Hebrew word · H7370
רָחַשׁ
rachash
to overflow
To stir, to be in motion, to bubble or seethe. It appears as a verb only here in the Hebrew Bible. A related noun, marḥešet (Lev 2:7; 7:9), is a deep pan or pot in which grain offerings were cooked in oil, probably named for the bubbling of what was cooked in it.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Qal) to keep moving, stir
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
- Range of meaning
To stir, to be in motion, to bubble or seethe. It appears as a verb only here in the Hebrew Bible. A related noun, marḥešet (Lev 2:7; 7:9), is a deep pan or pot in which grain offerings were cooked in oil, probably named for the bubbling of what was cooked in it. Later Hebrew uses the root for moving or stirring, including lips moving as someone murmurs (later usage; moderate confidence).
- Against the English
KJV 'is inditing' (composing). BSB/NIV 'is stirred.' WEB/ESV/NASB 'overflows.' NLT reverses the direction, so that beautiful words stir the heart. 'Overflows' and 'stirred' each hold half the picture: the bubbling motion and the spilling over.
- How it drifted
KJV's 'inditing' comes from the Geneva Bible tradition and reads the verb by its result (composing). Later English readers no longer know the word 'indite.'
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint has exēreuxato, 'belched forth, poured out,' a vivid picture of something welling up uncontrollably. The Vulgate follows with eructavit. Both early translators understood the verb as forceful, involuntary overflow, not quiet reflection.
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 45:1 רָ֘חַ֤שׁ it is aroused
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies.” A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses to the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
Here: Used as a verb only here in the Bible. Its relative is the word for a deep cooking pot (Lev 2:7; 7:9), so the picture is of something bubbling up and over. The poet's mind is teeming, boiling over with what it has to say.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.