דּוּשׁ
to trample or thresh
Definition
The Hebrew verb דּוּשׁ (dûwsh) primarily means 'to thresh' or 'to trample,' referring to the agricultural process of separating grain from its husks by having animals or people tread on it (Deuteronomy 25:4, Isaiah 28:28). It extends metaphorically to signify violent trampling or crushing by enemies, as seen when nations are depicted as being threshed underfoot (2 Kings 13:7, Isaiah 25:10). In a unique usage, Job 39:15 employs the word to describe an ostrich carelessly trampling its own eggs, illustrating neglect.
Biblical Usage
דּוּשׁ is used 13 times, primarily in narrative, prophetic, and poetic books. Its literal agricultural sense appears in laws (Deuteronomy 25:4) and descriptions of harvest (Isaiah 28:27-28). The metaphorical sense of military or divine judgment—where enemies or nations are 'threshed'—is prominent in historical and prophetic texts (Judges 8:7, 2 Kings 13:7, Isaiah 25:10). The usage in 1 Chronicles 21:20 (threshing wheat) and the erroneous KJV rendering in Jeremiah 50:11 (corrected to 'grass') are notable exceptions.
Etymology
A primitive root (דּוּשׁ, דּוֹשׁ, or דִּישׁ), its core meaning relates to pounding or trampling. Cognates exist in other Semitic languages (e.g., Arabic dāsa, 'to tread'), confirming the basic sense. The word's development from a concrete agricultural action to a metaphor for destruction is natural within the Hebrew worldview.
Semantic Range
This word enriches the biblical imagery of God's judgment and provision. The threshing metaphor powerfully depicts God trampling wickedness (Isaiah 25:10) or using nations as His threshing instrument. Conversely, the law in Deuteronomy 25:4, forbidding muzzling an ox while it treads grain, is cited by Paul (1 Corinthians 9:9, 1 Timothy 5:18) to teach about God's care for laborers, showing how a concrete Hebrew term underpins New Testament ethical principles.
Threshing was a vital, labor-intensive step in ancient Israel's agricultural cycle, typically done on a hard, circular threshing floor. Animals (oxen, donkeys) would pull a heavy sled or simply tread over harvested stalks to separate the edible grain. This process makes the metaphorical leap to military trampling very intuitive, as both involve a repetitive, crushing force applied to something to extract or destroy.
דרך (dārak, H1869) — to tread or march, often in a general or military context. רקע (rāqaʿ, H7554) — to stamp, beat, or spread out, sometimes overlapping with trampling. כתת (kāthath, H3807) — to beat or crush in pieces, a more general term for destruction.
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.
Full methodology & sources →