Hebrew word · H7446

רִסָּה

merisah

Rissah

A place name occurring only in Numbers 33:21–22. Its etymology is uncertain. One proposal links it to the root behind rəsîsîm, 'dew-drops' (Song of Songs 5:2), and rāsas, 'to moisten' (Ezekiel 46:14). Another links it to a root meaning 'to break, crush', hence 'ruin'.

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

What it means

§ Rissah = "ruin"

a station of Israel in the wilderness

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 Numbers 33:21

Range of meaning

A place name occurring only in Numbers 33:21–22. Its etymology is uncertain. One proposal links it to the root behind rəsîsîm, 'dew-drops' (Song of Songs 5:2), and rāsas, 'to moisten' (Ezekiel 46:14). Another links it to a root meaning 'to break, crush', hence 'ruin'.

Against the English

All English versions simply transliterate it, which is right. Nothing should be built on the meaning of the name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Not mentioned in any other biblical narrative. Some scholars have compared it with the 'Rasa' of late Roman road lists in the southern Negev or Arabah region, but the link is uncertain. The Septuagint renders the name in Greek letters as Ressa/Ressan.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 33:21 בְּרִסָּֽה׃ at Rissah

    They set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

    Here: 'At Rissah', a stopping place mentioned only here and in verse 22. Nobody knows where it was. The meaning of the name is also uncertain: some link it to a root meaning 'drops (of dew)' or 'to moisten', others to 'ruin' or 'breaking'.

  2. Numbers 33:22 מֵרִסָּ֑ה from Rissah

    They set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

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