Hebrew word · H820

אַשְׁמַנִּים

ba'ashmanim

strong

A word found only here, with a disputed meaning. (1) 'Robust, stout, well-fed ones', from the root sh-m-n ('fat, rich'; compare mishmannim, 'fatness / stout warriors', Gen 27:28; Isa 10:16), with an extra initial aleph. This is the view of most modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) the stout, among the stout

2) (CLBL) the desolate, like dead

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 Isaiah 59:10

Range of meaning

A word found only here, with a disputed meaning. (1) 'Robust, stout, well-fed ones', from the root sh-m-n ('fat, rich'; compare mishmannim, 'fatness / stout warriors', Gen 27:28; Isa 10:16), with an extra initial aleph. This is the view of most modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT). (2) 'Desolate places', linked with sh-m-m ('be desolate'), as in KJV and YLT. (3) 'Dark places', the Vulgate's in caliginosis.

Against the English

BSB 'among the vigorous', WEB 'among those who are strong', NIV 'among the strong', ESV 'in full vigor', NLT 'among the living' all follow view (1). KJV and YLT 'in desolate places' follow view (2).

How it drifted

Not drift, but a real lexical uncertainty. The KJV reading goes back to older Jewish and Christian guesses made before comparative Semitic study was available.

Used elsewhere in the period

No other occurrence. Supporting evidence for view (1) comes from the sh-m-n family of words for 'fatness' and the abundance it signals. The ancient versions differ: the Vulgate reads 'in dark places', and the LXX seems not to render the word directly ('like the dying they will groan').

Where it appears

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 59:10 בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים among the fat people

    Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

    Here: This word appears only here and its meaning is debated. Most modern lexicons take it as 'among the robust (literally fat, well-fed) ones', which sets up a sharp contrast with 'the dead'. Older tradition (Latin, KJV) read 'in dark/desolate places'.

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