Hebrew word · H6245

עָשַׁת

yit'ashet

to gleam

A rare verb, probably 'to be smooth, shiny, sleek.' The related noun ʿeshet is 'polished' or 'smooth' ivory in Song 5:14, and 'ʿāshôt' in Ezekiel 27:19 seems to describe worked or polished iron.

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

What it means

(Qal) to be smooth, be shiny, gleam

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 Jeremiah 5:28

Range of meaning

A rare verb, probably 'to be smooth, shiny, sleek.' The related noun ʿeshet is 'polished' or 'smooth' ivory in Song 5:14, and 'ʿāshôt' in Ezekiel 27:19 seems to describe worked or polished iron. Some lexicons suggest 'to be stout, thick.' A different root with the same letters means 'to think' (Jonah 1:6).

Against the English

Most versions say 'sleek' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB, NLT). KJV 'they shine' and YLT 'they have shone' are more literal about the gleam but can sound like a compliment ('they shine' as in excel).

How it drifted

Modern readers may hear KJV 'they shine' as praise. The Hebrew picture is the glossy skin of a well-fed animal.

Used elsewhere in the period

HALOT and BDB treat ʿšt I as 'be smooth, shiny', linked to ʿeshet in Song 5:14. The pairing with 'fat' recalls kāsîtā 'you became sleek/gorged' in Deuteronomy 32:15.

From the study of Jonah 1:6

Range of meaning

From a root meaning "think, plan, consider". In the reflexive form used here (Hithpael) it means "to bethink oneself", "give thought to", "take notice of". The related noun ʿeshtonot, "thoughts, plans", appears in Psalm 146:4 ("on that very day his plans perish"). The root is ordinary in Aramaic: in Daniel 6:3 (Aram. 6:4) the king "planned" (ʿashit) to set Daniel over the kingdom.

Against the English

KJV "think upon us", YLT "bethink himself of us", BSB "consider us", WEB "notice us", NIV "take notice of". All are within range. "Consider" can sound like weighing a case, while the Hebrew pictures a god who has so far been inattentive turning his mind toward them.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Biblical Hebrew it occurs only here as a verb in this sense, with the related noun in Psalm 146:4 and possibly Job 12:5. It is well attested in Biblical Aramaic (Dan 6:4) and in later Aramaic and Rabbinic Hebrew. The Septuagint paraphrases it as "so that God may save us" (hopōs diasōsē ho theos hēmas).

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 5:28 עָשְׁת֗וּ they have become smooth

    They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.

    Here: 'They have become sleek': glossy-skinned and polished, the look of the well-fed. This rare verb is related to the noun for 'polished ivory' in Song 5:14.

Jonah · 1

  1. Jonah 1:6 יִתְעַשֵּׁ֧ת he will give thought

    The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

    Here: A reflexive form: "will bethink himself", "will give a thought to". The captain pictures the deity turning his attention to them. The word is very rare in Hebrew but common in Aramaic.

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