958. baza

Lexical Summary

baza: To despise, to hold in contempt, to scorn

Original Word: בָּזָא
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: baza'
Pronunciation: baw-ZAW
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-zaw')
KJV: spoil
NASB: divide
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. probably to cleave

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

spoil

A primitive root; probably to cleave -- spoil.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to divide, cut through
NASB Translation
divide (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[בָּזָא] verb divide, cut through (? compare Aramaic בְּזַע, cleave —

Qal Perfect בָּֽזְאוּ נהרים Isaiah 18:2,7 whose land rivers cut through (of Cush).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Appearing only in Isaiah 18, this verb portrays the scouring, channel-cutting action of rivers upon the land of Cush. Isaiah uses it to frame an oracle that moves from human initiative to divine supremacy and, finally, to international worship in Zion.

Occurrences in Scripture

• Isaiah 18:2 – “…to a powerful nation with a strange tongue, whose land the rivers cut through.”
• Isaiah 18:7 – “…a powerful nation with a strange tongue, whose land is divided by rivers— to the place of the Name of the LORD of Hosts, Mount Zion.”

Literary Function in Isaiah 18

The verb bookends the prophecy (verses 2 and 7), forming an inclusio that roots the message in Cush’s geography while underscoring its vulnerability before God. The repetition heightens contrast: the same land first sends envoys in confidence but later sends offerings in submission.

Historical-Geographical Background

Ancient Cush, south of Egypt, was dominated by the Nile’s tributaries and annual floods that literally sliced through its soil. Isaiah’s imagery would have been vivid to eighth-century hearers, evoking both the region’s fertility and its exposure to natural forces beyond human control.

Theological Significance

1. Sovereignty over Creation – The rivers obey divine decree, reminding readers that every natural power serves God’s purposes (cf. Psalm 93:4).
2. Nations in Redemptive Plan – Cush is distant yet destined to honor the LORD; the cutting rivers cannot separate it from His reach.
3. Judgment Yielding Grace – The verb hints at a potential for devastation, but the oracle ends with restoration as gifts flow to Zion, reflecting the wider Isaianic pattern.

Prophetic and Missional Implications

Isaiah 18 anticipates the gathering of Gentiles. The Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion (Acts 8:26-39) provides a New-Testament echo: a Cushite traverses political and geographic divisions to worship the Messiah, fulfilling the trajectory sketched in Isaiah.

Practical Ministry Insights

• No culture or geography is beyond God’s gospel purposes.
• Natural “dividers” can become conduits of grace.
• Present-day powers, like Cush of old, must ultimately bring tribute to Christ (Philippians 2:10-11).

Related Themes and Cross-References

Genesis 2:10-14; Isaiah 11:11; Zephaniah 3:10; Revelation 21:24.

Forms and Transliterations

בָּזְא֤וּ בָּזְא֥וּ בזאו bā·zə·’ū bāzə’ū bazeU

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 18:2
HEB: וּמְבוּסָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־ בָּזְא֥וּ נְהָרִ֖ים אַרְצֽוֹ׃
NAS: land the rivers divide.
KJV: whose land the rivers have spoiled!
INT: and oppressive Whose divide the rivers land

Isaiah 18:7
HEB: וּמְבוּסָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר בָּזְא֤וּ נְהָרִים֙ אַרְצ֔וֹ
NAS: the rivers divide-- To the place
KJV: the rivers have spoiled, to the place
INT: and oppressive Whose divide the rivers land

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 958
2 Occurrences

bā·zə·’ū — 2 Occ.