What does אָשַׁם (asham) mean in the Bible?
אָשַׁם (asham): Guilt inherently carries culpability; the guilty party bears both moral liability and consequent punishment or destruction.
Hebrew · H816
אָשַׁם
To be guilty ; by implication to be punished or perish
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אָשַׁם H816
Pronunciation asham
What does אָשַׁם (asham) mean in the Bible?
אָשַׁם (asham): Guilt inherently carries culpability; the guilty party bears both moral liability and consequent punishment or destruction.
Full entry for אָשַׁם (H816) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H816?
The BSB source-word alignment has 35 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include he is guilty (3), . . . (2), he incurs guilt (2), incur guilt (2), will be condemned (2).
Where does אָשַׁם (asham) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 4:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (11), Hosea (5), Ezekiel (4), Psalms (3).
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 he is guilty 3× Leviticus 5:3, Leviticus 5:4, Leviticus 5:17
. . . 2× Leviticus 5:19, Ezekiel 25:12
he incurs guilt 2× Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 4:27
incur guilt 2× 2 Chronicles 19:10
will be condemned 2× Psalms 34:21, Psalms 34:22
and becomes guilty 1× Leviticus 6:4
and desecrated 1× Ezekiel 6:6
and guilty 1× Leviticus 5:2
and incur guilt 1× Leviticus 4:13
and you will bear the guilt 1× Proverbs 30:10
are guilty 1× Habakkuk 1:11
are suffering 1× Joel 1:18
But he incurred guilt 1× Hosea 13:1
Declare them guilty 1× Psalms 5:10
guilty 1× Jeremiah 50:7
he has wronged 1× Numbers 5:7
he was certainly guilty 1× Leviticus 5:19
incurred grievous guilt 1× Ezekiel 25:12
is guilty 1× Numbers 5:6
must bear the guilt 1× Isaiah 24:6
remorse 1× Zechariah 11:5
someone incurs guilt 1× Leviticus 5:5
such guilt 1× Hosea 4:15
they admit their guilt 1× Hosea 5:15
they must bear their guilt 1× Hosea 10:2
were found guilty 1× Jeremiah 2:3
will bear her guilt 1× Hosea 13:16
you are guilty 1× Ezekiel 22:4
you have no guilt 1× Judges 21:22
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 4:13 וְאָשֵֽׁמוּ׃ to and incur guilt Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural Leviticus 4:22 וְאָשֵֽׁם׃ to he incurs guilt Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 4:27 וְאָשֵֽׁם׃ to he incurs guilt Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:2 וְאָשֵֽׁם׃ to and guilty Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:3 וְאָשֵֽׁם׃ to he is guilty Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:4 וְאָשֵׁ֖ם to he is guilty Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:5 יֶאְשַׁ֖ם to someone incurs guilt Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:17 וְאָשֵׁ֖ם to he is guilty Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 5:19 אָשֹׁ֥ם to he was certainly guilty Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Leviticus 5:19 אָשַׁ֖ם to . . . Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Leviticus 4:13
Aligned rows 35
Books represented 13
Leviticus 11 Numbers 2 Judges 1 2 Chronicles 2 Psalms 3 Proverbs 1 Isaiah 1 Jeremiah 2 Ezekiel 4 Hosea 5 Joel 1 Habakkuk 1 Zechariah 1
Source forms
וְאָשֵֽׁם׃ 4x wə·’ā·šêm Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 4:27, Leviticus 5:2, Leviticus 5:3
וְאָשֵׁ֖ם 2x wə·’ā·šêm Leviticus 5:4, Leviticus 5:17
יֶאְשַׁ֖ם 2x ye’·šam Leviticus 5:5, Hosea 4:15
יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ 2x ye’·šā·mū Jeremiah 2:3, Zechariah 11:5
אָשׁ֖וֹם 1x ’ā·šō·wm Ezekiel 25:12
אָשַׁ֖ם 1x ’ā·šam Leviticus 5:19
אָשַׁ֥ם 1x ’ā·šam Numbers 5:7
אָשֹׁ֥ם 1x ’ā·šōm Leviticus 5:19
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 8x Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 4:27, Leviticus 5:2, Leviticus 5:3
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 7x 2 Chronicles 19:10, Psalms 34:21, Psalms 34:22, Jeremiah 2:3
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 2x Isaiah 24:6, Ezekiel 25:12
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural 2x Judges 21:22, 2 Chronicles 19:10
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Leviticus 5:5, Hosea 4:15
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute 2x Leviticus 5:19, Ezekiel 25:12
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 2x Leviticus 5:19, Numbers 5:7
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural 1x Ezekiel 6:6
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Guilt inherently carries culpability; the guilty party bears both moral liability and consequent punishment or destruction.
Strong's H816
Lexical occurrences 35 verses Word forms 2 forms 19 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Hosea 5:8-15 Source Gloss
to be guilty ; by implication to be punished or perish
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Guilt inherently carries culpability; the guilty party bears both moral liability and consequent punishment or destruction.
to be guilty; by implication to be punished or perish BDB: offend Usage: × certainly, be(-come, made) desolate, destroy, × greatly, be(-come, found, hold) guilty, offend (acknowledge offence), trespass.
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 2 Aligned forms 19
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 18×
Imperfect 2Chr 19:10 · Hos 5:15 · Hos 10:2 · Jer 2:3 · Ps 34:22 · Ps 34:23 · Zech 11:5 · Judg 21:22 · Hos 14:1 · Jer 50:7 · Lev 5:5 12×
Perfect Lev 5:19 · Num 5:7 · Ezek 22:4 3×
Infinitive absolute Ezek 25:12 · Lev 5:19 2×
Jussive Hos 4:15 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 1×
Perfect Joel 1:18 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
to be guilty
Showing 1 selected witness from 35 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אָשַׁם is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Repentance requires recognition of covenant guilt. Hosea 5:8-15
Canonical Themes
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.
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