אֲשֶׁר

which

‘which’ is one of 7 main senses fuller range ↓

H834 Strong's Hebrew

ʼăsher Transliteration

/ash-er'/ Pronunciation

Usage in the Hebrew Bible 5,502 appearances

Definition — BDB

(relative participle) - which, who - that which - (conjunction) - that (in object clause) - when - since - as - conditional if

Cite this entry

Strong's H834 — אשר (ʼăsher), "which". Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB, 1906). Lemma, https://lemma.gebible.app/w/H834.

Show BibTeX & RIS

BibTeX

@misc{lemma-H834,
  author       = {Lemma},
  title        = {H834 אשר (ʼăsher) — which},
  howpublished = {\url{https://lemma.gebible.app/w/H834}},
  note         = {Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB, 1906). Lemma interlinear Bible study tool}
}

RIS

TY  - GEN
AU  - Lemma
TI  - H834 — אשר (ʼăsher), "which"
PB  - Lemma
N1  - Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB, 1906)
UR  - https://lemma.gebible.app/w/H834
ER  -

Compare with another word →

Grammar key — what these labels mean

Particle: A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.

Grammatical forms

Particle, Relative 5,501 times (100%)
Pronoun, Relative 1 time (0%)

Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 5,502 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.

Page 11 of 23 — showing verses 2,001–2,200 of 4,439 distinct verses where H834 appears, across 39 books. 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.

1 Samuel 198 verses

2 Samuel 166 verses

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.

At its core, אשר (ʼăsher) means “which.” Carrying more than one sense, it rewards its full sense range. With 4,439 verses in 39 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. First canonically at Genesis 1:7, it enters the text early. From the same root come של and שם. Dig into 4,439-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.

Gloss history

Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship

Strong's · 1890

[idiom] after

Modern gloss

which

About this word

Strong's H834 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 →

4,439: distinct verses; The word appears in 4,439 distinct verses.
39 / 39: OT books; The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
Genesis 1:7: first appearance; The earliest occurrence is in Genesis 1:7.
Malachi 4:4: last appearance; The latest occurrence is in Malachi 4:4.
#5: by frequency; Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 5 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).

View all 4,439 occurrences in the concordance →

Most concentrated in

Deuteronomy 430 verses 10%
Jeremiah 363 verses 8%
Genesis 349 verses 8%

By section of the Old Testament

Pentateuch 1,548 · 35%
Historical 1,712 · 39%
Wisdom 217 · 5%
Prophets 962 · 22%

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 4,439 distinct verses.

Prophets (Nevi'im) 2,138 verses · 48%
Torah (Pentateuch) 1,548 verses · 35%
Writings (Ketuvim) 753 verses · 17%

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).

King James Version: Which 13×, That 11×, Because 10×
American Standard Version: Which 12×, That 10×, Because 9×
Berean Standard Bible: That 899×, Who 470×, Which 301×
unfoldingWord Literal Text: That 2,059×, Who 770×, Which 627×

King James Version Public Domain

Renders H834 across 107 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

“Which” 13×
“That” 11×
“Because” 10×
“As” 6×
“Whom” 5×
“Wherein” 4×
“Whose” 4×
“According to that which” 3×
“Where” 3×
“Whosoever” 3×
“For” 2×
“If” 2×

Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 35 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 4 further occurrences.

American Standard Version Public Domain

Renders H834 across 107 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

“Which” 12×
“That” 10×
“Because” 9×
“As” 5×
“Wherein” 5×
“Whom” 4×
“According to that which” 3×
“Thee” 3×
“Them” 3×
“Where” 3×
“Whosoever” 3×
“According” 2×

Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 29 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 H834 across 3,224 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

“That” 899×
“Who” 470×
“Which” 301×
“As” 254×
“What” 149×
“Where” 134×
“Whom” 133×
“Just as” 132×
“When” 74×
“Whose” 50×
“Because” 47×
“Those” 37×

Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 158 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 2,258 further occurrences.

unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Renders H834 across 5,332 tagged occurrences — most commonly:

“That” 2,059×
“Who” 770×
“Which” 627×
“Whom” 268×
“Just as” 255×
“What” 188×
“Where” 181×
“As” 121×
“When” 113×
“Because” 88×
“Whose” 66×
“Is” 55×

Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 119 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.

23 senses and sub-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 23 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. it includes its pronominal antecedent, whether in the nom. or obl. cases, as Nu 22:6 וַאֲשֶׁר תָּאֹר יוּאָר and he whom thou cursest is cursed, Ex 4:12 and I will teach thee אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר that which thou shalt say; and with particles or prepositions, as אֵת אֲשֶׁר (according to the context) him who …, those who …, that which …; לַאֲשֶׁר to him who … Gn 43:16, to those who … 47:24, to that which 27:8; מֵאֲשֶׁר Ju 16:30 2 S 18:8 than those whom; Lv 27:24 לַאֲשֶׁר קָנָהוּ מֵאִתּוֹ to him from whom he bought it, Nu 5:7; Is 24:2 כַּאֲשֶׁר נֹשֶׁא בוֹ like him against whom there is a creditor. e.g. Numbers 22:6
2. instances of אֲשֶׁר followed by a pron. affix, or by שָׁם, שָֽׁמָּה, מִשָּׁם, are so common that the exx. cited above will be sufficient. Very rarely there occurs the anomalous constr. עִם אֲשֶׁר Gn 31:32 for אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ (see Gn 44:9), בַּאֲשֶׁר Is 47:12 for אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם, לַאֲשֶׁר for אֲשֶׁר … לָהֶם Ez 23:40: ψ 119:49 see under על אשׁר. It is followed by the pron. in the nomin., in the foll. cases:—(a) immediately, mostly before an adj. or ptcp., Gn 9:3 all moving things אֲשֶׁר הוּא־חַי which are living, Lv 11:26 Nu 9:13; 14:8, 27; 35:31 Dt 20:20 1 S 10:19 (v. Dr) 2 K 25:19 (‖ Je 52:25 היה) Je 27:9 Ez 43:19 Hg 1:9 Ru 4:15 Ne 2:18 Ec 7:26; before a vb. 2 K 22:13 (omitted 2 Ch 34:21). (b) in a negative sentence, at the end: Gn 7:2; 17:12 Nu 17:5 Dt 17:15 אֲשֶׁר לֹא אָחִיךָ הוּא who is not thy brother, 20:15 Ju 19:12 1 K 8:41 ‖ 9:20 ‖. N.B. ψ 16:3 אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵ֑מָּה is an unparalleled expression for ‘who are in the land’; read אֲשֶׁר בָּאָ֑רֶץ הֵמָּה אַדִּירֵי וג׳ ‘the saints that are in the land, they (המה) are the nobles, in whom,’ etc. e.g. Genesis 31:32
3. sometimes (though rarely) the defining adjunct is a pron. of 1 or 2 ps. as well as of 3 ps. In such cases it is strictly to be rendered I who …, thou who, etc.; Ho 14:4 אֲשֶׁר־בְּךָ יְרֻחַם יָתוֹם thou by whom the fatherless is compassionated! Je 31:32 I, whose covenant they brake, 32:19 Is 49:23 Jb 37:17f. thou whose garments are warm …, canst thou? etc., ψ 71:19, 20; 144:12 we whose sons, etc., 139:15 my frame was not hidden from thee, אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂיתִי בַסֵּתֶר—I who was wrought in secret (= though I was wrought in secret), Ex 14:13 for ye who have seen the Egyptians to-day,—ye shall not see them again or ever! (cf. ψ 41:9). e.g. Hosea 14:4
4. the defining pron. adjunct is dispensed with—
- a. when אֲשֶׁר represents the simple subj. of a sentence, or the direct obj. of a vb.: so constantly, as Gn 2:2 the work אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה which he made, 3:3 the tree אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן which is in the midst of the garden, etc. e.g. Genesis 2:2
- b. after words denoting time, place, or manner, so that אֲשֶׁר then becomes equivalent to when, where, why: (α) Gn 6:4 אַחֲרֵי־כֵן אֲשֶׁר afterwards, when, etc. (cf. 2 Ch 35:20) 45:6 there are still 5 years אֲשֶׁר אֵין חָרִישׁ when there shall be no plowing, Jos 14:10 1 K 22:25; after יוֹם or הַיּוֹם Dt 4:10 Ju 4:14 1 S 24:5 (v. Dr) 2 S 19:25 Je 20:14 al.; similarly Gn 40:13. (β) Gn 35:13 בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אִתּוֹ in the place where he spake with him, v 14; 39:20 Nu 13:27; 22:26 Dt 1:31 in the desert which thou sawest, where (accents Ke Di), 8:15 1 K 8:9 (unless לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית has here fallen out: v. 𝔊 & Dt 9:9) Is 55:11; 64:10 ψ 84:4. So (γ) in אֶל אֲשֶׁר to (the place) which (or whither) Ex 32:34 Ru 1:16; אֶל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר to every (place) whither Jos 1:16 Pr 17:8; בַּאֲשֶׁר in (the place) where †Ju 5:27; 17:8, 9 1 S 23:13 2 K 8:1 Ru 1:16, 17 Jb 39:30, once only with שָׁם Gn 21:17; בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר wheresoever Jos 1:7, 9 Ju 2:15 1 S 14:47; 18:5 2 S 7:7 2 K 18:7; מֵאֲשֶׁר from (the place) where = whencesoever †Ex 5:11 Ru 2:9; עַל־אֲשֶׁר to (the place) whither (or which) 2 S 15:20 1 K 18:12; עַל־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר Je 1:7. (δ) זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר … this is the reason that or why … Jos 5:4 1 K 11:27. e.g. Genesis 6:4
- c. more extreme instances Lv 14:22, 30, 31 Nu 6:21, Dt 7:19 (wherewith), 28:20 1 S 2:32 1 K 2:26 (wherein), Ju 8:15 (about whom), Is 8:12 (where יאמר would be foll. normally by לוֹ), 31:6 turn ye to (him as to) whom they have deeply rebelled, 47:15 Zp 3:11 Ec 3:9, 1 K 14:19 (= how). e.g. Leviticus 14:22
- d. it is dispensed with only in appearance after (אָמַרְתִּי וג׳) אֲשֶׁר אָמַר followed by the words used, its place being really taken by a pron. in the speech which follows, as Gn 3:17 the tree as to which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat from it, Ex 22:8 Dt 28:68 Ju 7:4 (זֶה) 8:15 (where the noun repeated takes the place of the pron., cf. Dt 9:2) 1 S 9:17 (זֶה)23 1 K 11:2 +; cf. 2 S 11:16 2 K 17:12; 21:4. e.g. Genesis 3:17
5. אֲשֶׁר sometimes in poet. = one who, a man who (men who), ὅστις, οἵτινες, ψ 24:4; 55:20; 95:4, 5 Jb 4:19; 5:5; 9:5, (Hi) 15, 17. e.g. Psalms 24:4
6. אֲשֶׁר occas. receives its closer definition by a subst. following it, in other words, its logical antecedent is inserted in the rel. clause: (a) in the phrase peculiar to Je., אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דְבַר י׳ אֶל יר׳ that which came (of) the word of י׳ to Je. †14:1; 46:1; 47:1; 49:34 (cf. Ew§ 334); (b) Ex 25:9 Nu 33:4 1 S 25:30 2 K 8:12, 12:6 לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִמָּצֵא שָׁם בָּֽדֶק׃, Ez 12:25; cf. the Ethiopic usage Di§ 201; (c) (antec. repeated) Gn 49:30 = 50:13, 1 S 25:39 (י׳ repeated), Is 54:9 (prob.) as to which I sware that, etc., Am 5:1 which I take up over you (as) a dirge. e.g. Jeremiah 14:1
7. אֲשֶׁר ל׳ that (belongs, belong, belonged) to, is used
- a. either alone or preceded by כָּל־ to express (all) that (belongs) to, as Gn 14:23 מִכָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָ֑ךְ of all that is thine, 31:1 מֵאֲשֶׁר לְאָבִינוּ of that which was our father’s 32:24 & sent over אֶת־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ that which he had, + often e.g. Genesis 14:23
- b. as a circumlocution of the genitive, as Gn 29:9 עִם־הַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר לְאָבִיהָ with the sheep that were her father’s, 40:5; 47:4, Lv 9:8; Ju 6:11; 1 S 25:7 הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ, 2 S 14:31 אֶת־הַחֶלְקָה אֲשֶׁר־לִי, 23:8; 1 K 1:8, 33 עַל הַפִּרְדָּה אֲשֶׁר־לִי upon mine own mule, v 49; 4:2; 2 K 11:10; 16:13 Ru 2:21; and especially in the case of a compound expression depending on a single genit., as Gn 23:9; 40:5; 41:43 מִרְכֶּבֶת הַמִּשְׁנֶה אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ the chariot of the second rank which he had, Ex 38:30; Ju 3:20; 6:25; 1 S 17:40; 21:8, אֲבִיר הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר לְשָׁאוּל the mightiest of Saul’s herdmen, 24:5 אֶת־כְּנַף־הַמְּעִיל אֲשֶׁר־לְשָׁאוּל, 2 S 2:8 Saul’s captain of the host, 1 K 10:28; 15:20; 22:31; Je 52:17; Ru 4:3. e.g. Genesis 29:9
- c. with names of places (especially such as do not readily admit the st. cstr.) Ju 18:28; 19:14 הַגִּבְעָה אֲשֶׁר לְבִנְיָמִן Gibeah (the hill) of Benjamin, 20:4; 1 S 17:1; 1 K 15:27; 16:15; 17:9; 19:3; 2 K 14:11. Comp. שֶׁל (q.v.) which in Rabb., like the Aramaic דִּיל-, ܕܺܝܠ, is in habitual use as a mark of the genitive.—N.B. In Aramaic also דּי, ܕ, without ל, expresses the gen. relation, as מִלְּתָא דִי־מַלְכָּא, lit. the word, that of the king = the word of the king. The few apparent cases of a similar use of אשׁר are, however, too foreign to the general usage of the language to be regarded otherwise than as due to textual error: 1 S 13:8 read אֲשֶׁר אָמַר (or שָׂם Ex 9:5) שְׁמוּאֵל (𝔊 εἶπε); 1 K 11:25 supply עָשָׂה (𝔊 ἣν ἐποίησεν); 2 K 25:10 supply אֵת with (as ‖ Je 52:14); 2 Ch 34:22 read וַאֲשֶׁר אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ (cf. 𝔊) and those whom the king appointed (abbreviated from 2 K 22:14); cf. Ew§ 292 a, b with note. e.g. Judges 18:28
8. אֲשֶׁר becomes, like Aramaic דּי, ܕ, a conj. approximating in usage to כִּי: thus
- a. = quod, ὅτι, that, subordinating an entire sentence to a verb of knowing, remembering, etc. (α) with אֵת Dt 9:7 forget not אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִקְצַפְתָּ the fact that (= how) thou provokedst, etc., 29:15; Jos 2:10; 1 S 24:11, 19; 2 S 11:20 know ye not אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יֹרוּ how they shoot from off the wall? 2 K 8:12 Is 38:3 + often. As subj. (rare) 1 K 14:19; 2 K 14:15; 20:20. Of time (peculiarly) †2 S 14:15 עַתָּה אֲשֶׁר now (is it) that … Zc 8:20 (prob.) yet (shall it be) that … v 23; cf. כִּמְעַט שֶׁ Ct 3:4. (β) without אֵת (not very common, כִּי being usually employed): after יָדַע Ex 11:7; Nu 32:23; Ez 20:26 (strange in Ez: v. Hi) Jb 9:5 (Ew De Di) Ec 8:12, רָאָה Dt 1:31 (RV) 1 S 18:15, הִתְוַדָּה to confess Lv 5:5; 26:40b, הִשְׁבִּיעַ 1 K 22:16 (caused to swear that …); after a noun Is 38:7 הָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר the sign that … (‖ 2 K 20:9 כִּי) with growing frequency in late Hebrew, 2 Ch 2:7, and especially Ne Est: Ne 2:5, 10; 7:65 (= Ezr 2:63) 8:14, 15; 10:31; 13:1, 19, 22; Est 1:19; 2:10; 3:4; 4:11; 6:2; 8:11; Ec 3:22 (מֵאֲשֶׁר) 5:4; 7:18 (with טוֹב: contrast Ru 2:22) v 22, 29; 8:12, 14; 9:1; Dn 1:8(×2). (γ) prefixed to a direct citation, like כִּי q.v. (= ὅτι recitativum) (rare) 1 S 15:20; 2 S 1:4; 2:4 (v. Dr) ψ 10:6 (prob.), Ne 4:6. e.g. Deuteronomy 9:7
- b. it is resolvable into so that: Gn 11:7 אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ so that they understand not, etc., 13:16; 22:14 אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר so that it is said, Ex 20:26; Dt 4:10, 40 אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לְךָ 6:3; 28:27, 51; 1 K 3:12, 13; 2 K 9:37; Mal 3:19. e.g. Genesis 11:7
- c. it has a causal force, forasmuch as, in that, since: Gn 30:18; 31:49 and Mizpah, אֲשֶׁר אָמַר for that he said. 34:13, 27; 42:21 we are guilty, אֲשֶׁר רָאִינוּ we who saw (or, in that we saw), Nu 20:13 Meribah, because they strove there, Dt 3:24; Jos 4:7, 23; 22:31; Ju 9:17; 1 S 2:23; 15:15; 20:42 go in peace, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ forasmuch as we have sworn, 25:26 thou whom (= or, seeing that) י׳ hath withholden, 2 S 2:5 blessed are ye of י׳, אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם, who (οἵτινες) have done (or in that ye have done), 1 K 3:19; 15:5; 2 K 12:3; 17:4; 23:26; Je 16:13; Ec 8:11, 12 (Hi De Now). Here also belongs its use in אֲשֶׁר לָמָּה since why …? (= lest) Dn 1:10: v. sub לָמָּה. On אֲשֶׁר עַל כֵּן forasmuch as Jb 34:27 v. sub כִּי עַל כֵּן. e.g. Genesis 30:18
- d. it expresses a condition (rare & peculiar): Lv 4:22 אֲשֶׁר נָשִׂיא יֶחֱטָא in (case) that = when (or if) a ruler sinneth (v 3, 13, 27 אִם) 25:33; Nu 5:29 (explained differently by Ew§ 334a), Dt 11:27 and the blessing אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְעוּ if ye hearken (v 28 אִם), 18:22 Ges§ 159 cc Jos 4:21 אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁאָלוּן … when they ask …, then … (v 6 כִּי), Is 31:4. In 1 K 8:33 (‖ 2 Ch 6:24 כִּי, cf. K v 35, 37) אֲשֶׁר may be rendered indifferently because or when. Once, similarly, אֵת אֲשֶׁר 1 K 8:31 v. p. 85. e.g. Leviticus 4:22
- e. perhaps (exceptionally) = כַּאֲשֶׁר, as, Je 33:22; Is 54:9 (sq. כֵּן; but כֵּן q.v. sometimes stands without כאשׁר, & אשׁר may in these passages connect with what precedes); according to some also Je 48:8 ψ 106:34 (in a connexion where כַּאֲשֶׁר would be more usual: אֲשֶׁר may however be the obj. of אָמַר). In 1 S 16:7 אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה הָאָדָם read כַּאֲשֶׁר, v. Dr.In Dt 15:14 also read כַּאֲשֶׁר: note ברכך before. e.g. Jeremiah 33:22
- f. combined with preps., אֲשֶׁר converts them into conjunctions: see below, בַּאֲשֶׁר, כַּאֲשֶׁר, מֵאֲשֶׁר. On its use similarly with (אַחֲרֵי) אַחַר, מִבְּלִי, בַּעֲבוּר, עַל דְּבַר, יַעַן, לְמַעַן, כְּפִי, עַד, עַל, עֵקֶב, מִפְּנֵי, תַּחַת, see these words.—הַאֲשֶׁר, with ה interrog., occurs once, 2 K 6:22. e.g. 2 Kings 6:22
1. אֲשֶׁר being a connecting link, without any perfectly corresponding equivalent in Engl., its force is not unfreq. capable of being represented in more than one way. See e.g. 2 S 2:5 (above 8 c), Is 28:12 unto whom he said, or for that he said to them. e.g. 2 Samuel 2:5
2. The opinion that אֲשֶׁר has an asseverative force (like כִּי, q.v.), or introduces the apodosis, is not prob., being both alien to its general usage & not required by the passages alleged. Render Is 8:20 either ‘Surely according to this word will those speak who have no dawn,’ or ‘… will they speak when (cf. supr. 8 d Dt 11:27; Jos 4:21) they have no dawn.’ e.g. Isaiah 8:20

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

part. of relation (Moab. id.; origin dub.: 1. according to TsepreghiDiss. Lugd. p. 171 MühlauBö Lb. ii. 79 n. StaMorg. Forsch. 1875, 188; Lb. § 167 HomZMG 1878, 708 ff. Müll§ 153 SayceHbr. ii. 51 LagM. i. 255 & especially KraetzschmarHbr. vi. 298 ff, orig. a subst. ‘place’ = أَثَرٌ footstep, mark አሠr (do.), אֲתַר, ܐܰܬܰܪ place, Assyrian ašar, used (v. Kraetz.) both as a subst. ‘there, where,’ and as a relative of place ‘where’: in Heb. this development has advanced further, and it has become a relative sign generally. The chief objection to this explanation is that it would isolate Heb. from the other Semitic languages, in which pronouns are formed regularly from demonstrative roots (cf. also NöZMG 1886, 738). 2. according to PhiSt. C. 73 SperlingNota Rel. im Hebr. 1876, 15–22 for אֲשֶׁל, developed from the relative שׁ (q.v.) by (1) the prefixing of either a merely prosthetic א, or, better, a pronominal א (giving rise to אש, the form of the relative in Ph.), and (2) the addition of the demonstr. root ל [found also in אֵל, אֵלֶּה, הַלָּזֶה (q.v.). اَلَّذِى he who, እለ who (pl.)]: the main objection to this explanation is the change of ל to ר, which is hardly rendered probable by the comp. of Syriac ܗܳܪܟܳܐ by side of Targ. הָלְכָּא. 1 seems preferable, the primitive root having acquired different significations in the different Semitic languages, and having been weakened in Heb. to a mere particle of relation). A sign of relation, bringing the clause introduced by it into relation with an antecedent clause. As a rule אֲשֶׁר is a mere connecting link, and requires to be supplemented (see the grammars) by a pron. affix, or other word, such as שָׁם, defining the nature of the relation more precisely: e.g. Gn 1:11 אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ lit. as to which, its seed is in it = in which is its seed, ψ 1:4 like the chaff אֲשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶנּוּ רוּחַ as to which, the wind drives it = which the wind drives, etc.; & so אֲשֶׁר … שָׁם = where, אֲשֶׁר … מִשָּׁם = whence, Gn 2:11; 3:23; 20:13 etc. Sometimes also (v. infr.) the relation expressed by it is specifically temporal, local, causal, etc. More particularly

— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.

Origin: a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number)

TWOT: 184

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.

אֲשֶׁר

; v. Ges. H. Dict. s. v., as to opinions on etymol.) [being,] who, which. Ber. 11ᵇ א׳ בחר וכ׳ who hast chosen us; a. v. fr. (in prayer formulas).—In Talm. mostly prefix-שֶׁ.

אָשַׁר

, v. אשש) to exist, be strong, happy; v. יָשַׁר.
- (b. h.)
- 1. to exalt, praise, declare happy. Pesik. R. s. 45 התחיל מְאַשְּׁרֵם he commenced by declaring them happy; v. אַשְׁרֵי.
- 2. to substantiate; to verify, attest to. Num. R. s. 14 לאַשֵּׁר את הדין to give strength to the legal decision Y. Gitt. IX, 50ᶜ bot. (אישרניהי) אִישַּׁרְנוּהוּ we have verified it in the presence of &c.—Part. pass. מְאוּשָּׁר 1) firm, strong. Gen. R. s. 15, beg. the bux-tree is called תְּאַשּׁוּר because it is מא׳ וכ׳ the strongest of all (cmp. אֵשֶׁל). Y. Succ. III, 54ᵃ top; Y. Meg. I, 72ᵃ top המא׳ שבכלן וכ׳ the strongest (expression) of all, is Hallelujah.—2) substantial, good, rich. Gen. R. s. 90, end (ref. to את כל אֲשֶׁר Gen. XLI, 56) המְאוּשָּׁרִין שבהם the best stores of all. Gen. R. s. 28.—Snh. 22ᵃ is called Ashurith שמְאוּשֶּׁרֶת בכתב because its characters are substantial (Ar. שמאושר); Y. Meg. I, 71ᵇ bot.; Y. Sot. VII, 21ᶜ top. e.g. Genesis 41:56
- to be set up, be erected. Sifra K’dosh. beg. (play on אֲשֵׁרִים) על שם שהם מִתְאַשְּׁרִים מאחרים because they are put up by others.

אֲשַׁר

[Ithpe. אִיתְּשַׁר to be strengthened. Targ. Y. Deut. X, 2 יַיתְשַׁר, prob. to be read יִתְיַשַּׁר, v. ישר.]
- 1. to make strong. Keth. 10ᵇ; Gitt. 70ᵃ (dates) מְאַשְּׁרָן give strength.
- 2. to confirm, verify; also to credit, (consider true). Keth. 21ᵃ אַשַּׁרְנוּהִי וכ׳ we verified it &c., v. preced.—Gitt. 30ᵇ (prov.) חברך מית א׳ וכ׳ if you are told, ‘your friend is dead’, believe it; ‘your friend has grown rich’ לא תְאַשַּׁר don’t trust.

אֶשֶׁר

(b. h.), only in plur. constr. אַשְׁרֵי the happiness of!, happy is he, are they &c. Pes. 117ᵃ; a. fr.—Midr. Till. to Ps. LXXXIV אַשְׁרַאי happy am I.—Yoma VIII, 9 אַשְׁרֵיכֶם happy are ye. Ib. 87ᵃ אַשְׁרֵיהֶם לצדיקים happy are the righteous; a. fr.

שֵׁר

Tower of Sher (or Shed), Straton’s Tower (v. Hildesh. Beitr. p. 4 sq.). Sifré Deut. 51 מדבר שרשך דור, read: מגדל שר שן דור; Yalk. ib. 874 מגדל שרשן דירו (corr. acc.); Y. Shebi. VI, 36ᶜ top מגדל שיד.

שַׂר

prince, chief.; שר (של מעלה) guardian angel, genius. Zeb. 116ᵇ שר ונגיד a prince or a nobleman. Yeb. 16ᵇ שר העולם the genius of the universe; Ḥull. 60ᵃ. Ex. R. s. 22 נטל הקב"ה שר שלהם וכ׳ the Lord took first their (the Egyptians’) guardian angel and drowned him. Pes. 118ᵃ שר הברד, v. יוּרְקָמִי. Ib. אני שר של אש I (Gabriel) am the angel of fire. B. Bath. 74ᵇ שר של ים the angel of the sea. Mekh. B’shall., Shir., s. 2 כיון שראו שָׂרָהּ של מלכות נופל (not נופלת) when they saw the genius of the (Egyptian) empire fallen; Yalk. Ex. 243; a. v. fr.—Pl. שָׂרִים. Ib. אין … משָׂרֵיהֶן תחלה the Lord will not punish governments, unless he have punished their guardian angels first. Gen. R. s. 78, beg. מיכאל … שהם ש׳ של מעלה Michael and Gabriel who are the princes on high. Yalk. l. c. קרא … לכל שָׂרֵי האומות the Lord summoned all the tutelary angels of the nations. Cant. R. to VIII, 14 ש׳ של מעלה the princes on high (angels); ש׳ של מטה the earthly (human) governors. Ib. (play on הרי בשמים, ib.) המתינו לי … על הריהם שהם שָׂרֵיהֶם שנתונים אצלי בַּשָּׁמַיִם (not שנתונות) wait until I shall have sat in judgment over their mounts, that is, their chiefs that are placed with me in heaven; a. fr.—Gen. R. s. 98 גני ש׳, v. גִּינֵּיסַר.—Fem. שָׂרָה. Tosef. Ber. I, 12 (ref. to Gen. XVII, 15) בתחלה הרי היא ש׳ על עמה ועכשיו הרי היא ש׳ על אומות העולם ed. Zuck. (Var. שָׂרַי על עמה … על כל באי העולם, v. ed. Zuck. note) at first she was a princess of her own people, and now she is a princess for the nations of the world (for all that enter into the world); Ber. 13ᵃ שרי לאומתה … ש׳ לכל העולם. e.g. Genesis 17:15

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 104 distinct written forms H834 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
אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Amos 1:1	1,293
אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 9:15	1,064
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 5:26	976
אֲשֶׁ֨ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 2:9	499
אֲשֶׁ֤ר	Particle, Relative	Daniel 1:11	304
אֲשֶׁ֖ר	Particle, Relative	Daniel 1:8	179
אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Amos 4:1	129
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 5:14	109
אֲשֶׁ֧ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 3:1	98
אֲשֶׁר֩	Particle, Relative	Amos 1:1	96
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֛ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 2:1	78
אֲשֶׁ֛ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 8:11	71
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 3:2	69
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֖ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 1:11	57
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֨ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 5:19	52
אֲשֶֽׁר	Particle, Relative	Amos 4:7	44
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֤ר	Particle, Relative	Amos 2:13	41
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 5:8	34
אֲ֠שֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Exodus 9:24	21
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 11:2	20
אֲֽשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 27:3	17
כַּ/אֲשֶׁר֩	Particle, Relative	Amos 3:12	17
כַּ/אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 4:33	15
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֤ר	Particle, Relative	Ecclesiastes 10:14	12
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֨ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 11:6	12
מֵ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Exodus 29:27	10
כַּֽ/אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Ezekiel 2:2	10
כַּ/אֲשֶׁ֧ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 2:12	8
וְ/לַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Genesis 47:24	7
כַּ/אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Genesis 26:29	7
לַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Exodus 16:16	7
אֲשֶׁ֕ר	Particle, Relative	Esther 1:16	6
בַּ/אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Genesis 39:9	6
כַּֽ/אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	1 Samuel 12:8	6
בַּ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Ecclesiastes 8:4	5
כַּֽ/אֲשֶׁ֛ר	Particle, Relative	Genesis 7:9	5
וְ/כַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Esther 4:16	4
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֖ר	Particle, Relative	2 Samuel 21:5	4
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֧ר	Particle, Relative	1 Kings 2:24	4
וַ/אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 33:29	4
וַ/אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Daniel 1:4	4
וְ/לַ/אֲשֶׁ֖ר	Particle, Relative	Ecclesiastes 9:2	3
וַ/אֲשֶׁ֛ר	Particle, Relative	Ezekiel 33:27	3
וַ/אֲשֶׁר֩	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 19:5	3
וּ/בַ/אֲשֶׁ֥ר	Particle, Relative	Isaiah 65:12	3
כַ/אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Isaiah 66:22	3
כַ/אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 2:16	3
כַּֽ/אֲשֶׁר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 32:50	3
לַ/אֲשֶׁ֖ר	Particle, Relative	Jeremiah 27:5	3
מֵ/אֲשֶׁ֨ר	Particle, Relative	Ecclesiastes 3:22	3
אֲ֝שֶׁ֗ר	Particle, Relative	Psalms 119:38	2
אֲשֶׁ֗ר	Particle, Relative	Ezekiel 6:11	2
וְ/כַ/אֲשֶׁ֛ר	Particle, Relative	Esther 9:31	2
וְ/כַ/אֲשֶׁ֣ר	Particle, Relative	Daniel 1:13	2
וְ/כַ/אֲשֶׁ֤ר	Particle, Relative	Deuteronomy 29:13	2
וְ/כַ/אֲשֶׁ֨ר	Particle, Relative	Genesis 26:29	2
וְ/כַֽ/אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Ezekiel 37:18	2
וְ/לַ/אֲשֶׁ֧ר	Particle, Relative	1 Samuel 30:28	2
וַֽ/אֲשֶׁר֙	Particle, Relative	Ezekiel 33:27	2
כַּ֝/אֲשֶׁ֗ר	Particle, Relative	Psalms 33:22	2

The 60 most common forms are shown; 44 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.

Same root — word family

Other BDB entries built from the same root as H834, 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.

Derived from this word

Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.

Septuagint verse parallels

Most of the 4,439 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read 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.

אֲשֶׁר

Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)

Where this word appears

Grammatical forms

1 Samuel 198 verses

2 Samuel 166 verses

About this entry