Beṣaʿ names gain or profit, often within condemnation of unjust acquisition. Exodus 18:21 requires trustworthy judges who are averse to dishonest gain, connecting the prospect of benefit with public responsibility.
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Full entry for בֶּצַע (H1215) · Open the biblical lexicon
Beṣaʿ names gain or profit, often within condemnation of unjust acquisition. Exodus 18:21 requires trustworthy judges who are averse to dishonest gain, connecting the prospect of benefit with public responsibility.
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include dishonest gain (2), for gain (2), gain (2), . . . (1), covetous gain (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 37:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (4), Ezekiel (3), Isaiah (3), Proverbs (3).
Beṣaʿ names gain or profit, often within condemnation of unjust acquisition. Exodus 18:21 requires trustworthy judges who are averse to dishonest gain, connecting the prospect of benefit with public responsibility. Proverbs 15:27 describes the household trouble caused by greed for unjust gain and contrasts it with rejecting bribes. These passages do not condemn productive work simply because it receives payment; they confront gain that distorts judgment and harms relationships.
Genesis 37:26 records Judah asking what profit there would be in killing Joseph, before proposing to sell him instead. The question is part of a harmful bargain, not a moral endorsement of treating a brother as merchandise. Psalm 119:36 asks God to turn the heart toward His testimonies rather than covetous gain. Teaching should ask how benefit is obtained and whom its pursuit harms, instead of making a monetary outcome its own proof of wisdom or assigning guilt to every person who needs an income.
Judicial integrity, household damage, Judah's profit calculation and a prayer for the heart identify gain through its methods and loyalties. Public responsibility and human dignity must remain visible when explaining the prospect of material benefit.
Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
Jethro recommends capable and trustworthy leaders who reject dishonest gain for delegated judging. The qualification protects responsibility from a benefit that would distort its exercise.
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Judah asks about profit before proposing Joseph's sale instead of killing him. His attributed calculation is not approval of reducing a brother to a saleable asset.
He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
Greed for unjust gain brings household trouble, while hatred of bribes is contrasted positively. The saying concerns damaging acquisition rather than a blanket condemnation of wages.
Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
The speaker asks that the heart be turned toward God's testimonies and away from covetous gain. Surrounding requests for instruction and understanding make this a prayer about direction and obedience.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Gain acquired through violence or exploitation; carries moral condemnation when used of human profit-seeking behavior.
Gain acquired through violence or exploitation; carries moral condemnation when used of human profit-seeking behavior.
plunder; by extension, gain (usually unjust) BDB: gain made by violence Usage: covetousness, (dishonest) gain, lucre, profit.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
בֶּצַע is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
The judges described in Exodus 18 must be trustworthy because their work concerns other people's causes. Aversion to dishonest gain safeguards that responsibility from interests that would purchase or distort a decision. Proverbs 15 adds the household consequences of greed and the contrasting refusal of bribes. Gain becomes a moral concern through its method and effects, not simply through the existence of payment.
Judah's question in Genesis 37 provides a severe example: sparing Joseph from immediate killing does not make the proposed sale a faithful treatment of a brother. The narrative preserves his profit calculation without endorsing it. Psalm 119 instead asks for a heart directed toward divine testimony, and Luke 12:13-21 warns against measuring life by accumulated possessions. These comparisons invite an examination of loyalty, justice and human dignity without turning poverty into proof of virtue or financial success into assurance that God approves every decision that produced it.
Exod.18.21
The noun's gain or profit range must be read with the passage's modifiers, contrasts and proposed action. The licensed entry highlights violent gain, while direct contexts specify dishonest benefit, covetous direction or an attributed profit question rather than condemning every income.
Luke 12:13-21 warns against greed and locating life's security in possessions. It supports examining the loyalties behind gain alongside these Hebrew witnesses. The comparison does not make every beṣaʿ use the same Greek greed term or provide a verdict on every wage, saving decision or present person's financial character.