What does רוּשׁ (rash) mean in the Bible?
Rûš is used for being poor or describing poor people in the selected narratives and wisdom sayings. Nathan's story gives the poor man one treasured lamb that the rich man takes for a guest.
Hebrew · H7326
רוּשׁ
Rûš is used for being poor or describing poor people in the selected narratives and wisdom sayings. Nathan's story gives the poor man one treasured lamb that the rich man takes for a guest.
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רוּשׁH7326
Pronunciationrash
What does רוּשׁ (rash) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for רוּשׁ (H7326) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7326?
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a poor man (2), of the poor (2), poor (2), the poor (2), The poor man (2).
Where does רוּשׁ (rash) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 18:23. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (16), 2 Samuel (3), Ecclesiastes (2), Psalms (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Rûš is used for being poor or describing poor people in the selected narratives and wisdom sayings. Nathan's story gives the poor man one treasured lamb that the rich man takes for a guest. Proverbs 19:1 commends a poor person who walks with integrity, while Proverbs 19:7 describes abandonment by relatives and friends. Poverty is a condition with moral and relational consequences, but those passages do not make it a verdict that the poor person caused the condition through wrongdoing.
Proverbs 10:4 connects idle hands with poverty in a particular wisdom contrast, whereas the wider collection also speaks of injustice, dignity and the superior value of integrity. Psalm 82:3 commands defenders of justice to uphold the rights of the vulnerable. Teaching should receive the warning about idleness without reducing all poverty to one cause. The selected uses invite truthful attention to conduct and circumstances while challenging contempt, exploitation and friendship that depends on what another person can afford.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
Nathan's accusation, wisdom's praise of poor integrity, descriptions of abandonment and commands to uphold rights locate poverty in varied circumstances. The selected evidence resists a universal moral diagnosis while retaining specific wisdom warnings.
- 2Sam.12.3
But the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.
The poor man's single lamb is cherished within his household before the rich man takes it. Nathan uses the unequal situation to expose David's wrongdoing, not to condemn the poor man's condition.
- Prov.19.1
Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Poor integrity is preferred to perverse speech. The contrast refuses to treat limited resources as evidence of inferior character or wealth as the condition for moral worth.
- Prov.19.7
All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.
The poor person's isolation extends from relatives to friends whose help cannot be found. Description of abandonment should prompt examination of relationships rather than commend the abandonment.
- Ps.82.3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
The address demands defense of vulnerable people and upholding their rights. Its judgment against unjust authorities gives practical responsibility rather than permission to blame those needing help.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita poor man2×Proverbs 19:1, Proverbs 28:6
of the poor2×Proverbs 13:23, Ecclesiastes 5:8
poor2×2 Samuel 12:1, Ecclesiastes 4:14
the poor2×2 Samuel 12:4, Proverbs 17:5
The poor man2×Proverbs 18:23, Proverbs 29:13
A destitute1×Proverbs 28:3
am a poor1×1 Samuel 18:23
and oppressed1×Psalms 82:3
and the poor1×Proverbs 22:2
another pretends to be poor1×Proverbs 13:7
but a poor1×Proverbs 13:8
but the poor1×2 Samuel 12:3
go lacking1×Psalms 34:10
of a poor man1×Proverbs 19:7
one poor1×Proverbs 10:4
over the poor1×Proverbs 22:7
The poor [man]1×Proverbs 14:20
to be poor1×Proverbs 19:22
to the poor1×Proverbs 28:27
Show sample aligned rows
1 Samuel 18:23רָ֥שׁtoam a poorVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2 Samuel 12:1רָֽאשׁ׃topoorVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2 Samuel 12:3וְלָרָ֣שׁtobut the poorConjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2 Samuel 12:4הָרָ֔אשׁtothe poorArticle | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularPsalms 34:10רָשׁ֣וּtogo lackingVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person common pluralPsalms 82:3וָרָ֣שׁtoand oppressedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularProverbs 10:4רָ֗אשׁtoone poorVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularProverbs 13:7מִ֝תְרוֹשֵׁ֗שׁtoanother pretends to be poorVerb - Hitpael - Participle - masculine singularProverbs 13:8וְ֝רָ֗שׁtobut a poorConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singularProverbs 13:23רָאשִׁ֑יםtoof the poorVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Samuel 18:23
Aligned rows24
Books represented5
1 Samuel12 Samuel3Psalms2Proverbs16Ecclesiastes2
Source forms
רָ֭שׁ3xrāšProverbs 19:1, Proverbs 28:3, Proverbs 28:6
וָרָ֣שׁ2xwā·rāšPsalms 82:3, Proverbs 22:2
לָ֭רָשׁ2xlā·rāšProverbs 17:5, Proverbs 28:27
רָ֑שׁ2xrāšProverbs 14:20, Proverbs 18:23
בְּרָשִׁ֣ים1xbə·rā·šîmProverbs 22:7
הָרָ֔אשׁ1xhā·rāš2 Samuel 12:4
וְלָרָ֣שׁ1xwə·lā·rāš2 Samuel 12:3
וְ֝רָ֗שׁ1xwə·rāšProverbs 13:8
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular13x1 Samuel 18:23, 2 Samuel 12:1, Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 14:20
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular3xPsalms 82:3, Proverbs 13:8, Proverbs 22:2
Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular2xProverbs 17:5, Proverbs 28:27
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular1x2 Samuel 12:4
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular1x2 Samuel 12:3
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural1xProverbs 22:7
Verb - Hitpael - Participle - masculine singular1xProverbs 13:7
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural1xProverbs 13:23
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Offer assistance without requiring a humiliating public account of a family's finances or assigning an unproved moral cause.
- Keep generosity and justice concrete, while avoiding simplistic promises that a religious action guarantees financial security.
Avoid claiming...
- Rûš does not mean a morally defective person, and its occurrence alone cannot identify the cause of poverty.
- The selected wisdom contrasts do not promise that every honest and diligent person will become financially wealthy.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. State of total material lack; often describes the socially vulnerable whom covenant law protects.
Strong'sH7326
Lexical occurrences24 versesWord forms2 forms16 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkProverbs 10:4Source Gloss
to be destitute
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
State of total material lack; often describes the socially vulnerable whom covenant law protects.
to be destitute BDB: be in want Usage: lack, needy, (make self) poor (man).
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 groups2Aligned forms16
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense14×
Participle active1Sam 18:23 · 2Sam 12:1 · Eccl 4:14 · Eccl 5:7 · Prov 13:23 · Prov 14:20 · Prov 18:23 · Prov 19:1 · Prov 19:7 · Prov 19:22 · Prov 28:3 · Prov 28:6 · Prov 29:1313×
PerfectPs 34:111×
Hithpolel1×
Participle activeProv 13:71×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
lack, poverty, economic deficiency
Showing 1 selected witness from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
רוּשׁ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
The proverb warns that negligence commonly leads toward financial instability.Proverbs 10:4
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
Nathan's story requires the listener to see the poor man's attachment and the rich man's abundance before confronting the act of taking. Poverty is not introduced as evidence against the poor man; it intensifies the wrong committed by the person with more. Proverbs adds another contrast by commending integrity despite limited means and by describing how relationships can fail someone whose resources are small. These passages challenge the assumption that financial condition reliably reveals moral character.
The warning about idle hands in Proverbs 10 remains a warning worth hearing, but it must not be promoted into an exhaustive cause of deprivation. Other witnesses expose unjust taking and command defense of rights. James 2 similarly rebukes a congregation for honoring expensive clothing while humiliating the poor visitor. The Christian application should therefore examine both personal conduct and communal partiality. Compassion and responsibility can remain concrete without issuing an unproved verdict about another household's history.
Anchor passage
Prov.19.1
Doctrinal connections
- Second Samuel 12:1-7 uses unequal resources and an intimate loss to expose the powerful person's wrongdoing.
- Proverbs 19:1 values a poor person's integrity above a fool's perverse speech rather than ranking character by wealth.
- Proverbs 19:4-7 describes resource-dependent friendship and the isolation experienced by a person with little means.
- Proverbs 10:4-5 warns about idleness within a diligence contrast without diagnosing every person's financial condition.
- Psalm 82:1-4 rebukes unjust judgment and commands defense of vulnerable people and their rights.
- James 2:1-9 condemns favoritism toward wealthy visitors and humiliation of poor people within the believing assembly.
The verbal identity can describe becoming or being poor and identify a poor person in context. The gloss names a condition; the cause, responsibility and moral evaluation must come from the surrounding narrative or wisdom contrast.
From Old to New Testament
James 2:1-9 challenges a Christian assembly that grants honor to fine clothing while degrading a poor visitor. Alongside Proverbs' commendation of poor integrity and Psalm 82's justice command, it supports rejecting wealth-based partiality. It does not equate all Hebrew and Greek poverty terms or canonize a single economic explanation.
Passage contextCanonical parallel