What does עָשׁ (kā‘āš) mean in the Bible?
עָשׁ (kā‘āš): Symbol of fragility and decay; creature whose destruction of garments represents moral corruption and worldly impermanence
Hebrew · H6211
עָשׁ
A moth
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עָשׁ H6211
Pronunciation kā‘āš
What does עָשׁ (kā‘āš) mean in the Bible?
עָשׁ (kā‘āš): Symbol of fragility and decay; creature whose destruction of garments represents moral corruption and worldly impermanence
Full entry for עָשׁ (H6211) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6211?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include grass (4), like a moth (3), . . . (1), is like a moth’s cocoon (1), on the grass (1).
Where does עָשׁ (kā‘āš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Job 4:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Daniel (5), Job (3), Isaiah (2), Hosea (1).
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 grass 4× Daniel 4:25, Daniel 4:32, Daniel 4:33, Daniel 5:21
like a moth 3× Job 4:19, Psalms 39:11, Hosea 5:12
. . . 1× Job 13:28
is like a moth’s cocoon 1× Job 27:18
on the grass 1× Daniel 4:15
the moth 1× Isaiah 51:8
the moths 1× Isaiah 50:9
Show sample aligned rows
Job 4:19 עָֽשׁ׃ to like a moth Noun - masculine singular Job 13:28 עָֽשׁ׃ to . . . Noun - masculine singular Job 27:18 כָעָ֣שׁ to is like a moth’s cocoon Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular Psalms 39:11 כָּעָ֣שׁ to like a moth Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular Isaiah 50:9 עָ֖שׁ to the moths Noun - masculine singular Isaiah 51:8 עָ֔שׁ to the moth Noun - masculine singular Daniel 4:15 בַּעֲשַׂ֥ב to on the grass Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct Daniel 4:25 וְעִשְׂבָּ֥א to grass Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular determinate Daniel 4:32 עִשְׂבָּ֤א to grass Noun - masculine singular determinate Daniel 4:33 וְעִשְׂבָּ֤א to grass Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular determinate
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Job 4:19
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 5
Job 3 Psalms 1 Isaiah 2 Daniel 5 Hosea 1
Source forms
עָֽשׁ׃ 2x ‘āš Job 4:19, Job 13:28
עִשְׂבָּ֤א 2x ‘iś·bā Daniel 4:32, Daniel 5:21
בַּעֲשַׂ֥ב 1x ba·‘ă·śaḇ Daniel 4:15
וְעִשְׂבָּ֥א 1x wə·‘iś·bā Daniel 4:25
וְעִשְׂבָּ֤א 1x wə·‘iś·bā Daniel 4:33
כָעָ֣שׁ 1x ḵā·‘āš Job 27:18
כָעָ֖שׁ 1x ḵā·‘āš Hosea 5:12
כָּעָ֣שׁ 1x kā·‘āš Psalms 39:11
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 4x Job 4:19, Job 13:28, Isaiah 50:9, Isaiah 51:8
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular 3x Job 27:18, Psalms 39:11, Hosea 5:12
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular determinate 2x Daniel 4:25, Daniel 4:33
Noun - masculine singular determinate 2x Daniel 4:32, Daniel 5:21
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Daniel 4:15
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Symbol of fragility and decay; creature whose destruction of garments represents moral corruption and worldly impermanence
Source Gloss
a moth
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Symbol of fragility and decay; creature whose destruction of garments represents moral corruption and worldly impermanence
a moth BDB: moth Usage: moth. See also 5906.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Like a moth; a silent and destructive consumer; refers to the way God's discipline erodes human vanity
Showing 1 selected witness from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עָשׁ is built from this root:
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