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אִשָּׁה

𐤀𐤔𐤄

ʼishshâh

H802 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אישׁ to be a man, husband, individual person

Definition

Adult female human, typically in contrast to אָדָם ('man, human/husband'), with contextual senses of 'woman' and 'wife.' Used for women of various statuses (free, married, unmarried), and frequently as a legal or social designation. The semantic range encompasses general 'woman,' 'wife' (especially in family or legal contexts), and in extended uses, denotes 'female' of the species or collective groups of women.

Semantic Range

woman, wife, female (of humans); spouse; females collectively; womanly status; sometimes (in poetry or legal/proverbial usage) as representative of femininity or collective women

Root / Etymology

Feminine form derived from the root אִישׁ ('man, individual') with feminine ending -ָה. Related to אִישׁ but lexically distinct; formation demonstrates feminine noun morphology in Hebrew.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אִשָּׁה appears throughout the Hebrew Bible, both as a general term for 'woman' and in the specific sense of 'wife.' In patriarchal/monarchic contexts, status and social roles are often implied by whether a woman is referred to by name or as someone's אִשָּׁה. The plural נָשִׁים is irregular and unique among Hebrew plurals. The distinction between אִשָּׁה ('woman, wife') and נְקֵבָה ('female' in a biological or zoological sense) is significant: אִשָּׁה usually denotes adult human females within social frameworks, not a generic female. In legal or genealogical texts, אִשָּׁה nearly always means 'wife,' regardless of emotional or conjugal status. In later periods and post-exilic writings, semantic range narrows toward legal/marital contexts but retains general use. Some English translations render אִשָּׁה as 'wife' where the context is marital and 'woman' generally, but this often fails to capture nuances present in Hebrew. The English word 'wife' has narrower implications than אִשָּׁה does in Hebrew social structure. Note: English Bibles sometimes interpret אִשָּׁה as 'wife' in patronymic or relational contexts; in modern scholarship, it is recognized that the word itself simply means 'woman,' with marital status derived from context.

Translation Consistency

primary "woman" 473 occurrences

Most frequent and most generally accurate rendering of אִשָּׁה — denotes an adult female human whether married or not. "Woman" is natural English, covers the broad semantic range (and can be made specific as "wife" in context where marital status is explicit) and ensures consistent, readable translation across all occurrences.

Alternatives (308 occurrences):
"women" (158x) "wife" (77x) "wives" (35x) "women of" (16x) "one" (4x) "among the women" (4x) "female" (3x) "each one" (3x) "each to her sister" (2x) "wife of" (2x) "like the women" (1x) "like women" (1x) "than a wife" (1x) "than with a wife" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine of אִישׁ or אֱנוֹשׁ; irregular plural, נָשִׁים;(used in the same wide sense as אֱנוֹשׁ); a woman; (adulter) ess, each, every, female, [idiom] many, [phrase] none, one, [phrase] together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אישׁ (ʾ-y-š) — man, husband, individual person

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1145 בֶּן־יְמִינִי individual man
H376 אִישׁ my men
H377 אִישׁ and act as men
H378 אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת individual man
H380 אִישׁוֹן pupil of

Word Forms

58 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H802-08 אִשָּׁ֔ה ishah HNcfsa a woman woman woman 147
H802-06 הָ֣/אִשָּׁ֔ה haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman 103
H802-04 אֵֽשֶׁת eshet HNcfsc wife woman of woman of 97
H802-11 אִשְׁתּ֖/וֹ isheto HNcfsc/Sp3ms his wife his woman his woman 66
H802-34 נָשִׁ֑ים nashim HNcfpa wives women women 55
H802-20 לְ/אִשָּׁ֑ה leishah HR/Ncfsa as a wife to a woman as a wife 53
H802-07 הַ/נָּשִׁ֖ים hanashim HTd/Ncfpa the women the women the women 40
H802-50 וְ/אִשָּׁה֙ veishah HC/Ncfsa and a woman and a woman and a woman 22
H802-25 לְ/נָשִׁ֔ים lenashim HR/Ncfpa as wives to women as wives 14
H802-52 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ veisheto HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his wife and his woman and his woman 14

Occurrences in Scripture

781 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H802-20 Genesis 2:22 לְ/אִשָּׁ֑ה leishah HR/Ncfsa into a woman to a woman to a woman
H802-08 Genesis 2:23 אִשָּׁ֔ה ishah HNcfsa woman woman woman
H802-03 Genesis 2:24 בְּ/אִשְׁתּ֔/וֹ beisheto HR/Ncfsc/Sp3ms to his wife his woman to his woman
H802-52 Genesis 2:25 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֑/וֹ veisheto HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his wife and his woman and his woman
H802-06 Genesis 3:1 הָ֣/אִשָּׁ֔ה haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman
H802-06 Genesis 3:2 הָֽ/אִשָּׁ֖ה haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman
H802-06 Genesis 3:4 הָֽ/אִשָּׁ֑ה haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman
H802-06 Genesis 3:6 הָֽ/אִשָּׁ֡ה haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman
H802-52 Genesis 3:8 וְ/אִשְׁתּ֗/וֹ veisheto HC/Ncfsc/Sp3ms and his wife and his woman and his woman
H802-06 Genesis 3:12 הָֽ/אִשָּׁה֙ haishah HTd/Ncfsa the woman the woman the woman
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