דָּשֵׁן
fat
‘fat’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
1 distinct verse where H1879 appears in the Construct state, across 1 book. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Psalms 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
דשן (dâshên) is a Hebrew word most often rendered “fat.” A scarce word — 3 verses in all of the Hebrew Bible. Psalms dominates its distribution — 2 of 3 verses. It first appears in Psalms 22:29. It is not a single-sense word — see its full sense range. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1879 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,179
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,179 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3 occurrences in the concordance →
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 2 verses · 67%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 33%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: All they that be fat 1×, Shall be fat 1×, They shall be fat 1×
- American Standard Version†: All the fat 1×, Shall be fat 1×, They shall be full of sap 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Rich 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Fat of 1×, Juicy 1×, Rich 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1879 across 3† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1879 across 3† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1879 across 3† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1879 across 3† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel) and Hothp (the passive of Hithpael).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 4 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
דשן I be fat, grow fat (Arabic دَسِمَ
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. וְדָשֵׁן consec. Dt 31:20 (JE) fig. of Isr.’s prosperity. e.g. Deuteronomy 31:20
Piel
- Pf. דִּשַּׁנְתָּ ψ 23:5; וְדִשְּׁנוּ consec. Nu 4:13; Impf.: יְדַשְּׁנֶה־סֶּֽלָה ψ 20:4 volunt. (cf. Ges§ 48, 3 De; but perhaps read sf. -נֶהָ, -נָהּ v. Ki Gesl.c.); 3 fs. תְּדַשֶּׁן־ Pr 15:30; Inf. לְדַשְּׁנוֹ Ex 27:3—causat. make fat ד׳ בשׁמן ראשׁי i.e. anoint, symbol of festivity and joy ψ 23:5; ד׳ עָ֑צֶם Pr 15:30 of bodily effect of good news; ד׳ עולה find a burnt-offering fat = acceptable ψ 20:4; elsewhere denom. from דֶּשֶׁן (fat ashes);—take away, clear away the fat ashes (acc. of altar cleared) Nu 4:13 (P), so סירות לְדַשְּׁנוֹ Ex 27:3 (P). e.g. Psalms 23:5
Pual
- Impf. יְדֻשָּׁ֑ן Pr 28:25 Is 34:7; 3 fs. תְּדֻשָּׁן Pr 11:25; 13:4—pass. of causat. Pi. be made fat, of dust saturated מֵחֵלֶב Is 34:7; fig. of prosperity of the liberal Pr 11:25, the diligent 13:4, the trustful 28:25. e.g. Proverbs 28:25
Hothp
- Pf. 3 fs. הֻדַּ֫שְׁנָה (cf. Ol§ 271 Ges§ 54, 3) Is 34:6, of Yahweh’s sword:—it hath fattened itself מֵחֶלֶב (‖ מָֽלְאָה דָּם). e.g. Isaiah 34:6
דשן II fat, דָּשֵׁן Is 30
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. be fat, grow fat (Arabic دَسِمَ; whence also دَسَمٌ grease, fat; NH דִּשֵּׁן make fat, cf. NH דֶּשֶׁן fat)—
II. adj. fat, דָּשֵׁן Is 30:23 (‖ שָׁמֵן), of לֶחֶם as product of ground; fig. of righteous as trees דְּשֵׁנִים ψ 92:15 (‖ רעננים) fat, full of oil (?) or sap (Che; cf. דֶּשֶׁן Ju 9:9); as subst. vigorous, stalwart ones (opp. יוֹרְדֵי עָפָר cf. Che) ψ 22:30 דִּשְׁנֵי־ אֶרֶץ (Brüll שֹׁכְנֵי, RenanHist. iii. 134 ישְׁבֵי).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from דשן (dâshên) (H1878) — to be fat.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
דָּשֵׁן
- to be moist, sappy, fat.
- 1. to bless with rich pastures. Ber. 29ᵃ דַּשְּׁנֵנוּ בנאות וכ׳ (cmp. Ps. XXIII, 2) give us pasture on the meadows of thy land. e.g. Psalms 23:2
- 2. (b. h.; to remove the ashes, to clean (the lamps). Tam. III, 9 מְדַשְּׁנָן trims them. Yoma II, 3 מי מְדַשֵּׁן וכ׳ who shall do the cleaning of the inner altar. Tam. III, 1; a. e.
- 1. to become sappy, vigorous. Pirké d’R. El. ch. XXXII, end.
- 2. to be treated like the charred wick, to become unfit for sacred use. Men. 88ᵇ ני׳ השמן נִידַּשְּׁנָה וכ׳ the oil as well as the wick has become unfit.
דֶּשֶׁן
- v. preced.)
- 1. fat, honorary gift, v. next w.
- 2. ashes (of burnt flesh &c.). Zeb. V, 2, a. fr. בֵּית הד׳ the place where the ashes of sacrifices were deposited.—Pl. דְּשָׁנִין. Ib. 104ᵇ שלש בֵּית הַדְּשָׁנִין(!)
שֵׁן
- c. (b. h.;
- 1. tooth, tooth-like projection. Sabb. VI, 5 (64ᵇ) שן תותבת ושן של זהב an inserted (natural) tooth or an (artificial) gold tooth; (Bab. ed. שן תותכת שן וכ׳, Ms. O. ושן, v. Rashi a. l.). Ib. 10, v. שׁוּעָל; a. fr.—Esp. (sub. נזק) the damage done by an animal’s eating. B. Kam. 2ᵇ שלשה … הקרן והשן והרגל three chief damages are mentioned (in the Scriptural text) with reference to the ox: damage by the horn, by the tooth, and by the foot. Ib. תולדה דשן, v. נְשִׁיכָה. Ib. שן יש הנאה וכ׳, v. הֶיזֵּק. Ib. אשן ורגל it refers to damages by the tooth and by the foot; שן ורגל היכא כתיבי where is the damage by the tooth or the foot written (in the Biblical text)? Ib. ובער זו השן ubhiʿer (Ex. XXII, 4) this refers to damage by the tooth; a. fr.—Du. שִׁנַּיִים, שִׁנַּיִם, שִׁי׳. Ḥull. I, 2 בכל … והש׳ you may cut ritually with anything, except … with teeth in the jaw. Ib. ואם החליקו שִׁינֶּיהָ and if the teeth of the saw have been made smooth. Keth. 71ᵇ בין שיניה, v. אֶצְבַּע. Ib. 16ᵃ, v. כֶּרֶס. Kel. XIII, 8 שניטלו שִׁינָּיו (a hackle) whose teeth are broken off. Gen. R. s. 33 חשש רבי את שיניו וכ׳ Rabbi suffered from tooth-ache for thirteen years. Keth. 111ᵇ טוב המלבין ש׳ וכ׳ he who causes his neighbor to show the white of his teeth (who makes him cheerful) does better than he who gives him milk to drink. Ib. א"ת לבן ש׳ אלא לבון ש׳ read not l’ben shinnayim (Gen. XLIX, 12) but libbun shinnayim (whitening of teeth, cheerfulness); a. fr.— any organ of the body resembling teeth, gland.—Du. as ab. Y. Yeb. VI, beg. 7ᵇ בית הש׳ that part of the vagina which has glands; מבין הש׳ ולפנים from the glands and farther inside; Nidd. 41ᵇ. Ḥull. 16ᵇ שיניו נושרות the glands of his rectum will fall off; Sabb. 82ᵃ; a. e. e.g. Exodus 22:4
- 3. cliff, peak. Gen. R. s. 74 כשן הזה של וכ׳ (the stone which Jacob put up was) as large as the peak of Tiberias; Yalk. ib. 130; a. e.
- 4. (sub. של פיל) ivory. Num. R. s. 312 (play on מי יג̇ור̇ … חזק כש̇ן̇ (ג̇ר̇ש̇ון̇ who can abide snow and hail, and cold and heat? He who is as strong as ivory (or marble?); אין שן אלא לשון חזק וכ׳ shen has the meaning of strong (ref. to Cant. V, 14); a. e e.g. Song of Solomon 5:14
- 5. marble. Cant. R. to V, 11; Yalk. ib. 991, v. עֶשֶׁת.
שֵׁן ²
- Targ. O. Deut. XXXII, 24. Targ. Ex. XXI, 24. Targ. I Kings X, 22 (v. פִּילָא I). Ib. 18. Targ. I Sam. XIV, 4; a. fr.—Y. Kil. IX, 32ᵇ bot; האי שִׁינָּךְ וכ׳ how is that tooth of thine?; Y. Keth. XII, 35ᵃ bot.; Gen. R. s. 33. Ib. יהב ידיה על שִׁינֵּיה וכ׳ he put his hand on his (Rabbi’s) tooth, and it was cured.—Gitt. 68ᵇ ומנח להו אש׳ דטורא וכ׳ he puts it (the Shamir) on the peak of a mountain, and the mountain bursts. Snh. 96ᵇ תא אש׳ דטורא (Rashi דטורי) come (to Jerusalem) even if it be necessary to march over the cliffs of mountains (differ. in Rashi); Yalk. Is. 287; a. fr.—ש׳ דדור, שן דור pr. n. pl. the Cliff of Dor (v. Hildesh. Beitr. pp. 4; 10). Y. Shebi. VI, 36ᶜ (not דרור); Tosef. Shebi. IV, 11 שורא דרור (corr. acc.); Sifré Deut. 51 [read:] מדבר שר שן דור; Yalk. ib. 874 (corr. acc.).—Pl. שִׁנִּין, שִׁנַּיָּא, שִׁנֵּי, שִׁי׳. Targ. Am. IV, 6 (not שְׁנִין). Targ. Prov. X, 26.—Targ. Jer. XLIX, 16. Targ. Y. Gen. XLIX, 21 (not שֵׁינֵי); a. fr.—Y. Kil. IX, 32ᵇ תלת … חשש (ב)שִׁינּוֹי suffered from tooth-ache for thirteen years. Ib. חד שִׁינַּיי וכ׳ one of my teeth annoys me; (Y. Keth. l. c. חד שינא).—Sabb. 82ᵃ, v. כַּרְכְּשָׁא; a. fr.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 3 distinct written forms H1879 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| דָשֵׁ֖ן | Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Isaiah 30:23 | 1 |
| דְּשֵׁנִ֖ים | Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Plural, Absolute | Psalms 92:14 | 1 |
| דִּשְׁנֵי | Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Plural, Construct | Psalms 22:29 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1879, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1 verse that also exists in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 3 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
