What does יָרַשׁ (yāraš) mean in the Bible?
YARASH, H3423, often speaks of taking possession, inheriting, or dispossessing. It is a land word, but it is never merely real estate language.
Hebrew · H3423
יָרַשׁ
To occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin
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יָרַשׁ H3423
Pronunciation yāraš
What does יָרַשׁ (yāraš) mean in the Bible?
YARASH, H3423, often speaks of taking possession, inheriting, or dispossessing. It is a land word, but it is never merely real estate language.
Reader summary
Full entry for יָרַשׁ (H3423) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3423?
The BSB source-word alignment has 231 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to possess (31), and possess (13), drive out (9), and take possession of (7), had driven out (7).
Where does יָרַשׁ (yāraš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 15:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Deuteronomy (71), Joshua (29), Judges (27), Numbers (15).
Are there verse guides for יָרַשׁ (yāraš)?
This entry includes 4 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
YARASH, H3423, often speaks of taking possession, inheriting, or dispossessing. It is a land word, but it is never merely real estate language. In the Torah and Former Prophets, Israel receives land because the Lord gives it, and possession often includes the removal of peoples under divine judgment. That makes the word weighty and easy to mishandle. It must be read under covenant promise, holy judgment, and obedience, not as a blank authorization for human conquest.
The Psalms and Prophets widen the inheritance theme toward the righteous dwelling securely and God's people possessing what he promises. The word teaches gift, responsibility, judgment, and hope together.
How the Bible Uses It
H3423 moves through promise, land, dispossession, covenant obedience, judgment, and hope. It is both gift language and judgment language, so it must be handled with moral and canonical care.
- Gen.15.7
The Lord also told him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
The Lord grounds possession in his promise to Abram, making inheritance gift before it becomes Israel's responsibility.
- Deut.4.1
Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Deuteronomy links taking possession with hearing and obeying the Lord's statutes.
- Josh.3.10
He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
Joshua places dispossession under the living God's presence and judgment, not Israel's autonomous power.
- Ps.37.29
The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
Psalm 37 moralizes inheritance around righteousness and secure dwelling before the Lord.
- Isa.60.21
Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
Isaiah looks toward a purified people possessing the land forever as the Lord's planting.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It to possess 31× Genesis 15:7, Numbers 33:53, Deuteronomy 3:18, Deuteronomy 4:14
and possess 13× Deuteronomy 1:8, Deuteronomy 2:31, Deuteronomy 4:5, Deuteronomy 6:1
drive out 9× Numbers 33:55, Joshua 13:13, Joshua 15:63, Joshua 16:10
and take possession of 7× Numbers 13:30, Deuteronomy 1:21, Deuteronomy 4:22, Joshua 1:11
had driven out 7× 1 Kings 14:24, 1 Kings 21:26, 2 Kings 16:3, 2 Kings 17:8
will inherit 6× Leviticus 20:24, Psalms 25:13, Psalms 37:9, Psalms 37:11
to drive out 5× Deuteronomy 4:38, Judges 1:29, Judges 1:30, Judges 1:31
will possess 5× Genesis 22:17, Numbers 36:8, Isaiah 65:9, Obadiah 1:19
possess 3× Genesis 24:60, Joshua 1:15, Judges 11:24
will drive out 3× Deuteronomy 11:23, Joshua 13:6, Jeremiah 49:2
and drove out 2× Numbers 21:32, Numbers 32:39
completely 2× Joshua 17:13, Judges 1:28
drove out 2× Joshua 15:14, Psalms 44:2
drove them out 2× Deuteronomy 2:12, Judges 1:28
has driven out 2× Joshua 23:9, Judges 11:23
is driving out 2× Deuteronomy 9:5, Deuteronomy 18:12
possessed 2× Deuteronomy 30:5, Isaiah 63:18
Should you then possess 2× Ezekiel 33:25, Ezekiel 33:26
They will possess 2× Isaiah 34:17, Isaiah 60:21
to take possession of 2× Judges 2:6, Ezekiel 7:24
to take possession of it 2× Deuteronomy 2:24, 1 Kings 21:18
will dispossess 2× Deuteronomy 18:14, Isaiah 54:3
will possess it 2× Deuteronomy 1:39, Isaiah 34:11
. . . 1× Joshua 3:10
a conqueror 1× Micah 1:15
and bequeath to me 1× Job 13:26
and destroy them 1× Numbers 14:12
and dispossess 1× Deuteronomy 9:1
and dispossessed them 1× Joshua 13:12
and drive them out 1× Joshua 23:5
and have taken possession of it 1× Deuteronomy 17:14
and heirs 1× Isaiah 65:9
and no oppressive 1× Judges 18:7
and possess it 1× Psalms 69:35
and possessed 1× Nehemiah 9:24
and possessed it 1× Jeremiah 32:23
and possessing 1× Joshua 18:3
and seize 1× Joshua 8:7
and take possession 1× Deuteronomy 4:1
and that He will surely drive out 1× Joshua 3:10
and they took possession 1× Judges 1:19
And they took possession of 1× Numbers 21:35
and they took possession of it 1× Joshua 21:43
and they will possess it 1× Jeremiah 30:3
and took 1× Nehemiah 9:25
and took possession of 1× Numbers 21:24
and we will possess them 1× Ezekiel 35:10
and when you have driven them out 1× Deuteronomy 19:1
and you drive them out 1× Deuteronomy 12:29
and you may possess 1× Deuteronomy 16:20
and you take possession of it 1× Deuteronomy 26:1
and you will dispossess 1× Deuteronomy 11:23
and you will dispossess them 1× Deuteronomy 31:3
And you will drive them out 1× Deuteronomy 9:3
and you will take possession of it 1× Deuteronomy 30:5
are dispossessing 1× Deuteronomy 12:2
as an inheritance 1× Leviticus 20:24
be your heir 1× Genesis 15:4
because of their wickedness 1× Deuteronomy 9:4
drive [them] out 1× Joshua 17:18
drive them out 1× Judges 1:32
driven them out 1× Judges 2:23
grants you 1× Judges 11:24
has granted 1× Judges 11:24
have taken possession of 1× Deuteronomy 3:20
He has driven 1× Numbers 32:21
he shall take possession 1× Deuteronomy 33:23
heir 1× Jeremiah 49:1
I may become poor 1× Proverbs 30:9
I will drive out 1× Exodus 34:24
I will drive them out 1× Joshua 14:12
I will possess it 1× Genesis 15:8
leaving it as an inheritance 1× Ezra 9:12
Let us possess 1× Psalms 83:12
possess it 1× Judges 11:23
seized his land 1× 1 Kings 21:19
seizing 1× Judges 11:22
sends poverty 1× 1 Samuel 2:7
share in the inheritance 1× Genesis 21:10
so that you can take possession of 1× Joshua 23:5
so that you may possess 1× Genesis 28:4
So they took 1× Nehemiah 9:22
So they took possession 1× Joshua 19:47
supplants 1× Proverbs 30:23
taken possession 1× Jeremiah 49:1
taking possession of 1× Judges 3:13
that he may take possession of it 1× Numbers 27:11
that they might inherit 1× Psalms 105:44
that they took 1× Psalms 44:3
that you might take possession 1× Amos 2:10
that you should possess 1× Joshua 24:8
the heir 1× 2 Samuel 14:7
their dispossessors 1× Jeremiah 49:2
They drove them out 1× Deuteronomy 2:22
they may possess 1× Amos 9:12
they took 1× Joshua 12:1
They took possession 1× Deuteronomy 4:47
They took possession of 1× 2 Kings 17:24
they will inherit 1× Isaiah 61:7
They will occupy 1× Obadiah 1:19
they will possess you 1× Ezekiel 36:12
to be possessed 1× Joshua 13:1
to conquer 1× Deuteronomy 2:31
to dispossess 1× Deuteronomy 12:29
to drive out the inhabitants 1× Judges 1:27
to drive them out 1× Joshua 17:13
to inherit 1× Psalms 37:34
to new owners 1× Jeremiah 8:10
to occupy 1× Joshua 17:12
to rob us 1× Judges 14:15
to seize 1× Habakkuk 1:6
to take possession 1× 1 Kings 21:16
took possession of 1× Judges 11:21
we drive them out 1× Deuteronomy 7:17
we possess 1× Judges 11:24
we took possession of 1× Deuteronomy 3:12
When you take possession 1× Deuteronomy 11:31
who drove out 1× Judges 1:20
who drove them out 1× Deuteronomy 2:21
who possesses 1× Numbers 36:8
will be my heir 1× Genesis 15:3
will be taken over 1× Hosea 9:6
will be your heir 1× Genesis 15:4
will come to destitution 1× Genesis 45:11
will come to poverty 1× Proverbs 23:21
will consume 1× Deuteronomy 28:42
will destroy them 1× Exodus 15:9
will force it 1× Job 20:15
will impoverish her 1× Zechariah 9:4
will inherit it 1× Numbers 14:24
will reclaim 1× Obadiah 1:17
yet he possessed 1× Ezekiel 33:24
You are to take possession of 1× Numbers 33:53
You gave us as an inheritance 1× 2 Chronicles 20:11
you may possess 1× 1 Chronicles 28:8
you must drive out 1× Numbers 33:52
you to inherit 1× Leviticus 25:46
you will grow poor 1× Proverbs 20:13
you will possess 1× Deuteronomy 5:33
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 15:3 יוֹרֵ֥שׁ to will be my heir Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Genesis 15:4 יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ to be your heir Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular Genesis 15:4 יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ׃ to will be your heir Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular Genesis 15:7 לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ to to possess Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular Genesis 15:8 אִֽירָשֶֽׁנָּה׃ to I will possess it Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular Genesis 21:10 יִירַשׁ֙ to share in the inheritance Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 22:17 וְיִרַ֣שׁ to will possess Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 24:60 וְיִירַ֣שׁ to possess Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 28:4 לְרִשְׁתְּךָ֙ to so that you may possess Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | second person masculine singular Genesis 45:11 תִּוָּרֵ֛שׁ to will come to destitution Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 15:3
Aligned rows 231
Books represented 27
Genesis 10 Exodus 2 Leviticus 3 Numbers 15 Deuteronomy 71 Joshua 29 Judges 27 1 Samuel 1 2 Samuel 1 1 Kings 6 2 Kings 4 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 4 Ezra 2 Nehemiah 5 Job 2 Psalms 11 Proverbs 4 Isaiah 10 Jeremiah 7 Ezekiel 6 Hosea 1 Amos 2 Obadiah 4 Micah 1 Habakkuk 1 Zechariah 1
Source forms
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ 13x lə·riš·tāh Genesis 15:7, Deuteronomy 4:5, Deuteronomy 4:14, Deuteronomy 5:31
לָרֶ֣שֶׁת 10x lā·re·šeṯ Leviticus 20:24, Leviticus 25:46, Deuteronomy 9:1, Deuteronomy 9:5
הוֹרִ֣ישׁ 6x hō·w·rîš Judges 1:27, 1 Kings 14:24, 1 Kings 21:26, 2 Kings 17:8
לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ 6x lə·riš·tāh Deuteronomy 3:18, Deuteronomy 11:10, Deuteronomy 11:11, Deuteronomy 21:1
וִֽירִשְׁתֶּ֣ם 5x wî·riš·tem Deuteronomy 4:1, Deuteronomy 8:1, Deuteronomy 11:8, Deuteronomy 11:23
לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּ 5x lə·riš·tāh Deuteronomy 4:26, Deuteronomy 7:1, Deuteronomy 9:6, Deuteronomy 11:29
לָרֶ֥שֶׁת 4x lā·re·šeṯ Numbers 33:53, Deuteronomy 12:29, Judges 2:6, Judges 18:9
לָרֶ֖שֶׁת 4x lā·re·šeṯ Deuteronomy 2:31, Deuteronomy 9:4, Amos 2:10, Habakkuk 1:6
Parsing patterns
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular 29x Genesis 15:7, Deuteronomy 3:18, Deuteronomy 4:5, Deuteronomy 4:14
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct 19x Leviticus 20:24, Leviticus 25:46, Numbers 33:53, Deuteronomy 2:31
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular 14x Judges 1:27, Judges 1:29, Judges 1:30, Judges 1:31
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 11x Numbers 21:35, Deuteronomy 4:47, Joshua 12:1, Joshua 19:47
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 10x Numbers 36:8, Psalms 37:9, Psalms 37:11, Psalms 37:22
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural 8x Deuteronomy 4:1, Deuteronomy 4:22, Deuteronomy 8:1, Deuteronomy 11:8
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural 7x Deuteronomy 3:20, Joshua 1:15, Isaiah 14:21, Ezekiel 7:24
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 6x Numbers 21:32, Numbers 32:39, Joshua 15:14, Joshua 23:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Teach inheritance as gift under God's promise, not as entitlement. Handle dispossession texts with moral seriousness and canonical restraint.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H3423 authorizes modern believers to seize territory, platforms, or influence in God's name.
- Do not claim that inheritance is detached from obedience, judgment, or the Lord's covenant purposes in the passage being taught.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Genesis 15:3 Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
יוֹרֵ֥שׁ yō·w·rêš to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin The form clarifies that Abram is not merely discussing property, but naming the heir problem before God's promise is reaffirmed. Read verse guide Genesis 15:4 Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ yî·rā·šə·ḵā to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin The form clarifies the denied heir relationship before the verse identifies the promised heir from Abram's own body. Read verse guide Genesis 15:7 Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular
לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ lə·riš·tāh to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin The form shows the land promise moving toward possession: the LORD brought Abram out in order to give him the land to possess it. Read verse guide Genesis 15:8 Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular
אִֽירָשֶֽׁנָּה׃ ’î·rā·šen·nāh to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin The form clarifies the object of Abram's assurance question: possession of the land the Lord promised. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To seize land by displacing inhabitants; theologically central to Israel's covenant possession of Canaan
Source Gloss
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize , to rob , to inherit ; also to expel , to impoverish , to ruin
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 68
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 25×
Perfect 1Kgs 14:24 · 1Kgs 21:26 · 2Chr 28:3 · 2Chr 33:2 · 2Kgs 16:3 · 2Kgs 17:8 · 2Kgs 21:2 · Judg 1:27 · Judg 1:29 · Judg 1:30 · Judg 1:31 · Judg 1:33 · Judg 11:23 · Judg 11:24 · Josh 13:13 · Josh 16:10 19×
Imperfect Exod 34:24 · Josh 3:10 · Josh 17:18 · Num 33:55 4×
Participle active 1Sam 2:7 · Deut 18:12 2×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 38×
Imperfect Amos 9:12 · Isa 60:21 · Isa 61:7 · Num 36:8 · Obad 1:20 · Ps 37:9 · Ps 37:11 · Ps 37:22 · Ps 37:29 · Ps 105:44 · 1Chr 28:8 · Ezek 33:25 · Ezek 33:26 · Lev 20:24 · Gen 21:10 · Isa 54:3 20×
Participle active Deut 12:2 · Deut 18:14 · Gen 15:3 · Isa 65:9 · Jer 49:1 · Judg 18:7 · Num 36:8 7×
Perfect Deut 30:5 · Isa 63:18 · Ps 44:4 · 1Kgs 21:19 · Deut 3:12 · Jer 49:1 6×
Sequential imperfect 1Kgs 21:15 · Deut 1:21 · Deut 2:24 · Deut 2:31 4×
Cohortative Ps 83:13 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 4×
Imperfect Gen 45:11 · Prov 20:13 · Prov 23:21 · Prov 30:9 4×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 1×
Imperfect Deut 28:42 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God's promise to Abraham to occupy and take possession of Canaan
Blessing of inheriting the promised land as part of covenant succession
Judgment oracle about nations seizing and dispossessing territory unlawfully
Idleness and excessive sleep leading to impoverishment and ruin
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 232 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
יָרַשׁ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The semantic range of H3423 forces interpreters to hold possession and dispossession together. Genesis 15 presents the land as a gift grounded in God's covenant promise to Abram, while the same chapter also delays possession until the iniquity of the Amorites reaches its appointed measure. Deuteronomy addresses a people preparing to possess what God gives and repeatedly warns that covenant rebellion can lead to their own removal.
Joshua therefore cannot be read as Israel creating a right of conquest for itself; the narrative presents a unique act of divine judgment and promise fulfillment under explicit command. Psalm 37 turns inheritance toward the righteous who wait for the Lord rather than grasping through violence, and Isaiah 60 carries the hope toward a restored people planted by God.
The word supports neither modern conquest rhetoric nor a reading that dissolves Israel's concrete land promise into abstraction.
Anchor passage
Gen.15.7-21
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 15:7-21 - covenant gift and patient judgment frame possession
- Deuteronomy 4:1-8 - hearing and obedience accompany life in the land
- Deuteronomy 9:4-6 - Israel's possession is not grounded in its righteousness
- Joshua 3:9-13 - the living God leads Israel under His authority
- Psalm 37:9-11, 29 - those who wait for the Lord inherit the land
- Isaiah 60:21 - restored inheritance belongs to the Lord's planting
The verb can mean possess, inherit, take possession, or dispossess. The grammatical subject and object matter: the same form family may describe Israel receiving land, nations being dispossessed, or another party taking possession. No single English gloss carries the moral evaluation; the passage supplies it.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament inheritance pattern joins divine gift, covenant identity, judgment, and a promised dwelling. Jesus receives Psalm 37's language in Matthew 5:5, and the New Testament expands inheritance toward kingdom, eternal life, resurrection, and new creation. This development does not authorize the church to reenact Israel's conquest or erase the historical land promise.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain