3326. yatsua

Lexical Summary

yatsua: Bed, couch, resting place

Original Word: יָצוּעַ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yatsuwa`
Pronunciation: yah-tsoo'-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-tsoo'-ah)
KJV: bed, chamber, couch
NASB: bed, couch
Word Origin: [passive participle of H3331 (יַצַע - lay)]

1. spread, i.e. a bed
2. (architecture) an extension, i.e. wing or lean-to (a single story or collectively)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

bed, lean-to

Passive participle of yatsa'; spread, i.e. A bed; (architecture) an extension, i.e. Wing or lean-to (a single story or collectively):

see HEBREW yatsa'

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
pass. part. of yatsa
Definition
a couch, bed
NASB Translation
bed (3), bed* (1), couch (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[יָצוּעַ] noun [masculine] couch, bed (poetry); — suffix יְצוּעִי Genesis 49:4; plural construct יְצוּעֵי 1 Chronicles 5:1; suffix יְצוּעָ֑י Job 17:13 2t. (+ 1 Kings 6:5,6,10 Kt, see יָצִיעַ); couch, bed, of wedlock or concubinage, Genesis 49:4 (J), hence 1 Chronicles 5:1; in General Psalm 63:7, עֶרֶשׂ יְצוּעָ֑י Psalm 132:3; בַּחשֶׁךְ רִמַּדְתִּי יְצוּעָ֑י Job 17:13 ("" אִםאֲֿקַיֶּה שְׁאוֺל בֵּיתִי; compare Psalm 139:8).

[יָצִיעַ] noun masculine^{1Kings 6:10} only Qr, properly flat surface, only of lower projecting story of temple, יָצִו֯עַ 1 Kings 6:5,10; 1 Kings 6:6 read הַצֵּלָע the side-chamber, as ᵐ5 Bö^{§ 658} Sta^{ZAW 1883, 136}, see also 1 Kings 6:5; 1 Kings 6:8; Ezekiel 41:5,6.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

יָצוּעַ moves across two main spheres of Old Testament life: the private sphere of the sleeping-place (bed, couch) and the public sphere of the temple’s architectural “side rooms.” In both arenas the term highlights themes of intimacy, accessibility, and consecration—whether of family relationships, personal devotion, or corporate worship.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. Genesis 49:4 – Jacob rebukes Reuben “because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.”
2. 1 Kings 6:5, 6, 10 – Solomon “built side rooms all around” the temple, fashioning a three-tiered peripheral structure.
3. 1 Chronicles 5:1 – The chronicler recalls Reuben’s sin: he “defiled his father’s bed,” forfeiting the firstborn’s birthright.
4. Job 17:13 – Job, envisioning death, says, “If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness…”
5. Psalm 63:6 – David confesses, “When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night.”
6. Psalm 132:3 – David vows, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed” until he finds “a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Patterns of Usage

1. Moral Accountability (Genesis 49:4; 1 Chronicles 5:1)

The defilement of a father’s bed becomes the legal basis for loss of primogeniture. The ordinary piece of furniture becomes a marker of covenant order and purity, proving that hidden sin invites public consequence.

2. Spiritual Reflection and Intimacy (Job 17:13; Psalm 63:6; Psalm 132:3)

The bed is where the heart converses with God—whether Job’s bleak resignation or David’s nocturnal praise. It is also the place David willingly forsakes until proper worship is secured, showing that personal comfort is secondary to God’s honor.

3. Sacred Architecture (1 Kings 6:5-10)

In Solomon’s temple the term designates the outer side-chambers. These rooms enabled priests to store utensils and perform supportive ministry, allowing uninterrupted service within the sanctuary. Thus the same word that describes a private couch also names structural annexes that uphold public worship.

Historical and Cultural Background

Ancient Near Eastern households revolved around the father’s bedchamber as a symbol of authority. Violation of that space, as with Reuben, challenged patrimonial and covenant order. In royal architecture, multi-story annexes ( יָצוּעַ ) maximized limited temple precinct acreage, reflecting sophisticated Phoenician engineering. Their increasing width by account (1 Kings 6:6) kept beams from piercing the holy walls, picturing protective separation between human labor and divine dwelling.

Theological and Spiritual Implications

• Sanctity of the Household: The bed represents more than rest; it safeguards lineage, covenant, and moral boundaries.
• Meditation in the Night Watches: Private rest-places become classrooms of faith, where saints rehearse God’s steadfast love (Psalm 63:6).
• Support for Worship: The temple side-rooms remind believers that unseen structures—practical service, giving, priestly preparation—sustain visible worship.
• Transition to Eternity: Job’s “bed in darkness” points to the grave yet anticipates resurrection hope (Job 19:25-27), suggesting that even death’s couch lies under God’s sovereignty.

Christological Connections

The Gospels portray Jesus, exhausted in ministry, sleeping on a cushion in the storm-tossed boat (Mark 4:38), embodying perfect trust amid chaos—an echo of Psalm 63’s nighttime confidence. Additionally, the Messiah’s zeal for His Father’s house (John 2:17) fulfills David’s vow to withhold his own bed until God’s dwelling was established (Psalm 132:3-5), climaxing in the incarnation where “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:14).

Application for Faith and Life

1. Guard the sanctity of marriage and family; private compromise invites generational loss.
2. Cultivate nighttime meditation. Turn sleepless moments into prayerful communion.
3. Value behind-the-scenes service in the local church; side-rooms matter to God.
4. Face mortality with Job-like candor while fastening hope to the Redeemer who conquered the grave.

Forms and Transliterations

הַיָּצִ֙יעַ֙ הַיָּצִ֨יעַ היציע יְצוּעִ֥י יְצוּעֵ֣י יְצוּעָ֑י יְצוּעָֽי׃ יָצִ֙יעַ֙ יצועי יצועי׃ יציע haiyaTzia hay·yā·ṣî·a‘ hayyāṣîa‘ yā·ṣî·a‘ yāṣîa‘ yaTzia yə·ṣū·‘āy yə·ṣū·‘ê yə·ṣū·‘î yəṣū‘āy yəṣū‘ê yəṣū‘î yetzuAi yetzuEi yetzuI

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 49:4
HEB: אָ֥ז חִלַּ֖לְתָּ יְצוּעִ֥י עָלָֽה׃ פ
NAS: [it] -- he went up to my couch.
KJV: [it]: he went up to my couch.
INT: Then defiled to my couch went

1 Kings 6:5
HEB: [יָצֹועַ כ] (יָצִ֙יעַ֙ ק) סָבִ֔יב
KJV: he built chambers round about,
INT: the wall of the house bed encompassing the walls

1 Kings 6:6
HEB: [הַיָּצֹועַ כ] (הַיָּצִ֨יעַ ק) הַתַּחְתֹּנָ֜ה
KJV: The nethermost chamber [was] five
INT: bed the lowest five

1 Kings 6:10
HEB: [הַיָּצֹועַ כ] (הַיָּצִ֙יעַ֙ ק) עַל־
KJV: And [then] he built chambers against all the house,
INT: built bed against the whole

1 Chronicles 5:1
HEB: הַבְּכוֹר֒ וּֽבְחַלְּלוֹ֙ יְצוּעֵ֣י אָבִ֔יו נִתְּנָה֙
NAS: his father's bed, his birthright
KJV: his father's bed, his birthright
INT: was the firstborn defiled bed his father's was given

Job 17:13
HEB: בַּ֝חֹ֗שֶׁךְ רִפַּ֥דְתִּי יְצוּעָֽי׃
NAS: I make my bed in the darkness;
KJV: I have made my bed in the darkness.
INT: the darkness make my bed

Psalm 63:6
HEB: זְכַרְתִּ֥יךָ עַל־ יְצוּעָ֑י בְּ֝אַשְׁמֻר֗וֹת אֶהְגֶּה־
NAS: I remember You on my bed, I meditate
KJV: When I remember thee upon my bed, [and] meditate
INT: remember on my bed watches meditate

Psalm 132:3
HEB: עַל־ עֶ֥רֶשׂ יְצוּעָֽי׃
INT: and bed bed

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3326
8 Occurrences

hay·yā·ṣî·a‘ — 2 Occ.
yā·ṣî·a‘ — 1 Occ.
yə·ṣū·‘āy — 3 Occ.
yə·ṣū·‘ê — 1 Occ.
yə·ṣū·‘î — 1 Occ.