Hebrew word · H7568

רֶ֫שֶׁת

reshet

net

A net, usually for hunting birds or animals. It was spread on the ground or over a pit so the prey's feet caught in it. Used figuratively for hidden schemes against someone. It also appears in Exodus as the bronze 'grating' (network) of the altar.

Appears 22 times in 21 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) net

1a) net

1a1) for catching

1a2) of judgment (fig)

1a3) of leaders leading people to sin

1a4) as a trap for man

1b) network (brazen-for altar of tabernacle)

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 Proverbs 29:5

Range of meaning

A net, usually for hunting birds or animals. It was spread on the ground or over a pit so the prey's feet caught in it. Used figuratively for hidden schemes against someone. It also appears in Exodus as the bronze 'grating' (network) of the altar.

Against the English

English 'net' tends to suggest fishing. Here it is a trap on land, laid where a creature walks and meant to catch the feet.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 1:17 'in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird'. Ps 57:6 (Heb 57:7): 'they prepared a net for my steps (lifʿamai)', almost the same wording as this verse. Ps 140:5 (Heb 140:6): 'they spread (parsu) a net by the wayside'. Ps 9:15: 'in the net they hid, their own foot is caught'. Ps 35:7-8 and Lam 1:13. Egyptian tomb paintings show fowlers using large clap-nets in marshes.

From the study of Psalm 57:6

Range of meaning

Reshet is a net, mostly for hunting or fowling. It is also the bronze grating of the altar (Exod 27:4), which shows the basic idea is a lattice or mesh. Shîḥāh is a dug pit, rare and always hostile: a pitfall dug to catch someone.

Against the English

English 'net' and 'pit' are accurate. What a modern reader may miss is that the two go together as one hunting method: a pit dug in the path, often with a net over it or laid alongside, to catch large game.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 19:4, 8 describes the capture of a lion with the same pairing: 'they spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit.' Psalms 9:15, 35:7–8 and 140:5 use the net-and-pit picture for enemies' schemes. Near Eastern art (see Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World) shows gods and kings catching enemies in nets, and Mesopotamian texts use netting as a picture of capture.

From the study of Hosea 5:1

Range of meaning

A net for catching birds or animals (Prov 1:17; Ezek 12:13), also a net-like lattice (Exod 27:4). Figuratively, the hidden scheme of the wicked (Ps 9:15; 140:5) or God's judgment closing in (Hos 7:12; Ezek 12:13).

Against the English

'Net' is accurate. 'Spread' captures the participle perusah, which shows the net already laid out and waiting.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea 7:12 turns the image around: 'I will spread (paras) my net (reshet) over them; I will bring them down like birds of the sky.' The same verb and noun appear in Ps 140:5. The Septuagint uses diktyon.

Where it appears

Exodus · 4

  1. Exodus 27:4 רֶ֣שֶׁת הָרֶ֗שֶׁת a net of, the net

    Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh.

  2. Exodus 27:5 הָרֶ֔שֶׁת the net

    Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar.

  3. Exodus 38:4 רֶ֣שֶׁת a net of

    He made a grate of bronze mesh for the altar under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom.

Job · 1

  1. Job 18:8 בְּרֶ֣שֶׁת in a net

    For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.

Psalms · 8

  1. Psalm 9:15 בְּרֶֽשֶׁת־ in [the] net

    The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

    Here: A hunter's or fowler's net, often laid over or beside a pit and covered so that the animal steps into it unawares (compare Ps 35:7; 57:6).

  2. Psalm 10:9 בְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ in net his

    He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.

    Here: 'In his net': a hunter's trapping net for birds or game, even lions (Ezekiel 19:8). The lion has turned into a trapper, and the word quietly recalls Psalm 9:15, where the wicked are caught in their own hidden net.

  3. Psalm 25:15 מֵרֶ֣שֶׁת from [the] net

    My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.

    Here: "From the net": a hunter's net, hidden on the ground or spread over a pit to catch birds and animals. In the Psalms it pictures the hidden schemes of enemies (see verse 19).

  4. Psalm 31:4 מֵרֶ֣שֶׁת from [the] net

    You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge.

  5. Psalm 35:7 רִשְׁתָּ֑ם net their

    For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.

    Here: A fowler's or hunter's net. Read with the word before it ('pit of their net'), it pictures a pit covered or lined with a net: one concealed trap.

  6. Psalm 35:8 וְרִשְׁתּ֣וֹ and net his

    May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

    Here: A hunter's or fowler's net, here 'his' own net. It points straight back to verse 7, where the enemies hid 'their net' for the psalmist.

  7. Psalm 57:6 רֶ֤שֶׁת׀ a net

    They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah

    Here: A hunter's or fowler's net, spread on the ground or over a pit to catch animals and birds. It comes first in the Hebrew for emphasis: 'A net is what they set up.'

  8. Psalm 140:5 רֶ֭שֶׁת a net

    The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah

    Here: A hunting net, laid on the ground or thrown. It is the third piece of trapping gear in the verse.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 1:17 הָרָ֑שֶׁת the net

    How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!

    Here: 'The net': the fowler's net, a standard trapping device and a common image in Hebrew poetry for the hidden danger that catches the unwary.

  2. Proverbs 29:5 רֶ֝֗שֶׁת a net

    A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

    Here: A hunter's or fowler's net, laid out on the ground to catch a bird or animal by the feet. It stands for a hidden trap you walk into without seeing it.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 1:13 רֶ֤שֶׁת a net

    He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.

    Here: A fowler's or hunter's net laid on the ground or spread over a pit to catch an animal's legs. Ezekiel uses the same words for God trapping Judah's king: 'I will spread my net over him' (Ezek 12:13; 17:20).

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 12:13 רִשְׁתִּי֙ net my

    But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and there he will die.

    Here: "My net." The ordinary word for a net used to catch birds or game. The word "my" matters: it is God's net, not just Babylon's.

  2. Ezekiel 17:20 רִשְׁתִּ֔י net my

    I will spread My net over him and catch him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there for the treason he committed against Me.

    Here: "My net": a fowler's or hunter's net. The word "my" carries the weight: the net is God's, not just Nebuchadnezzar's.

  3. Ezekiel 19:8 רִשְׁתָּ֖ם net their

    Then the nations set out against him from the provinces on every side. They spread their net over him; he was trapped in their pit.

  4. Ezekiel 32:3 רִשְׁתִּ֔י net my

    This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.

Hosea · 2

  1. Hosea 5:1 וְרֶ֖שֶׁת and a net

    “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

    Here: 'And a net': a hunter's or fowler's mesh net, a second hunting image paired with the trap.

  2. Hosea 7:12 רִשְׁתִּ֔י net my

    As they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them when I hear them flocking together.

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