Bible Word Study
יִשְׁמָא
Yishmâʼ · Jishma, an Israelite
יִשְׁמָא
Jishma, an Israelite
Definition
יִשְׁמָא (Yishmâʼ) is a proper noun referring to an Israelite man named Jishma, who appears only once in the Old Testament. He is listed as a son of Etam and a descendant of Judah in the genealogical records of 1 Chronicles 4:3. The name itself means 'desolate' or 'ruin,' derived from the Hebrew root יָשַׁם (yāšam). As a personal name, it likely carried a descriptive or perhaps commemorative significance for the family, though no narrative about his life or deeds is provided in Scripture.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively as a personal name in a single genealogical context. It appears only in 1 Chronicles 4:3, within the lengthy tribal genealogy of Judah. Its usage is purely for lineage identification, with no associated narrative, dialogue, or repeated occurrence elsewhere in the biblical text.
Etymology
The name יִשְׁמָא (Yishmâʼ) is derived from the Hebrew root יָשַׁם (yāšam, H3456), which means 'to be desolate' or 'to lay waste.' It is a proper noun formed from this root, essentially meaning 'desolation' or 'ruin.' This follows a common biblical pattern where personal names are formed from words describing attributes, circumstances, or hopes.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often significant and descriptive. A name meaning 'desolate' might seem negative, but it could reflect circumstances surrounding the child's birth, a parental sentiment, or even a hope for divine intervention reversing that condition. Its presence in a genealogy affirms that every individual, even those merely named, is part of God's covenantal lineage and historical record. יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishmāʻēʼl, H3458) — A more common name ('God hears'), sharing the same initial sound and also derived from a word for 'hearing' (שָׁמַע), but with a different meaning and theological connotation.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]