Hebrew word · H6244

עָשֵׁשׁ

'asheshu

to waste

A very rare verb, found only in Psalm 6:7 (8 in Hebrew), 31:9 and 31:10. Lexicons give 'waste away, grow weak' (BDB). Some connect it to ʿāš, 'moth,' so 'moth-eaten, eaten away.' Others take it, in context, as 'grow dim' (of the eye). The exact nuance is uncertain.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to waste away, fail

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 Psalm 31:9

Range of meaning

A very rare verb, found only in Psalm 6:7 (8 in Hebrew), 31:9 and 31:10. Lexicons give 'waste away, grow weak' (BDB). Some connect it to ʿāš, 'moth,' so 'moth-eaten, eaten away.' Others take it, in context, as 'grow dim' (of the eye). The exact nuance is uncertain.

Against the English

'Waste away' or 'is wasted' (ESV, NASB, WEB), 'consumed' (KJV), 'fail' (BSB), 'grow weak' (NIV), 'become old' (YLT). All of these are educated guesses within a narrow range of slow decline.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Psalm 6:7 the same verb stands parallel to ʿātqāh, 'it has grown old/worn,' which is why YLT says 'become old.' In Psalm 31:10 it describes the bones. The Septuagint guesses 'was troubled' (etarachthē). Jerome's translation from the Hebrew is usually given as 'grew dark/dim.'

From the study of Psalm 31:10

Range of meaning

Waste away, become weak, wear out, grow dim. Found only in Ps 6:7 (Heb. 6:8), Ps 31:9 and Ps 31:10 (Heb. 31:10–11). Older lexicons (BDB) suggest a link with 'ash, 'moth', which would give the picture of being moth-eaten. HALOT simply gives 'become weak'.

Against the English

KJV: 'consumed'. BSB, WEB: 'wasting/wasted away'. YLT: 'become old', following an old tradition that also produced KJV's 'waxeth old' in Ps 6:7.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 6:7: 'my eye wastes away ('ashshah) from grief, it grows old because of all my foes'. The Greek there renders it 'grew old' (ἐπαλαιώθη), which explains YLT's 'become old'. In Ps 31 the verb appears in back-to-back verses: v. 9, eye, soul and belly; v. 10, bones.

Where it appears

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 6:7 עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה it has wasted away

    My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.

  2. Psalm 31:9 עָשְׁשָׁ֖ה it has wasted away

    Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.

    Here: A rare verb, found only here, in the next verse (of the bones), and in Psalm 6:7 (of the eye). It is feminine and agrees with 'eye.' It pictures something wearing down or fading, like vision dimming or tissue wasting.

  3. Psalm 31:10 עָשֵֽׁשׁוּ׃ they have wasted away

    For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.

    Here: A rare verb, used only three times and all in the Psalms. It was just used in v. 9 of the eye 'wasting from grief'. Now the bones themselves are eaten away, so the decline spreads from eyes to the whole frame.

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