עָשָׂה
𐤏𐤔𐤄
ʻâsâh
H6213 verb
SILEX Entry
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.
Translation Consistency
‘Do’ is the most frequent and versatile rendering for עָשָׂה in the SILEX range: it naturally covers acting, performing, carrying out, making, and accomplishing—so it best supports a single consistent base verb across all forms (do/did/done/doing) while remaining natural English. Alternate senses (e.g. ‘make’ for creation) are common but secondary and can be handled by context or idiomatic phrasing.
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
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
עשה (Yaasu) — to do, to make, to act
| 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 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6213-01 |
עָשָׂ֔ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he did | he did | he did | 359 |
H6213-131 |
וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
And he made | and he did | and he did | 236 |
H6213-62 |
לַ/עֲשׂ֣וֹת | laasot | HR/Vqc |
to do | to do or make | to do | 220 |
H6213-31 |
עָשׂ֤וּ | asu | HVqp3cp |
they did | they did | they did | 158 |
H6213-101 |
תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֔ה | taaseh | HVqi2ms |
you shall make | you shall do | you shall do | 130 |
H6213-170 |
יַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה | yaaseh | HVqi3ms |
does | he will do | he will do | 122 |
H6213-84 |
עֹשֶׂ֛ה | oseh | HVqrmsa |
who does | doer | doer | 117 |
H6213-143 |
וְ/עָשִׂ֥יתָ | veasita | HC/Vqq2ms |
And you shall make | and you shall do | and you shall do | 91 |
H6213-20 |
עָשִׂ֖יתִי | asiti | HVqp1cs |
I have done | I did | I did | 79 |
H6213-135 |
וַ/יַּעֲשׂ֥וּ | vayaasu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they did | and they did | and they did | 79 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2640 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6213-131 |
Genesis 1:7 | וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he made | and he did | and he did |
H6213-84 |
Genesis 1:11 | עֹ֤שֶׂה | oseh | HVqrmsa |
producing | doer | doer |
H6213-84 |
Genesis 1:12 | עֹֽשֶׂה | oseh | HVqrmsa |
bearing | doer | bearing |
H6213-131 |
Genesis 1:16 | וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
and made | and he did | and he did |
H6213-131 |
Genesis 1:25 | וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
And made | and he did | and it made |
H6213-76 |
Genesis 1:26 | נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה | naaseh | HVqi1cp |
let us make | we will do | we will do |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 1:31 | עָשָׂ֔ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he had made | he did | he did |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 2:2 | עָשָׂ֑ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he had made | he did | he made |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 2:2 | עָשָֽׂה | asah-2 | HVqp3ms |
he had made | he did | he made |
H6213-62 |
Genesis 2:3 | לַ/עֲשֽׂוֹת | laasot | HR/Vqc |
and made | to do or make | to do |
H6213-27 |
Genesis 2:4 | עֲשׂ֛וֹת | asot | HVqc |
that | to do | to do |
H6213-46 |
Genesis 2:18 | אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ | eeseh | HVqi1cs |
I will make | I will do | I will do |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 3:1 | עָשָׂ֖ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
had made | he did | he did |
H6213-135 |
Genesis 3:7 | וַ/יַּעֲשׂ֥וּ | vayaasu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and made | and they did | and they did |
H6213-13 |
Genesis 3:13 | עָשִׂ֑ית | asit | HVqp2fs |
you have done | you did | you did |
H6213-14 |
Genesis 3:14 | עָשִׂ֣יתָ | asita | HVqp2ms |
you have done | you have done | you have done |
H6213-131 |
Genesis 3:21 | וַ/יַּעַשׂ֩ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
and made | and he did | and he did |
H6213-14 |
Genesis 4:10 | עָשִׂ֑יתָ | asita | HVqp2ms |
have you done | you have done | you have done |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 5:1 | עָשָׂ֥ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
He made | he did | he did |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 6:6 | עָשָׂ֥ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
He had made | he did | he made |
H6213-21 |
Genesis 6:7 | עֲשִׂיתִֽ/ם | asitim | HVqp1cs/Sp3mp |
I have made them | I have made them | I have made them |
H6213-08 |
Genesis 6:14 | עֲשֵׂ֤ה | aseh | HVqv2ms |
make | Do! | Make |
H6213-101 |
Genesis 6:14 | תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה | taaseh | HVqi2ms |
you shall make | you shall do | you shall do |
H6213-101 |
Genesis 6:15 | תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֖ה | taaseh | HVqi2ms |
you shall make | you shall do | you shall do |
H6213-101 |
Genesis 6:16 | תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה | taaseh | HVqi2ms |
you shall make | you shall do | you shall do |
H6213-102 |
Genesis 6:16 | תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂ/הָ | taaseha | HVqi2ms/Sp3fs |
you shall make | you will make it | you shall make it |
H6213-131 |
Genesis 6:22 | וַ/יַּ֖עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
And he did | and he did | and he did |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 6:22 | עָשָֽׂה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he did | he did | he did |
H6213-20 |
Genesis 7:4 | עָשִׂ֔יתִי | asiti | HVqp1cs |
I have made | I did | I did |
H6213-131 |
Genesis 7:5 | וַ/יַּ֖עַשׂ | vayaas | HC/Vqw3ms |
And Noah did | and he did | and he did |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 8:6 | עָשָֽׂה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he had made | he did | he did |
H6213-20 |
Genesis 8:21 | עָשִֽׂיתִי | asiti | HVqp1cs |
I have done | I did | I did |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 9:6 | עָשָׂ֖ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
He made | he did | he made |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 9:24 | עָ֥שָׂה | asah | HVqp3ms |
had done | he did | he did |
H6213-152 |
Genesis 11:4 | וְ/נַֽעֲשֶׂה | venaaseh | HC/Vqh1cp |
and let us make | and let us do | and let us make |
H6213-62 |
Genesis 11:6 | לַ/עֲשׂ֑וֹת | laasot | HR/Vqc |
to do | to do or make | to do |
H6213-62 |
Genesis 11:6 | לַֽ/עֲשֽׂוֹת | laasot-2 | HR/Vqc |
to do | to do or make | to do |
H6213-149 |
Genesis 12:2 | וְ/אֶֽעֶשְׂ/ךָ֙ | veeesekha | HC/Vqi1cs/Sp2ms |
and I will make you | and I will make you | and I will make you |
H6213-31 |
Genesis 12:5 | עָשׂ֣וּ | asu | HVqp3cp |
they had acquired | they did | they made |
H6213-14 |
Genesis 12:18 | עָשִׂ֣יתָ | asita | HVqp2ms |
have you done | you have done | you have done |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 13:4 | עָ֥שָׂה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he had made | he did | he made |
H6213-31 |
Genesis 14:2 | עָשׂ֣וּ | asu | HVqp3cp |
made war | they did | they made |
H6213-11 |
Genesis 16:6 | עֲשִׂי | asi | HVqv2fs |
do | Do! | Do! |
H6213-101 |
Genesis 18:5 | תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה | taaseh | HVqi2ms |
you shall do | you shall do | you shall do |
H6213-115 |
Genesis 18:6 | וַ/עֲשִׂ֥י | vaasi | HC/Vqv2fs |
and make | and do! | and make |
H6213-62 |
Genesis 18:7 | לַ/עֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | HR/Vqc |
to prepare | to do or make | to do |
H6213-01 |
Genesis 18:8 | עָשָׂ֔ה | asah | HVqp3ms |
he had prepared | he did | he had prepared |
H6213-84 |
Genesis 18:17 | עֹשֶֽׂה | oseh | HVqrmsa |
am doing | doer | doer |
H6213-62 |
Genesis 18:19 | לַ/עֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | HR/Vqc |
to do | to do or make | to do |
H6213-31 |
Genesis 18:21 | עָשׂ֣וּ | asu | HVqp3cp |
they have done | they did | they did |