiness'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 42:4, 38; 44:29 (Jacob's fear for Benjamin, tied to death and Sheol). The Septuagint does not translate it as 'harm' in Exodus 21. It reads 'formed/unformed' (see textual notes). In Genesis it uses malakia ('sickness, weakness'). The Latin Vulgate interprets Exod 21:23 as 'but if her death follows'.

From the study of Genesis 42:38

Range of meaning

Serious harm, calamity, disaster, very likely including death. It is a rare word, used only five times.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV and WEB have 'harm'. KJV and YLT have 'mischief', which in 1611 meant injury or misfortune but now suggests playful naughtiness. NLT softens it to 'anything should happen'.

How it drifted

English 'mischief' has weakened since the 17th century. It once meant real harm or evil done, and now usually means pranks.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 42:4, 42:38 and 44:29 (all from Jacob's mouth, about Benjamin), and Exodus 21:22-23, where 'if there is no ʾāsôn' and 'if there is ʾāsôn' separate cases that need a fine from cases that need 'life for life'. The Septuagint takes it as malakia, 'weakness/sickness', in Genesis and translates differently in Exodus.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 42:4 אָסֽוֹן׃ harm

    But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”

  2. Genesis 42:38 אָסוֹן֙ harm

    But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

    Here: Serious, probably fatal, misfortune, not minor trouble. Jacob used the same word when he first kept Benjamin home (42:4), and he repeats it in 44:29. Its only other uses are in Exodus 21:22-23.

  3. Genesis 44:29 אָס֑וֹן harm

    Now if you also take this one from me and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 21:22 אָס֑וֹן harm

    If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.

    Here: A rare word for a serious, probably fatal, disaster (Jacob's fear for Benjamin, Gen 42:4, 38; 44:29). The text does not say whose harm it means, the woman's or the child's. That gap is the center of the debate.

  2. Exodus 21:23 אָס֖וֹן harm

    But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—

    Here: A rare word for a calamity that strikes someone, probably a deadly or grievous one. It is the hinge of the case: with no 'asôn the striker pays a fine (v. 22), and with 'asôn the talion formula applies. The verse does not say who suffers it, the woman or (on some readings) the child, and that is one of the main points of debate.

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