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בֹּשֶׁת

𐤁𐤔𐤕

bôsheth

H1322 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בוש to be ashamed, to feel shame, to act shamefully

Definition

A state or condition of shame, disgrace, or humiliation, typically resulting from a perceived failure, dishonor, violation of social norms, or defeat; also used metonymically for a thing or act causing disgrace, and, in certain contexts, as a name or epithet for foreign gods or idols to express contempt or censure by Israelite authors.

Semantic Range

shame, disgrace, humiliation (emotional or social state); a cause of shame; public dishonor or embarrassment; defeat or loss of honor (national or personal); contemptuous epithet for foreign gods or idols

Root / Etymology

From the root בוש (b-w-sh), meaning 'to be ashamed, to feel shame.' The noun בֹּשֶׁת is derived from this root, and denotes the state, feeling, or occurrence of shame, as opposed to the verb which describes the action or emotion of becoming ashamed.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֹּשֶׁת appears throughout the Hebrew Bible to describe emotional, social, and occasionally national experiences of disgrace or humiliation. In early texts (e.g., narratives related to family honor or national defeat), it most often signifies personal or collective shame due to exposed wrongdoing, defeat in battle, or public dishonor. In prophetic and poetic literature, it is frequently used in parallel with words for disgrace (e.g., חֶרְפָּה) or contrasted with honor (כָּבוֹד). During the later biblical periods, especially in Jeremiah and Isaiah, the term acquires a polemical nuance: Israelite authors use בֹּשֶׁת pejoratively as a cryptic or derisive reference to foreign deities, especially Baal, as an intentional refusal to call these gods by name. This usage underlines Israelite religious polemics and distinguishes Israelite religious identity from surrounding peoples. English translations often use 'shame,' 'disgrace,' or, contextually, 'idol' or 'abomination,' but these can miss the cultural depth of the term's social, emotional, and polemical connotations. Notably, conflation of בֹּשֶׁת and similar terms such as חֶרְפָּה (reproach) or כְּלִמָּה (insult) can obscure the precise emotional and cultural dynamic intended. The KJV and some later translations sometimes render בֹּשֶׁת as 'confusion,' which reflects an older English usage but does not capture the term’s emotional primary sense.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from בּוּשׁ; shame (the feeling and the condition, as well as its cause); by implication (specifically) an idol; ashamed, confusion, [phrase] greatly, (put to) shame(-ful thing).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בוש (b-w-sh) — to be ashamed, to feel shame, to act shamefully

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1317 בׇּשְׁנָה public disgrace
H4016 מָבֻשׁ in his shame-parts
H955 בּוּשָׁה shame

Word Forms

15 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1322-15 בֹ֖שֶׁת voshet HNp shame shame 6
H1322-05 בֹּ֥שֶׁת boshet HNcfsc shame Man of Shame 6
H1322-01 בָּשְׁתָּֽ/ם bashetam HNcfsc/Sp3mp their shame their shame 4
H1322-04 בְּ/בֹ֖שֶׁת bevoshet HR/Ncfsa in shame in shame 2
H1322-09 לְ/בֹ֑שֶׁת levoshet HR/Ncfsa for shame to shame 2
H1322-07 לַ/בֹּ֔שֶׁת laboshet HRd/Ncfsa to shame to the shame 2
H1322-06 כְּ/בֹ֤שֶׁת kevoshet HR/Ncfsc like the shame like shame-of 1
H1322-13 וּ/בֹ֖שֶׁת uvoshet HC/Ncfsc and shame and shame-of 1
H1322-12 וּ/בְ/בֹ֥שֶׁת uvevoshet HC/R/Ncfsc and in shame and in shame-of 1
H1322-10 וּ/לְ/בֹ֖שֶׁת ulevoshet HC/R/Ncfsc and to the shame and to shame-of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

31 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1322-08 1 Samuel 20:30 לְ/בָ֨שְׁתְּ/ךָ֔ levashetekha HR/Ncfsc/Sp2ms to your shame your shame
H1322-10 1 Samuel 20:30 וּ/לְ/בֹ֖שֶׁת ulevoshet HC/R/Ncfsc and to the shame and to shame-of
H1322-15 2 Samuel 21:7 בֹ֖שֶׁת voshet HNp bosheth shame
H1322-09 Isaiah 30:3 לְ/בֹ֑שֶׁת levoshet HR/Ncfsa for shame to shame
H1322-09 Isaiah 30:5 לְ/בֹ֖שֶׁת levoshet HR/Ncfsa for shame to shame
H1322-15 Isaiah 42:17 בֹ֔שֶׁת voshet HNcfsa shame shame
H1322-15 Isaiah 54:4 בֹ֤שֶׁת voshet HNcfsc shame shame
H1322-02 Isaiah 61:7 בָּשְׁתְּ/כֶם֙ bashetekhem HNcfsc/Sp2mp your shame your shame
H1322-06 Jeremiah 2:26 כְּ/בֹ֤שֶׁת kevoshet HR/Ncfsc like the shame like shame-of
H1322-14 Jeremiah 3:24 וְ/הַ/בֹּ֗שֶׁת vehaboshet HC/Td/Ncfsa But the shameful thing and the shame
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