Hebrew word · H7195

קֶ֫שֶׁר

kesher

conspiracy

It comes from the root qšr, 'to tie, bind'. The noun means people 'tied together' against someone: a plot, conspiracy, treasonous league, or revolt. In the Hebrew Bible it is almost always negative and political: a plot against a reigning king or an overlord.

Appears 16 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

conspiracy, treason, (unlawful) alliance

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 8:12

Range of meaning

It comes from the root qšr, 'to tie, bind'. The noun means people 'tied together' against someone: a plot, conspiracy, treasonous league, or revolt. In the Hebrew Bible it is almost always negative and political: a plot against a reigning king or an overlord. It does not mean a neutral alliance between states.

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB have 'conspiracy', which is accurate. The KJV's 'confederacy' turns it into a formal league between nations. That reflects the KJV translators' view that the Aram–Israel coalition is meant, but it softens the sense of sedition. WEB keeps 'conspiracy'.

How it drifted

Two things blur the word. 'Confederacy' in early modern English meant a league, often a sworn one, and today American readers hear the Civil War Confederacy. 'Conspiracy' now calls up 'conspiracy theories' about hidden elites. In Hebrew the word was a charge of treason, the kind of accusation that could get a person killed.

Used elsewhere in the period

Athaliah cries 'Qešer, qešer!' ('Treason! Treason!') when she is overthrown (2 Kgs 11:14). It names the coups that toppled one northern king after another in Isaiah's own lifetime: Shallum (2 Kgs 15:15), Pekah against Pekahiah (15:25, 30), Hoshea against Pekah (15:30). Hoshea's secret dealings with Egypt against Assyria are called qešer (2 Kgs 17:4). Amaziah accuses the prophet Amos: 'Amos has conspired (qāšar) against you' (Amos 7:10), so a prophet could be charged with treason in these very words. Jeremiah 11:9 also uses the word. The Latin Vulgate renders it coniuratio, a 'sworn plot'.

From the study of Ezekiel 22:25

Range of meaning

From the root q-sh-r, 'to tie, bind'. The noun means a binding together of people for a hidden purpose: a conspiracy, a plot, treason. It is almost always used in a political setting, for plots against a king or the established order.

Against the English

English translations agree on 'conspiracy'. NLT turns the noun into a verb ('plot'). The English word fits, but readers may picture a secret cabal, while the verse goes on to describe open, roaring violence.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Sam 15:12 (Absalom's conspiracy); 1 Kgs 16:20 (Zimri); 2 Kgs 11:14, where Athaliah cries 'Treason, treason!' (qesher qesher); 2 Kgs 12:20; 15:15. Jer 11:9 uses it for the men of Judah as a group conspiring against God's covenant, and Isa 8:12 for what the people call 'conspiracy'.

From the study of 2 Samuel 15:12

Range of meaning

A binding together, a league, a conspiracy. It comes from the verb qashar, 'to tie, bind' (used of tying a cord or binding something to the hand, and figuratively of souls being 'bound' together, Gen 44:30; 1 Sam 18:1). As a political term, qesher and the verb 'to conspire' (qashar 'al) describe sworn plots against a reigning king. It can also be used loosely of treachery in general (Jer 11:9; Ezek 22:25).

Against the English

'Conspiracy' (KJV, BSB, ESV, WEB) is accurate. English loses the physical picture of binding, of men 'tied' to one another and to Absalom by oaths and shared risk. YLT keeps 'conspiracy' too.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for coups in Israel and Judah: Zimri's plot (1 Kgs 16:20), Shallum (2 Kgs 15:15), the plot against Joash (2 Kgs 12:20). Athaliah cries 'Qesher, qesher!', 'Treason, treason!' (2 Kgs 11:14). In Isa 8:12 'do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy' shows it was the stock political charge of the day.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 15:12 הַקֶּ֙שֶׁר֙ the conspiracy

    While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.

    Here: From qashar, 'to tie, bind'. It is a band of people bound together against a ruler, the standard Hebrew term for treason against a king (compare Athaliah's cry 'Qesher! Qesher!', 2 Kgs 11:14).

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 16:20 וְקִשְׁר֖וֹ and conspiracy his

    As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2 Kings · 7

  1. 2 Kings 11:14 קֶ֥שֶׁר קָֽשֶׁר׃ ס treason

    And she looked out and saw the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

  2. 2 Kings 12:20 קָ֑שֶׁר a conspiracy

    And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.

  3. 2 Kings 14:19 קֶ֛שֶׁר a conspiracy

    And conspirators plotted against Amaziah in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.

  4. 2 Kings 15:15 וְקִשְׁר֖וֹ and conspiracy his

    As for the rest of the acts of Shallum, along with the conspiracy he led, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

  5. 2 Kings 15:30 קֶ֜שֶׁר a conspiracy

    Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.

  6. 2 Kings 17:4 קֶ֗שֶׁר treason

    But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.

2 Chronicles · 3

  1. 2 Chronicles 23:13 קֶ֥שֶׁר קָֽשֶׁר׃ ס treason

    And she looked and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!”

  2. 2 Chronicles 25:27 קֶ֛שֶׁר a conspiracy

    From the time that Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 8:12 קֶ֔שֶׁר קָ֑שֶׁר conspiracy

    “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

    Here: The word people were shouting: 'Conspiracy!' / 'Treason!' It was a political charge of plotting against the state or the king. Isaiah's group must not take up the cry.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 11:9 קֶ֙שֶׁר֙ a conspiracy

    And the LORD told me, “There is a conspiracy among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 22:25 קֶ֤שֶׁר a conspiracy of

    The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.

    Here: A 'binding together' of people for a hidden political aim. Elsewhere the word is used for plots against kings and for treason. Here it pictures a ruling group acting together against its own city.

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