820. ashmannim

Lexical Summary

ashmannim: Guilty ones, offenders

Original Word: אַשְׁמָן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ashman
Pronunciation: ash-mah-neem
Phonetic Spelling: (ash-mawn')
KJV: desolate place
NASB: who are vigorous
Word Origin: [probably from H8081 (שֶׁמֶן - oil)]

1. a fat-field

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

desolate place

Probably from shemen; a fat-field -- desolate place.

see HEBREW shemen

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from shamen
Definition
perhaps stout
NASB Translation
who are vigorous (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

אַשְׁמַנִּים (elative, Ges^{§§ 85b}, 133a; on נּ see Id.^{§§ 20a}, 93ee) apparently

noun [masculine] plural כַּמֵּתִים ׳בָּא Isaiah 59:10 perhaps: (we are) among the stout (RV lusty) like dead men, compare Di-Kit; or abstract in (actual) vigour (Buhl) > AV (after JosKi from אָשַׁם Hosea 14:1 'be desolate'') in desolate places (other conjectures see (Che^Hpt Marti).

Topical Lexicon

Hebrew Background and Semantic Range

אַשְׁמָן (’ashmán) pictures “fatness” or “robustness”—a state of well-nourished strength. In extended use it can point either to vigorous people or to fertile, “rich” terrain. The plural form in Isaiah 59:10, אֲשְׁמַנִּים, has led translators to render it variously: “robust,” “desolate places,” or “fertile fields.” The diversity shows that the word carries both physical and moral color: abundance that ought to be a blessing can become a scene of lifelessness when sin rules.

Canonical Context (Isaiah 59:10)

The only occurrence comes in Isaiah’s great indictment of covenant-breaking Judah:

“Like the blind we feel along a wall, and like the eyeless we grope; we stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the robust we are like the dead.” (Isaiah 59:10)

The prophet piles image upon image. A people meant to display covenant vitality (“robust”) instead resemble corpses. The irony is sharpened by the juxtaposition of daylight and blindness, health and death. The robust setting—the very word that evokes plenty—only magnifies their spiritual ruin.

Historical and Literary Setting

Isaiah 59 forms part of the larger section Isaiah 56–66, generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BC yet prophetically spanning exile and restoration. The chapter alternates between confession (verses 1–15a) and divine intervention (verses 15b–21). Verse 10 belongs to a communal lament that acknowledges national guilt (verses 9–15a). By using אַשְׁמָן Isaiah draws on everyday agrarian life: fields of fattened livestock or rich pastureland. Such scenes should imply security, but Judah’s moral blindness has turned plenty into peril. The vocabulary thus grounds the prophecy in the tangible world his first hearers knew, while pressing a spiritual lesson.

Theological Themes

1. Moral Blindness: The people “stumble at midday,” proving that sin can negate even the brightest revelation.
2. Wasted Abundance: God’s material gifts become barren when cut off from their Giver. אַשְׁמָן exposes the tragedy of squandered privilege.
3. Death in Life: “We are like the dead” shows that true life is covenant life; without it, prosperity is a tomb.
4. Hope of Redemption: The very chapter that highlights corruption ends with divine promise—“The Redeemer will come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20). The stark contrast accentuates grace.

Intertextual Echoes

• Deuteronomy 32:15 warns that Jeshurun “grew fat and kicked,” a parallel between physical fatness and spiritual apostasy.
• Ezekiel 34:16 condemns shepherds who “destroy the fat and the strong.” Isaiah’s use supports the prophetic chorus that abundance mishandled leads to judgment.
• Revelation 3:17 echoes the same irony: “You say, ‘I am rich…’ but you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

Practical Ministry Applications

• Self-Examination: Congregations enjoying material blessing must guard against spiritual torpor. Isaiah 59:10 challenges believers to ask whether outward robustness masks inner death.
• Preaching on Repentance: The verse provides vivid imagery for sermons that expose sin’s blinding power and Christ’s ability to restore sight.
• Pastoral Counseling: The text helps frame discussions with those who “have it all” yet feel lifeless, pointing them to the Redeemer promised in the same chapter.
• Mission Strategy: Affluent cultures may require prophetic confrontation more than material aid; Isaiah 59:10 models compassionate yet honest diagnosis.

Christological Fulfillment

Isaiah’s lament sets the stage for the Messiah who gives “recovery of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18). Jesus enters robust first-century Judea but finds spiritual death; He is the true “light of the world” (John 8:12) who reverses the condition described by אַשְׁמָן—turning dead men in rich fields into living disciples bearing fruit.

Conclusion

אַשְׁמָן captures the paradox of plenty without piety. Its single use in Isaiah 59:10 is enough to reveal a timeless truth: material or social strength is no safeguard against the deadening effect of sin. Only the Redeemer promised in the same breath can convert outward fatness into inner life, opening blind eyes to the glory of God.

Forms and Transliterations

בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים באשמנים bā’ašmannîm bā·’aš·man·nîm baashmanNim

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 59:10
HEB: בַֽצָּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים כַּמֵּתִֽים׃
NAS: as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous [we are] like dead
KJV: as in the night; [we are] in desolate places as dead
INT: midday the twilight who dead

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 820
1 Occurrence

bā·’aš·man·nîm — 1 Occ.