H0787 H0787
foundation (Aramaic loanword from Assyrian uššû); architectural base or supporting structure
An Aramaic term borrowed from Assyrian, appearing exclusively in Ezra's account of the Jerusalem temple reconstruction. The word refers to the foundational structure of a building, particularly the temple. All three occurrences cluster in Ezra 4-6, where Persian officials and Jewish leaders dispute the legitimacy of rebuilding work. The multilingual evidence (Spanish cimientos, English foundations) confirms the architectural meaning.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The structural foundations of a building, specifically the Jerusalem temple. Used in official Persian-period correspondence about the temple's reconstruction (Ezra 4:12, 5:16, 6:3). The consistent rendering as 'foundations' across European languages reflects the architectural specificity, while some translations preserve the Aramaic form, indicating its technical register in administrative documents. 3×
AR["أَساسات", "وَ-أُسُسُهُ", "وَ-الأُسُسَ"]·ben["আর-তার-ভিত্তি", "আর-ভিত্তিসমূহ", "ভিত্তি"]·DE["[אשיא]", "[ואשוהי]", "[ואשיא]"]·EN["and-foundations", "and-its-foundations", "foundations-of"]·FR["[אשיא]", "[ואשוהי]", "[ואשיא]"]·heb["אוש", "ו-אוש", "ו-אוש-ו"]·HI["और-उसकी-नींवें", "और-नींवें"]·ID["dan-fondasi", "dan-fondasinya", "fondasi"]·IT["[אשיא]", "[ואשוהי]", "[ואשיא]"]·jav["lan-pondasi", "pondasi"]·KO["그-터들", "그리고-그-터들", "그리고-그것-의-터들"]·PT["e-os-fundamentos", "e-seus-fundamentos", "os-fundamentos"]·RU["и-основания", "и-основания-его", "основания"]·ES["cimientos-de", "y-los-cimientos", "y-sus-fundamentos"]·SW["misingi", "na-misingi", "na-misingi-yake"]·TR["temellerini", "ve-temelleri"]·urd["اور-بنیادیں", "اور-بنیادیں-اُس-کی", "بنیادیں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [אֹשׁ K § 55, 5 c] n.m. Ezr 6:3 foundation (prob. loan-word from Assyrian uššû, id., √ אשׁשׁ (v. BH), so Zim KAT 3. 649; 𝔗 f. אוּשָׁא, NH אוּשָׁה, Chr-Pal. ܐܘܫ, ܐܘܫܐ, SchulthLex. 19; Arabic أُسٌّ: Nö M 99);—pl. emph. אֻשַּׁיָּא Ezr 4:12; 5:16; sf. אֻשֹּׁהִי 6:3.