חִשָּׁבוֹן
a contrivance, i.e. actual (a warlike machine) or mental (a machination)
Definition
The Hebrew noun חִשָּׁבוֹן refers to a device, invention, or contrivance, encompassing both physical objects and abstract plans. In its concrete sense, it describes a military 'engine' or machine, specifically the defensive artillery used on Jerusalem's towers (2 Chronicles 26:15). In its abstract sense, it denotes a mental 'invention' or scheme, as seen in Ecclesiastes 7:29, where it describes the many devices that humanity has contrived apart from God's design. Thus, the word bridges the ideas of tangible craftsmanship and intangible cunning.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only twice in the Old Testament, in two distinct contexts that illustrate its dual meaning. In 2 Chronicles 26:15, it appears in a historical narrative describing King Uzziah's military preparations, referring to physical 'engines' invented by skillful men for defense. In Ecclesiastes 7:29, it is used in wisdom literature with a philosophical tone, referring to the many 'inventions' or schemes that people have devised, which often lead them astray from simplicity and righteousness.
Etymology
Derived from the root חָשַׁב (ḥāšab, H2803), meaning 'to think, plan, devise, or calculate.' The noun form חִשָּׁבוֹן carries the sense of a 'product of thought'—a device or invention resulting from deliberate mental activity. This root is common in Hebrew, relating to concepts of planning, accounting, and imagination.
Semantic Range
This word highlights the human capacity for invention, both for protection and for potential corruption. In 2 Chronicles, it shows God's provision of skill for communal defense, while in Ecclesiastes, it underscores the theological truth that human ingenuity, when divorced from God's wisdom, leads to complexity and sin. It enriches the reading of Ecclesiastes 7:29 by contrasting God's 'made upright' creation with humanity's many devised 'inventions,' illustrating the fall into moral and intellectual confusion.
In the context of 2 Chronicles 26:15, the 'engines' were likely advanced military technology for their time, such as catapults or other projectile-launching devices placed on towers and battlements. This reflects the ancient Near Eastern arms race and the importance of fortified city defenses. The term's use for mental 'inventions' in Ecclesiastes reflects a cultural awareness of human philosophical and strategic cunning.
מַחֲשָׁבָה (machashabah, H4284) — a thought, device, or plan, often with a negative connotation of evil schemes; מְלָאכָה (melakah, H4399) — a work or product of labor, more general for craftsmanship.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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