To break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass , apostatize , quarrel
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פָּשַׁע (pāšaʿ) is a verb for rebelling, transgressing, or breaking away from authority. First Kings 12:19 says Israel rebelled against David's house, and Second Kings uses the verb for Moab and Edom revolting from Judah.
Reader summary
Full entry for פָּשַׁע (H6586) · Open the biblical lexicon
פָּשַׁע (pāšaʿ) is a verb for rebelling, transgressing, or breaking away from authority. First Kings 12:19 says Israel rebelled against David's house, and Second Kings uses the verb for Moab and Edom revolting from Judah.
The BSB source-word alignment has 41 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include rebelled (9), has been in rebellion (4), and transgress (2), have rebelled (2), a rebel (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Kings 8:50. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (9), 2 Kings (6), 2 Chronicles (4), Jeremiah (4).
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
פָּשַׁע (pāšaʿ) is a verb for rebelling, transgressing, or breaking away from authority. First Kings 12:19 says Israel rebelled against David's house, and Second Kings uses the verb for Moab and Edom revolting from Judah. Those political uses describe a breached rule or allegiance; the verb itself does not decide whether a human ruler's authority was just or whether resistance was morally wrong.
Prophetic uses address covenant rebellion against God. Isaiah 1:2 says children reared by the Lord have rebelled, Jeremiah 2:8 charges leaders with transgression, Ezekiel 2:3 describes a rebellious people, and Hosea 8:1 joins transgression of covenant and law. The action is more than accidental failure: it is a rupture of allegiance expressed in conduct. Yet the passages identify specific commands and relationships, so religious leaders cannot label disagreement with themselves as rebellion against God.
Confession and restoration remain present. First Kings 8:50 asks forgiveness for people who transgressed, Psalm 51:13 hopes transgressors will return, Jeremiah 33:8 promises cleansing and pardon, and Hosea 14:9 closes by contrasting upright walking with stumbling transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 includes the servant among transgressors and interceding for them. These texts hold seriousness, accountability, mercy, and changed allegiance together without excusing harm or making repentance a substitute for repair.
Pasha names an act of broken allegiance in political and covenant settings. Scripture can describe revolt, accuse sustained disloyalty, call for confession, promise pardon, and envision return, while the governing authority and moral context remain decisive.
The northern tribes break from the house of David after the kingdom crisis.
Moab rebels against the king of Israel after Ahab's death.
Solomon asks God to forgive exiled people who have sinned and transgressed.
The prophetic indictment portrays Judah's covenant breach as children rebelling against the one who raised them.
The servant is numbered with transgressors and intercedes for transgressors within the servant song.
Israel is called to acknowledge rebellion and scattered allegiance under every green tree.
Restoration includes cleansing and forgiveness for rebellion against God.
The forgiven worshiper hopes to teach God's ways so transgressors return.
The book closes by contrasting the upright who walk in the Lord's ways with transgressors who stumble in them.
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.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Rebellion against legitimate authority; covenant-breaking revolt that severs relationship with God or just ruler.
Rebellion against legitimate authority; covenant-breaking revolt that severs relationship with God or just ruler.
to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel BDB: rebel Usage: offend, rebel, revolt, transgress(-ion, -or).
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 41 lexical occurrence verses.
פָּשַׁע is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Isaiah frames Judah’s problem not as minor failure but as high-handed revolt against their Father-King, underscoring why judgment is deserved and why only radical grace can restore them.Isaiah 1:1-9
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Pasha allows teaching to name willful broken allegiance while guarding against authoritarian misuse. Kings shows that the verb can describe political revolt as a fact without settling the justice of the ruler or rebels. Prophets apply it to covenant betrayal and identify concrete practices, not vague disloyalty to a leader's preferences. Confession should therefore be specific about whom an act harmed, which covenant duty was violated, and what changed loyalty will require.
First Kings 8, Psalm 51, Jeremiah 33, and Hosea 14 keep pardon and return open, while Isaiah 53 places intercession beside the transgressor. Pastoral care must protect people who report abuse from being branded rebellious, and it must refuse cheap forgiveness that avoids truth, accountability, safety, and repair.
Isa.1.2
H6586 is the verbal act corresponding to rebellion or transgression. Its authority structure may be political or covenantal, and moral evaluation must be established from the surrounding narrative or command.
The New Testament treats sin as lawlessness, trespass, disobedience, and resistance to God while also warning leaders against domination. These themes illuminate the field without making one Greek term a direct equivalent of every H6586 use.