Hebrew word · H936

בּוּז

boz

to despise

To despise, show contempt for, belittle, treat as of no account. In BDB and HALOT it is about how someone's worth is valued and treated. It covers scornful words, mocking gestures, dismissal and neglect.

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to despise, hold in contempt, hold as insignificant

1a) (Qal) to despise, show despite toward

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 14:21

Range of meaning

To despise, show contempt for, belittle, treat as of no account. In BDB and HALOT it is about how someone's worth is valued and treated. It covers scornful words, mocking gestures, dismissal and neglect. The related root bāzâ is used when Esau 'despised' his birthright (Gen 25:34), meaning he treated it as cheap.

Against the English

English 'despise' today often suggests intense loathing. The Hebrew focuses on demeaning: making someone small, treating them as negligible. NLT's 'belittle' (and the same idea in Prov 11:12) gets closer to the social act.

How it drifted

Mild. Modern 'despise' has moved toward an inner emotion, but bûz is outward behavior in a society built on honor and shame, where contempt lowered a person's standing in public.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 11:12 uses the very same phrase, bāz-lerēʿēhû: 'whoever belittles his fellow lacks sense', so the phrase looks like a stock wisdom expression. Prov 1:7 says fools 'despise' wisdom. Prov 23:22 says not to 'despise' your mother when she is old, which is contempt for the weak and dependent. Egyptian wisdom has the same concern: the Instruction of Amenemope (ch. 25) warns against laughing at a blind man or teasing a dwarf.

From the study of Proverbs 23:9

Range of meaning

To despise, hold in contempt, treat as worthless, belittle, deride. It often takes the preposition lĕ- for its object. It is the attitude of looking down on something, shown in scoffing or dismissal.

Against the English

'Despise' in modern English usually means intense loathing. Bûz is more about contempt: treating something as beneath notice or laughable. NIV's 'scorn' is close.

How it drifted

Older English 'despise' (from Latin despicere, 'to look down on') matched bûz well. Modern usage has shifted it toward hatred.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 1:7 ('fools despise wisdom and instruction'); 6:30 ('people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger'); 11:12; 13:13; 30:17 (the eye that 'scorns obeying a mother'); Song 8:7 ('he would be utterly despised'). The Septuagint here uses mykterizō, 'to turn up the nose at, sneer at.'

From the study of Proverbs 30:17

Range of meaning

To despise or hold in contempt, to treat as trivial or not worth attention. In Proverbs it is used for despising wisdom and discipline (1:7), a neighbour (11:12; 14:21), and a mother (23:22).

Against the English

"Scorns" and "despises" are both accurate. The Hebrew picture is weight: what you despise you treat as weighing nothing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its opposite in the Ten Commandments is kabbed, "honour," from the root for "heavy" (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). Deuteronomy 27:16 curses whoever "dishonours" (treats lightly) father or mother.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 8

  1. Proverbs 1:7 בָּֽזוּ׃ פ they despise

    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

    Here: To treat with contempt, to look down on as worthless. The verb form often states a settled, timeless fact in proverbs: this is how fools always behave, not just a report of one past event.

  2. Proverbs 6:30 יָב֣וּזוּ people despise

    Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger.

  3. Proverbs 11:12 בָּז־ [one who] despises

    Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks judgment, but a man of understanding remains silent.

  4. Proverbs 13:13 בָּ֣ז [one who] despises

    He who despises instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.

    Here: A participle, so it describes a type of person: 'the one who sneers at'. The word means to treat something as worthless and not worth attention. It describes an attitude of contempt, not a single slip.

  5. Proverbs 14:21 בָּז־ [one who] despises

    He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.

    Here: A participle, so it describes a person by what he habitually does: 'the one who looks down on'. It is mainly about treating someone as worthless through scorn, mockery or brushing them aside. It is less about a feeling of hatred, which is the word used in verse 20.

  6. Proverbs 23:9 יָ֝ב֗וּז he will despise

    Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

    Here: 'He will treat it as worthless, look down on it, scoff at it.' The verb is about belittling and dismissing, not raging hatred. It echoes Prov 1:7: 'fools despise wisdom and instruction.'

  7. Proverbs 23:22 תָּ֝ב֗וּז you despise

    Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

    Here: To treat someone as cheap and not worth regarding: brushing aside her words, neglecting her, treating her as a burden. It describes how you treat her and how you rate her, not only a feeling of hatred.

  8. Proverbs 30:17 וְתָב֪וּז so it may despise

    As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.

    Here: "And it holds in contempt": treating something as worthless and of no weight. This is the exact opposite of the command to "honour" (literally "give weight to") father and mother.

Song of Songs · 3

  1. Song of Songs 8:1 יָב֥וּזוּ people will despise

    O that you were to me like a brother who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.

  2. Song of Songs 8:7 בּ֖וֹז יָב֥וּזוּ certainly <to despise>, people will despise

    Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 4:10 בַז֮ has he despised

    For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

    Here: Perfect tense: 'has looked down on'. The scorn had already happened. It means treating something as worthless or not worth bothering about, not hating it with passion.

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