אָשֵׁם

From the study of Genesis 42:21

Range of meaning

The '-sh-m word family covers one connected idea in three stages: (1) being at fault, having committed a wrong; (2) being liable for it, owing a debt that will be collected; (3) the payment that settles it (the noun asham, the "guilt" or "reparation" offering of Leviticus 5). The adjective ashem describes someone in that state: culpable and answerable.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB say "guilty," which states fault but to a modern ear sounds like either a feeling or a courtroom verdict. BSB and NIV say "we are being punished," which states the consequence but drops the admission of fault. Each half is in the Hebrew. Neither English choice says both.

How it drifted

Modern English "guilty" has narrowed toward either an inner emotion ("I feel guilty") or a legal status. The Hebrew word has a built-in sense of consequence that can't be avoided: wrongdoing creates a debt, and the debt comes looking for the debtor.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same family is used for liability to divine consequence in Gen 26:10 (Abimelech: "you would have brought asham on us"). It is central in Leviticus 4–5, where Jacob Milgrom argued that the verb often means "feel the weight of guilt" or "become liable" once the offense comes to light. The LXX renders the phrase here "we are in sin" (en hamartia), and the Vulgate "deservedly we suffer these things, because we sinned," so both ancient translators also read fault and consequence together.