עָשָׂה

𐤏𐤔𐤄

ʻâsâh

H6213 verb

SILEX Entry

Root עשה to do, make, accomplish, perform

Definition

To do, make, perform, act, or carry out an action or activity. The word often refers broadly to producing or effecting something, whether in creation, manufacture, preparation, management, accomplishing a result, or complying with commands or obligations. The semantic range covers actions as diverse as creating the world, making objects, preparing offerings, performing rites, carrying out law or justice, and acting with regard to persons or policies.

Semantic Range

to do, to make, to effect, to accomplish, to perform (an action, task, or obligation), to create (material or non-material things), to prepare (especially food or offerings), to act (judicially or politically), to carry out, to work, to manufacture, to celebrate (a feast), to observe (commands or laws), to comply, to execute, to behave

Root / Etymology

From the root עשה, which has the core idea of doing or making. As a verb, עָשָׂה is a basic active root in Hebrew, suggesting the idea of purposeful action, production, or accomplishment. The meaning of the verb itself is broader and more general than its root, as it can be used for a wide variety of activities, both concrete and abstract, physical and conceptual.

Historical & Contextual Notes

עָשָׂה is one of the most common verbs in Biblical Hebrew, functioning as a general-purpose verb for a wide range of actions, especially where the specific nature of the action is determined by context. It is similar in function to 'to do' or 'to make' in English, though its usage can overlap with more specific Hebrew verbs such as פָּעַל (to work, especially labor), בָּרָא (to create, used specifically in divine acts of creation), יָצַר (to form, especially shaping or molding), and עָבַד (to work, serve, till). In narrative and legal texts, עָשָׂה appears in formulas (e.g., “and he did according to …”) and covers actions from daily tasks to significant cultic or political activities. In ritual or covenant contexts, it can mean 'to perform' rites or 'to comply' with stipulations. In poetic and wisdom texts, the word often appears as a parallel to other verbs of action or execution. The broad, context-dependent use sometimes makes it difficult for translations to capture the nuance of a given instance. In later Hebrew, the verb continues to serve as the general verb for doing or making, but specific senses became the domain of more specialized verbs. The Greek Septuagint often translates with ποιέω but uses more specific Greek verbs where context clarifies the precise sense.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application; accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, [idiom] certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, [phrase] displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, [phrase] feast, (fight-) ing man, [phrase] finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, [phrase] hinder, hold (a feast), [idiom] indeed, [phrase] be industrious, [phrase] journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, [phrase] officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, [idiom] sacrifice, serve, set, shew, [idiom] sin, spend, [idiom] surely, take, [idiom] thoroughly, trim, [idiom] very, [phrase] vex, be (warr-) ior, work(-man), yield, use.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

עשה (ʿ-ś-h) — to do, make, accomplish, perform

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3299 יַעֲשׂוּ They-will-act
H3300 יַעֲשִׂיאֵל And God-has-made
H4639 מַעֲשֶׂה in your deeds
H4640 מַעֲשַׂי and Yah-has-performed
H4641 מַעֲשֵׂיָה Yahweh has accomplished

Word Forms

178 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6213-01 עָשָׂ֔ה asah HVqp3ms he did he did 359
H6213-131 וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ vayaas HC/Vqw3ms And he made and he did 236
H6213-62 לַ/עֲשֽׂוֹת laasot HR/Vqc to do to do or make 220
H6213-31 עָשׂ֣וּ asu HVqp3cp they did they did 158
H6213-101 תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה taaseh HVqi2ms you shall make you shall do 130
H6213-170 יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה yaaseh HVqi3ms does he will do 122
H6213-84 עֹ֤שֶׂה oseh HVqrmsa who does doer 117
H6213-143 וְ/עָשִֽׂיתָ veasita HC/Vqq2ms And you shall make and you shall do 91
H6213-20 עָשִׂ֔יתִי asiti HVqp1cs I have done I did 79
H6213-135 וַ/יַּעֲשׂ֥וּ vayaasu HC/Vqw3mp and they did and they did 79

Occurrences in Scripture

2640 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6213-131 Genesis 1:7 וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ vayaas HC/Vqw3ms and he made and he did
H6213-84 Genesis 1:11 עֹ֤שֶׂה oseh HVqrmsa producing doer
H6213-84 Genesis 1:12 עֹֽשֶׂה oseh HVqrmsa bearing doer
H6213-131 Genesis 1:16 וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ vayaas HC/Vqw3ms and made and he did
H6213-131 Genesis 1:25 וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ vayaas HC/Vqw3ms And made and he did
H6213-76 Genesis 1:26 נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה naaseh HVqi1cp let us make we will do
H6213-01 Genesis 1:31 עָשָׂ֔ה asah HVqp3ms he had made he did
H6213-01 Genesis 2:2 עָשָׂ֑ה asah HVqp3ms he had made he did
H6213-01 Genesis 2:2 עָשָֽׂה asah-2 HVqp3ms he had made he did
H6213-62 Genesis 2:3 לַ/עֲשֽׂוֹת laasot HR/Vqc and made to do or make