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יָשֵׁן

𐤉𐤔𐤍

yâshên

H3462 verb

SILEX Entry

Root ישן to sleep, to become old, to remain

Definition

To sleep, to be in a state of sleep or physical rest; by extension, to be inattentive, unresponsive, or to experience a cessation of activity akin to sleeping. In figurative or poetic contexts, can describe being dead or experiencing stillness, and also used to denote something becoming old, stale, or remaining unchanged over a long period.

Semantic Range

to sleep, to be asleep, to be inattentive, to die (figurative), to become old or stale, to remain unchanged over time, to store

Root / Etymology

Root י-ש-נ (ישן), meaning 'to sleep'. The form יָשֵׁן is a verbal root primarily denoting the act of sleeping or the state of being asleep, but also produces derived forms relating to age ('old', 'stale'), reflecting how familiarity or inertia metaphorically resembles sleep or inactivity.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, יָשֵׁן appears most often in straightforward physical contexts referring to a person who is asleep. It is also employed in figurative speech, such as 'the land rested and was quiet; then they slept' (Judg 5:26), where it may signify stillness or death. The verb and its derivatives (such as the adjective יָשָׁן, 'old, aged, stale') highlight a conceptual link in Biblical Hebrew between sleeping, inactivity, and the passage of time. While English translations sometimes render figurative uses as 'sleep' or 'die,' the Hebrew use is more nuanced, reflecting a range of concepts from literal sleep to metaphoric death or persistence. In later biblical and post-biblical Hebrew, derivatives extend to the notion of something being old or matured by time. It is distinct from שָׁכַב (H7901, 'to lie down'), which more commonly refers explicitly to lying down, sometimes as an idiom for death or sexual relations; יָשֵׁן centers more directly on the state of sleeping or the effects of time. In post-exilic or Second Temple usage, forms from this root refer more often to the concept of agedness or staleness (e.g., 'old bread', 'stored grain'), with the literal sense of sleep remaining but contextually distinguished.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to be slack or languid, i.e. (by implication) sleep (figuratively, to die); also to grow old, stale or inveterate; old (store), remain long, (make to) sleep.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ישן (y-š-n) — to sleep, to become old, to remain

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3463 יָשֵׁן like a sleeping one
H3464 יָשֵׁן sleeping one
H3465 יָשָׁן the aged one
H3466 יְשָׁנָה the Ancient-place
H8142 שֵׁנָה from their sleep

Word Forms

15 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3462-11 וְ/יָשְׁנ֥וּ veyashenu HC/Vqq3cp and-they-will-sleep and they slept 3
H3462-08 וַ/יִּישָׁ֑ן vayishan HC/Vqw3ms and he fell asleep and he slept 3
H3462-14 יִישָׁ֑ן yishan HVqi3ms sleep he sleeps 2
H3462-13 יְשֵׁנִ֔ים yeshenim HAampa those who sleep sleeping ones 2
H3462-12 יָ֝שַׁ֗נְתִּי yashaneti HVqp1cs I would have slept I slept 1
H3462-09 וְ/אִ֫ישָׁ֥ן veishan HC/Vqi1cs and sleep and I will sleep 1
H3462-04 נוֹשֶׁ֤נֶת noshenet HVNrfsa chronic becoming-old 1
H3462-15 יִֽ֭שְׁנוּ yishenu HVqi3mp they sleep they sleep 1
H3462-03 נוֹשָׁ֑ן noshan HVNsmsa very old having grown old 1
H3462-06 וָֽ/אִ֫ישָׁ֥נָ/ה vaishanah HC/Vqw1cs/Sh and slept and I slept 1

Occurrences in Scripture

21 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3462-08 Genesis 2:21 וַ/יִּישָׁ֑ן vayishan HC/Vqw3ms and he slept and he slept
H3462-08 Genesis 41:5 וַ/יִּישָׁ֕ן vayishan HC/Vqw3ms and he fell asleep and he slept
H3462-04 Leviticus 13:11 נוֹשֶׁ֤נֶת noshenet HVNrfsa chronic becoming-old
H3462-03 Leviticus 26:10 נוֹשָׁ֑ן noshan HVNsmsa very old having grown old
H3462-10 Deuteronomy 4:25 וְ/נוֹשַׁנְתֶּ֖ם venoshanetem HC/VNq2mp and have remained long and you have grown old
H3462-07 Judges 16:19 וַ/תְּיַשְּׁנֵ֨/הוּ֙ vateyashenehu HC/Vpw3fs/Sp3ms and she made him sleep she made him sleep
H3462-13 1 Samuel 26:12 יְשֵׁנִ֔ים yeshenim HAampa were asleep sleeping ones
H3462-08 1 Kings 19:5 וַ/יִּישַׁ֔ן vayishan HC/Vqw3ms and slept and he slept
H3462-14 Isaiah 5:27 יִישָׁ֑ן yishan HVqi3ms sleep he sleeps
H3462-11 Jeremiah 51:39 וְ/יָשְׁנ֥וּ veyashenu HC/Vqq3cp and they shall sleep and they slept
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