Hebrew word · H7567
רָשַׁשׁ
yeroshesh
to beat
A rare verb, 'to beat down, shatter, demolish'. It appears here in an intensive form and in Malachi 1:4 ('we are beaten down'), where Edom speaks of its ruined cities. BDB and HALOT keep it separate from רוּשׁ, 'to be poor'.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to beat down, shatter
1a) (Poel) to beat down, shatter
1b) (Pual) to be beaten down
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 5:17
- Range of meaning
A rare verb, 'to beat down, shatter, demolish'. It appears here in an intensive form and in Malachi 1:4 ('we are beaten down'), where Edom speaks of its ruined cities. BDB and HALOT keep it separate from רוּשׁ, 'to be poor'.
- Against the English
KJV 'impoverish' and YLT 'maketh poor' take it as the 'poverty' root. Modern versions ('beat down', 'shatter', 'destroy', 'demolish') follow the 'shatter' sense, which fits walled cities and the sword much better.
- How it drifted
The older rendering came from linking the verb to the similar-looking root for poverty. Lexicons since BDB have separated the two.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Malachi 1:4 uses it of a land whose buildings are ruined and must be rebuilt. The Greek Septuagint here is commonly cited as 'they will thresh' (a crushing image), and the Latin Vulgate has conteret, 'will crush'. Both point to physical destruction, not loss of wealth.
- Range of meaning
A rare verb, found only here and in Jeremiah 5:17, where an invader "will beat down / shatter your fortified cities". It means to smash or batter down, especially buildings and defences. The form here is passive and intensive: "we have been thoroughly smashed". BDB and HALOT both give "beat down, shatter".
- Against the English
BSB "devastated", WEB "beaten down", and modern versions "shattered" or "crushed" are all accurate. KJV "impoverished" and YLT "made poor" look like they come from linking the word to the similar-sounding root rûš, "to be poor". That gives an economic picture where the Hebrew describes physical destruction.
- How it drifted
Not drift over time so much as an old guess at a rare word. Jeremiah 5:17 settles the sense as physical smashing. Being poor can follow from it but is not what the word says.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Jer 5:17 (poel form, of fortified cities). The Septuagint has katestraptai, "she has been overturned", and the Vulgate destructi sumus, "we have been destroyed". Both understood ruin, not poverty.
Where it appears
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 5:17 יְרֹשֵׁ֞שׁ it will shatter
They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”
Here: An intensive form of a rare verb meaning to beat down or shatter. Its only other clear use is Malachi 1:4, of Edom 'beaten down'. The KJV's 'impoverish' follows a similar-sounding root meaning 'be poor'.
Malachi · 1
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Malachi 1:4 רֻשַּׁ֗שְׁנוּ we have been shattered
Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
Here: "We have been smashed / beaten down." The form is passive and intensive. It describes something already done to Edom, the way fortified cities are battered down (Jer 5:17). Edom admits the damage but not that it is final.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.