Hebrew word · H7332

רָזוֹן

razon

leanness

Leanness, emaciation, wasting. It also means scantiness, as in 'a short measure' (Mic 6:10). The root rzh means 'to be or become lean'. Zeph 2:11 uses it figuratively: God 'will make lean' all the gods of the earth, meaning he starves them of power and worship.

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

What it means

1) leanness, scantness, wasting

1a) leanness

1b) wasting (of disease)

1c) scantness (of measure)

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 10:16

Range of meaning

Leanness, emaciation, wasting. It also means scantiness, as in 'a short measure' (Mic 6:10). The root rzh means 'to be or become lean'. Zeph 2:11 uses it figuratively: God 'will make lean' all the gods of the earth, meaning he starves them of power and worship.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT 'leanness' is literal. BSB/NIV/NASB 'wasting disease' and ESV 'wasting sickness' make it a disease. NLT 'plague' narrows it further.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 106:15 uses the identical pairing of shalach (piel) plus razon: 'he gave them what they asked, but sent leanness (wayshallaḥ razon) into their souls', about the quail in the wilderness (Num 11). Isaiah 17:4 describes Jacob's glory being brought low and 'the fatness of his flesh made lean' (yeraz), the same fat-versus-lean contrast.

From the study of Micah 6:10

Range of meaning

Leanness, wasting away, emaciation. It comes from the root rzh, "to be or make thin". It is used of a body or life wasting away (Psalm 106:15, "he sent leanness into their soul"; Isaiah 10:16, "wasting among his stout warriors").

Against the English

"Short", "scant", "scanty" are accurate in meaning but lose the image of a measure that has been starved thin.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 106:15; Isaiah 10:16. A related verb appears in Zephaniah 2:11 ("he will starve all the gods of the earth").

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 106:15 רָז֣וֹן a wasting disease

    So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 10:16 רָז֑וֹן leanness

    Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.

    Here: Leanness or emaciation: the body being consumed. Set directly against 'fat ones', it describes strength draining away. The same verb-and-noun pair appears in Ps 106:15.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 6:10 רָז֖וֹן scantness

    Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?

    Here: Elsewhere this word describes a body wasting away (Psalm 106:15; Isaiah 10:16). An "ephah of leanness" is a measure that has been made thin and undersized, so the buyer pays for a full measure and takes home less.

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