3451. yeshimah

Lexicon

yeshimah: Desolation, wasteland, wilderness

Original Word: יְשִׁימַה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: yshiymah
Pronunciation: yeh-shee-MAH
Phonetic Spelling: (yesh-ee-maw')
Definition: Desolation, wasteland, wilderness
Meaning: desolation

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

let death seize

From yasham; desolation -- let death seize (from the margin).

see HEBREW yasham

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
another reading for maveth, q.v.

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[יְשִׁימָה] noun feminine desolation, only intensive plural יְשִׁימוֺת Psalm 55:16 Kt (Qr יַשִּׁיא מָוֶת), so Ges Hup and others, compare proper name, of a location בית הישׁימות above; ᵐ5 Ew Ol Pe De Bae and others follow Qr, let death come deceitfully upon them, see נשׁא.

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from the root יָשַׁם (yasham), meaning "to be desolate" or "to be waste."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The concept of desolation in the Hebrew Bible, as expressed by יְשִׁימַה, can be related to several Greek terms in the Septuagint and New Testament that convey similar meanings, such as ἔρημος (erēmos • G2048), meaning "desert" or "wilderness," and ἐρημία (erēmia • G2047), meaning "desolation" or "wilderness." These Greek terms are used in contexts that parallel the Hebrew usage, often describing deserted places or the results of divine judgment.

Usage: The term יְשִׁימַה (yeshimah) is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe a state of desolation or a deserted, barren place. It often conveys the idea of a land that has been laid waste or is uninhabited.

Context: יְשִׁימַה (yeshimah) appears in several passages throughout the Hebrew Bible, often in poetic or prophetic contexts to depict the consequences of divine judgment or the natural state of a wilderness. The term is used to emphasize the starkness and emptiness of a place that has been abandoned or destroyed. For example, in Deuteronomy 32:10, it is used to describe the wilderness where God found and cared for Israel: "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye." This usage highlights both the desolation of the wilderness and the protective care of God amidst such barrenness.

In prophetic literature, יְשִׁימַה often serves as a metaphor for the judgment that will come upon nations or peoples who have turned away from God. For instance, in Isaiah 13:9, the desolation is part of the imagery used to describe the day of the Lord: "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming—cruel, with fury and burning anger—to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it."

The term underscores the severity of divine retribution and the transformative power of God's intervention, turning once-thriving areas into uninhabitable wastelands. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of sin and the ultimate sovereignty of God over creation.

Forms and Transliterations

מָ֨וֶת מות mā·weṯ Mavet māweṯ

Englishman's Concordance

Psalm 55:15
HEB: (יַשִּׁ֤י ק) (מָ֨וֶת ק) עָלֵ֗ימוֹ
INT: let death seize upon go

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3451
1 Occurrence

mā·weṯ — 1 Occ.