אִשָּׁה
woman
also: wife, female fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
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
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
80 verses where H802 appears in the Construct state in the Book of Genesis. 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.
Genesis
- Genesis 2:24 בְּ/אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Genesis 2:25 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- Genesis 3:8 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֗/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
- Genesis 3:17 אִשְׁתֶּ/ךָ֒ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to your wife's voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
- Genesis 3:20 אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms The man called his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
- Genesis 3:21 וּ/לְ/אִשְׁתּ֛/וֹ conj + prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh God made coats of skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
- Genesis 4:1 אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man with Yahweh's help."
- Genesis 4:17 אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
- Genesis 4:23 לְ/נָשָׁ֗י/ו נְשֵׁ֣י prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fp cs Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, For I have slain a man for wounding me, A young man for bruising me.
- Genesis 4:25 אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth. For, she said, "God has appointed me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him."
- Genesis 6:18 וְ/אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֥ וּ/נְשֵֽׁי conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms conj + n c fp cs But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
- Genesis 7:2 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ וְ/אִשְׁתּֽ/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.
- Genesis 7:7 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֧/וֹ וּ/נְשֵֽׁי conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c fp cs Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, because of the waters of the flood.
- Genesis 7:13 וְ/אֵ֣שֶׁת נְשֵֽׁי conj + n c fs cs n c fp cs In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark;
- Genesis 8:16 וְ/אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֛ וּ/נְשֵֽׁי conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms conj + n c fp cs "Go forth from the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.
- Genesis 8:18 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֥/וֹ וּ/נְשֵֽׁי conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c fp cs Noah went forth, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.
- Genesis 11:29 נָשִׁ֑ים אֵֽשֶׁת אֵֽשֶׁת n c fp n c fs cs n c fs cs Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran who was also the father of Iscah.
- Genesis 11:31 אֵ֖שֶׁת n c fs cs Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife. They went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran, and lived there.
- Genesis 12:5 אִשְׁתּ֜/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.
- Genesis 12:11 אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ אִשָּׁ֥ה n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs It happened, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look on.
- Genesis 12:12 אִשְׁתּ֣/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It will happen, when the Egyptians will see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
- Genesis 12:17 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs Yahweh plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
- Genesis 12:18 אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֖ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Pharaoh called Abram, and said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?
- Genesis 12:19 לְ/אִשָּׁ֑ה אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֖ prep + n c fs n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way."
- Genesis 12:20 אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.
- Genesis 13:1 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֧/וֹ conj + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abram went up out of Egypt: he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South.
- Genesis 16:1 אֵ֣שֶׁת n c fs cs Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- Genesis 16:3 אֵֽשֶׁת לְ/אִשָּֽׁה n c fs cs prep + n c fs Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
- Genesis 17:15 אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֔ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah.
- Genesis 17:19 אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֗ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
- Genesis 18:9 אִשְׁתֶּ֑/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms They said to him, "Where is Sarah, your wife? He said, "See, in the tent."
- Genesis 18:10 אִשְׁתֶּ֑/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round. Behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
- Genesis 19:15 אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֜ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms When the morning arose, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife, and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city."
- Genesis 19:16 אִשְׁתּ֗/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms But he lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city.
- Genesis 19:26 אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- Genesis 20:2 אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- Genesis 20:7 אֵֽשֶׁת n c fs cs Now therefore, restore the man's wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don't restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours."
- Genesis 20:11 אִשְׁתִּֽ/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife's sake.'
- Genesis 20:14 אִשְׁתּֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abimelech took sheep and oxen, men-servants and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife to him.
- Genesis 20:17 אִשְׁתּ֛/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants, and they bore children.
- Genesis 20:18 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs For Yahweh had closed up tight all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
- Genesis 23:19 אִשְׁתּ֗/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 24:15 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs It happened, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.
- Genesis 24:36 אֵ֨שֶׁת n c fs cs Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him.
- Genesis 25:10 אִשְׁתּֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms the field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth. There was Abraham buried, with Sarah his wife.
- Genesis 25:21 אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ אִשְׁתּֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Genesis 26:7 לְ/אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ אִשְׁתִּ֔/י prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say, "My wife," lest, he thought, the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she was beautiful to look on.
- Genesis 26:8 אִשְׁתּֽ/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.
- Genesis 26:9 אִשְׁתְּ/ךָ֙ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Abimelech called Isaac, and said, "Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister?'" Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die because of her.'"
- Genesis 26:10 אִשְׁתֶּ֔/ךָ n c fs cs + sfx pers 2ms Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!"
- Genesis 26:11 וּ/בְ/אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ conj + prep + n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Abimelech charged all the people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death."
- Genesis 28:9 נָשָׁ֖י/ו לְ/אִשָּֽׁה n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms prep + n c fs Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
- Genesis 29:21 אִשְׁתִּ֔/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."
- Genesis 30:26 נָשַׁ֣/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go: for you know my service with which I have served you."
- Genesis 31:17 נָשָׁ֖י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives on the camels,
- Genesis 32:22 נָשָׁי/ו֙ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms He rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.
- Genesis 34:29 נְשֵׁי/הֶ֔ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.
- Genesis 36:2 נָשָׁ֖י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite;
- Genesis 36:6 נָ֠שָׁי/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his cattle, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
- Genesis 36:10 אֵ֣שֶׁת אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs n c fs cs these are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; and Reuel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau.
- Genesis 36:12 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs Timna was concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.
- Genesis 36:13 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
- Genesis 36:14 אֵ֣שֶׁת n c fs cs These were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
- Genesis 36:17 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs who came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
- Genesis 36:18 אֵ֣שֶׁת אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs n c fs cs These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
- Genesis 36:39 אִשְׁתּ֤/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.
- Genesis 37:2 נְשֵׁ֣י n c fp cs This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.
- Genesis 38:8 אֵ֥שֶׁת n c fs cs Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother."
- Genesis 38:9 אֵ֤שֶׁת n c fs cs Onan knew that the seed wouldn't be his; and it happened, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother.
- Genesis 38:12 אֵֽשֶׁת n c fs cs After many days, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.
- Genesis 39:7 אֵֽשֶׁת n c fs cs It happened after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me."
- Genesis 39:8 אֵ֣שֶׁת n c fs cs But he refused, and said to his master's wife, "Behold, my master doesn't know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand.
- Genesis 39:9 אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms He isn't greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"
- Genesis 39:19 אִשְׁתּ֗/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "This is what your servant did to me," that his wrath was kindled.
- Genesis 44:27 אִשְׁתִּֽ/י n c fs cs + sfx pers 1cs Your servant, my father, said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons:
- Genesis 45:19 וְ/לִ/נְשֵׁי/כֶ֔ם conj + prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 2mp Now you are commanded: do this. Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
- Genesis 46:5 נְשֵׁי/הֶ֔ם n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
- Genesis 46:19 אֵ֣שֶׁת n c fs cs The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin.
- Genesis 46:26 נְשֵׁ֣י n c fp cs All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty-six.
- Genesis 49:31 אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c fs cs + sfx pers 3ms There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah:
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.
“woman” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun אשה (ʼishshâh). Not a single-sense word: its full sense range also takes in “wife” and “female”. It appears 686 verses across 33 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its most common vocabulary. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:22. It shares a root with איש, איש and אישון. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H802 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 →
- 686
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 686 distinct verses.
- 33 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 33 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #60
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 60 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 686 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
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 686 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 282 verses · 41%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 267 verses · 39%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 137 verses · 20%
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†: Wife 257×, Woman 163×, Wives 96×
- American Standard Version†: Wife 183×, Woman 152×, Women 84×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Wife 242×, Woman 151×, Wives 88×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Woman 213×, Wife 209×, Women 88×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H802 across 778† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 94 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H802 across 775† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 122 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H802 across 712† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 62 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 60 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H802 across 803† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 44 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
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.
- 1. woman Gn 3:1, 2; 12:11 +; opp. man 2:22, 23 Ex 35:29; 36:6; Dt 17:2, 5; 22:22; 1 S 21:5 +; א׳ emphat. a genuine (or ideal) woman Ec 7:28 (‖ אדם); sim. of men as feeble, timid Je 50:37; 51:30; note especially הַטַּף בַּנָּשִׁים the children among the women, female children Nu 31:18 (P); as conceiving Ex 2:2; Lv 12:2; 2 S 11:5 +; travailing Je 13:21; bearing children Ju 13:24; 1 K 3:18; cf. Jb 14:1; 15:14; 25:4 +, etc.; suckling Is 49:15; אֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים Gn 18:11; דֶּרֶךְ נָשִׁים 31:35; with adj., or app., א׳מֵינֶקֶת nursing woman, nurse Ex 2:7; א׳ זוֹנָה harlot Jos 2:1; 6:22; Ju 11:1; 16:1; 1 K 3:16; Pr 6:26; Je 3:3 Ez 16:30; 23:44; so א׳ זָרָה Pr 2:16; 7:5; cf. also Ez 23:44 supr.; א׳ מְנָאָ֑פֶת adulteress Pr 30:20 (cf. אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ 6:26), אֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים Ho 1:2; נָשִׁים נָכְרִיּוֹת foreign women 1 K 11:1, 8; Ezr 10:2, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 44; Ne 13:26, 27 (cf. v 23); א׳ חֲכָמָה wise woman, one known as clever, shrewd 2 S 14:2; 20:16, etc.; also א׳ פִּילֶגֶשׁ concubine Ju 19:1, 27: א׳ אַלְמָנָה widow 2 S 14:5; 1 K 11:26; 17:9, 10; א׳ נְבִיאָה prophetess Ju 4:4; also cstr. bef. noun of quality אֵשֶׁתרָ֑ע Pr 6:24; א׳ כְּסִילוּת 9:13; א׳ חֵן 11:16; א׳ חַיִל 12:4; 31:10; Ru 3:11; א׳ מִדְיָנִים Pr 21:9; 25:24; 27:15; א׳ מ׳ וָכָ֑עַס 21:19. e.g. Genesis 3:1
- 2. Wife (woman belonging to a man, usually cstr. or sf.) Gn 2:24, 25; 3:8, 17; 4:1, 17 + often; of one betrothed (ארשׂ) Dt 20:7; 28:30; בַּעַל (הָ)אִשָּׁה Ex 21:3, 22; אִישׁ הָאִשָּׁה Ju 20:4; לְאִשָּׁה to wife Gn 12:19; 16:3; 34:21 + often (after לָקַח, נָתַן husband or father subj.); for wife (after הָֽיְתָה, woman subj.) Gn 20:12; Nu 36:3, 6(×2), 11, 12; Dt 22:19, 29 +; for unfaithful wife cf. 1; cstr. in phr. אֵשֶׁת חֵיקֶ֑ךָ Dt 13:7 cf. 28:54; א׳ נְעוּרֶיךָ Pr 5:18; Mal 2:14, 15; א׳ בְּרִיתֶ֑ךָ v 14; אֵשֶׁת אָב = step-mother Lv 18:8, 11; 20:11. e.g. Genesis 2:24
- 3. Female of animals Gn 7:2(×2); v. also sub 4. e.g. Genesis 7:2
- 4. With distrib. & recipr. sense, א׳ מֵאֵת רְעוּתָהּ each woman from her neighbour Ex 11:2 (E); cf. Ru 1:8, 9; Je 9:19; each one, of birds of prey Is 34:15 cf. v 16 (del. Bi Che); of cows (fig. of heartless women of Isr.) Am 4:3; of sheep (fig. of Isr.) Zc 11:9; & of inanimate things (P, & late) א׳ אֶל אֲחֹתָהּ Ex 26:3(×2), 5, 6, 17 (P) Ez 1:9 (del. Co) v 23; 3:13. e.g. Exodus 11:2
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. n.f. woman, wife, female (Arabic أُنْثَى, Sab. אנתֿת etc. DHMZK 1884, 360, Aramaic אִתְּתָא, אִנְתְּתָא, אִתָּא, ܐܰܢ̱ܬܬܴܐ, Palm. Nab. אנתתא, Ethiopic አንስት Ph. אשת, Assyrian aššatu COTGloss)—א׳ abs. Gn 2:23 +; cstr. אֵשֶׁת Gn 11:29 + (appar. abs. Dt 21:11; 1 S 28:7 ψ 58:9 but cf. Bö§ 728 Ges§ 130, 5); sf. אִשְׁתִּי Gn 20:11 +; אִשְׁתְּךָ Gn 12:18 + (אֶשְׁתְּךָ ψ 128:3), etc.; Pl. †אִשֹּׁת Ez 23:44 (Co לעשׂות); נָשִׁים Gn 4:19 +; cstr. נְשֵׁי Gn 4:23 +; sf. נָשַׁי Gn 30:26; 1 K 20:7; נְשֵׁיכֶם Ex 22:23 +, etc.;—
II. v. sub III. אנשׁ. אִשֶּׁה v. sub אֵשׁ.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from איש (ʼîysh) (H376) — man.
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.
אִשָּׁה
- v. איש,, const. אֵשֶׁת, woman, wife. Pes. VIII, 1. Ab. Zar. 25ᵇ א׳ כלי זיינה עליה woman carries her weapon with her, is protected against murder by gentiles (who would rather assault her innocence). Ib. א׳ חשובה a woman of high rank (influential). Ib. אִשְתּוֹ משמרתו his wife’s presence guards him from wrong-doing; a. fr.—Pl. (נָשׁוֹת) נָשִׁים q. v.
אִשֶּׁה
- burnt-offering, v. אִישֶּׁה.
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 238 distinct written forms H802 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.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 178 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H802, 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
- איש ʼîysh H377 to be a man
- אישון ʼîyshôwn H380 pupil
- אישחיל ʼÎysh-Chayil H381 a mighty man, valiant man
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- אישבשת ʼÎysh-Bôsheth H378 Ishbosheth
- אישהוד ʼÎyshᵉhôwd H379 Ishod
- אישטוב ʼÎysh-Ṭôwb H382 Ish-tob
- אשבעל ʼEshbaʻal H792 Eshbaal
- בןימיני Ben-yᵉmîynîy H1145 Benjamite
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 10 — not the complete family. 5 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 662 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 686 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
- Genesis 2:22
- Exodus 1:19
- Leviticus 12:2
- Numbers 5:6
- Deuteronomy 2:34
- Joshua 1:14
- Judges 1:12
- Ruth 1:1
- 1 Samuel 1:2
- 2 Samuel 1:26
- 1 Kings 2:17
- 2 Kings 4:1
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.
