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בָּשַׁל

𐤁𐤔𐤋

bâshal

H1310 verb

SILEX Entry

Root בשל to boil, cook, ripen, mature

Definition

To cook by boiling or stewing in liquid, to prepare food using moist heat (especially by boiling), and by extension, to become ripe or mature. The word is also used metaphorically for processes of ripening (e.g., fruit) or maturation.

Semantic Range

to boil food, to cook in liquid, to be cooked thoroughly, to stew, to ripen (of fruit), to mature (figuratively of processes or events), to prepare food by boiling

Root / Etymology

From the root בשׁל (ב-ש-ל), meaning 'to boil, cook, ripen.' The verb בָּשַׁל derives directly from this root and retains the basic sense of cooking or boiling in liquid. The figurative meaning of ripening or maturing extends naturally from the idea of food being thoroughly cooked or fruit becoming mature and thus 'ready.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, בָּשַׁל most commonly refers to the act of cooking food by boiling, as opposed to roasting (צלה) or baking (אפה). The term appears in legal and ritual contexts, such as the prohibition against boiling a young animal in its mother's milk (Exod 23:19, 34:26, Deut 14:21). It is also used with regard to the preparation of grains or other foodstuffs (e.g., Gen 25:29, where lentil stew is described). The word can extend metaphorically to the ripening of fruit (as in Joel 3:13, 'the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great,' using the image of grapes becoming fully ripe). In post-biblical Hebrew, the core sense of boiling or cooking is retained. English translations often use multiple words—boil, seethe, cook—to render בָּשַׁל, occasionally missing the broader semantic framework that includes both literal culinary activity and metaphorical ripening or bringing to completeness.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to boil up; hence, to be done in cooking; figuratively to ripen; bake, boil, bring forth, roast, seethe, sod (be sodden).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בשל (b-š-l) — boil, cook, ripen, mature

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1311 בָּשֵׁל fully boiled
H4018 מְבַשְּׁלָה and boiling-hearths

Word Forms

19 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1310-01 בַּשֵּׁ֔לוּ bashelu HVpv2mp Boil Boil thoroughly! 3
H1310-09 תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל tevashel HVpi2ms you shall boil you will boil 3
H1310-03 בִּשְּׁל֖וּ bishelu HVpp3cp have cooked they thoroughly cooked 2
H1310-13 וּ/בִשַּׁלְתָּ֥ uvishaleta HC/Vpq2ms and you shall boil and you thoroughly boiled 2
H1310-14 וּ/בִשְּׁלוּ֙ uvishelu HC/Vpq3cp and baked and they thoroughly boiled 2
H1310-19 יְבַשְּׁלוּ yevashelu HVpi3mp they shall boil they will thoroughly boil 2
H1310-08 מְבֻשָּׁ֖ל mevushal HVPsmsa boiled boiled 2
H1310-04 בֻּשָּׁ֔לָה bushalah HVPp3fs it-is-boiled she was thoroughly boiled 1
H1310-10 תְּבַשְּׁלוּ֙ tevashelu HVpi2mp you will boil you will thoroughly stew 1
H1310-06 הִבְשִׁ֥ילוּ hiveshilu HVhp3cp ripened they brought to ripeness 1

Occurrences in Scripture

28 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1310-06 Genesis 40:10 הִבְשִׁ֥ילוּ hiveshilu HVhp3cp ripened they brought to ripeness
H1310-08 Exodus 12:9 מְבֻשָּׁ֖ל mevushal HVPsmsa cooked boiled
H1310-10 Exodus 16:23 תְּבַשְּׁלוּ֙ tevashelu HVpi2mp you will boil you will thoroughly stew
H1310-01 Exodus 16:23 בַּשֵּׁ֔לוּ bashelu HVpv2mp boil Boil thoroughly!
H1310-09 Exodus 23:19 תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל tevashel HVpi2ms you shall boil you will boil
H1310-13 Exodus 29:31 וּ/בִשַּׁלְתָּ֥ uvishaleta HC/Vpq2ms and you shall boil and you thoroughly boiled
H1310-09 Exodus 34:26 תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל tevashel HVpi2ms you shall boil you will boil
H1310-11 Leviticus 6:21 תְּבֻשַּׁל tevushal HVPi3fs it-is-boiled she will be thoroughly boiled
H1310-04 Leviticus 6:21 בֻּשָּׁ֔לָה bushalah HVPp3fs it-is-boiled she was thoroughly boiled
H1310-01 Leviticus 8:31 בַּשְּׁל֣וּ bashelu HVpv2mp Boil Boil thoroughly!
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