אִשָּׁה775 H0802
Woman, wife, female; a female human being whether unmarried, married, or as a female animal's mate.
Standing alongside 'ish ('man') as one of the most fundamental words in Scripture, 'ishsha appears 781 times spanning the primary social identities of women in the ancient Near East: a woman in her own right, a wife, and — in two formulaic uses — a female animal's mate. The word's first appearance is programmatic: Adam exclaims 'she shall be called ishsha because she was taken from ish' (Gen 2:23), a folk etymology linking male and female at the level of language. The plural nashim (from a different root) serves for both 'women' and 'wives,' and context alone determines which sense is meant.
2. wife, spouse — A wife, a married woman — 255 occurrences where the marital relationship is primary, typically marked by construct forms ('eshet PN'), possessive suffixes ('ishto, 'his wife'), or explicit marriage contexts. Abram takes Sarai 'his wife' to Egypt (Gen 12:5); the law governs how a man relates to 'the wife of his neighbor' (Lev 18:20). The multilingual signatures split clearly here: Spanish shifts to esposa, Korean to 아내, Arabic to zawja, and Swahili to mke, all selecting dedicated spousal vocabulary. This distinction matters for translation — rendering 'ishsha as 'woman' where 'wife' is meant (or vice versa) can distort entire narratives. 255×
AR["امرَأتُهُ","امرَأتِهِ","امرَأَتَهُ","امرَأَتُهُ","امْرَأَتَهُ","امْرَأَتُهُ","امْرَأَتِهِ"]·ben["তাঁর-স্ত্রী","তাঁর-স্ত্রীকে","তাঁর-স্ত্রীর","তার-স্ত্রী","তার-স্ত্রীর","স্ত্রী-তাঁর"]·DE["sein-Ehefrau","sein-wife","seine-Frau","seiner-Frau"]·EN["his-wife"]·FR["sa-femme","son-femme"]·heb["אישה-ו","אשת-ו","אשתו"]·HI["अपनि-पतनि","अपनी-पत्नी-को","उस-की-पत्नी","उस-की-पत्नी-के","उसकी-पत्नी-का","उसकी-पत्नीने","उस्कि-पतनि","उस्कि-पतनि-के","उस्कि-पतनि-ने","पत्नी","पत्नी-उसकी"]·ID["istrinya"]·IT["sua-moglie","suo-moglie"]·jav["garwa-nipun","garwanipun"]·KO["그-의-아내","그의-아내","그의-아내가","그의-아내라고","그의-아내를","그의-아내의"]·PT["esposa-dele","sua-esposa"]·RU["жена-его","жене-его","жене-своей","жену-его","жену-свою","жены-его"]·ES["mujer-de-él","su-esposa","su-mujer"]·SW["kwa","mke-wake","mke-wako","na-wakajifanya"]·TR["karısı","karısına","karısını","karısının"]·urd["اُس-کی-بیوی","اُس-کی-بیوی-نے","اُس-کی-بیوی-کا","اپنی-بیوی","بیوی-اُس-کی","بیوی-اپنی","بیوی-اپنی-کو","بیوی-اپنی-کے"]
Gen 12:5, Gen 12:11, Gen 12:12, Gen 12:20, Gen 19:16, Gen 19:26, Gen 20:2, Gen 20:14, Gen 20:17, Gen 21:21, Gen 23:19, Gen 24:3 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. woman, female person — A woman, a female person — 519 occurrences where 'ishsha denotes a female human being without primary reference to marital status. This is the generic, unmarked sense covering women in narrative, law, prophecy, and wisdom literature. Pharaoh's daughter sends 'a woman' to fetch the basket (Exod 2:7); the Israelite women contribute to the tabernacle (Exod 35:29); the wise woman of Abel speaks to Joab (2 Sam 20:16). French femme, Spanish mujer, and German Frau all serve double duty for both 'woman' and 'wife,' while Korean distinguishes 여자 ('woman') from 아내 ('wife'), and Arabic uses imra'a ('woman') versus zawja ('wife'), helping to confirm where this generic sense operates independently. 519×
AR["امْرَأَةً","امْرَأَةٌ","امْرَأَةٍ","اِمرَأَةٍ","اِمْرَأَةً","اِمْرَأَةٌ","اِمْرَأَةٍ"]·ben["নারী","নারীর","স্ত্রী","স্ত্রীর","স্ত্রীর।","স্ত্রীলোক"]·DE["Frau","ein-Frau","eine-Frau"]·EN["a-woman","woman"]·FR["femme","une-femme"]·heb["אישה","אשה"]·HI["जो","नारी","स्त्रि","स्त्री","स्त्री-का","स्त्री-की","स्त्री-के"]·ID["Perempuan","perempuan","seorang-perempuan"]·IT["donna","un-donna"]·jav["Tiyang-èstri","tiyang-èstri","tiyang-èstri,","èstri"]·KO["여자","여자-가","여자-에게","여자가","젖을-먹이는"]·PT["Mulher","mulher"]·RU["жена","женщина","женщине","женщиной","женщину","женщины"]·ES["Mujer","mujer","mujer-de","una-mujer"]·SW["Mwanamke","mwanamke"]·TR["kadın","kadına","kadını","kadının","kadının-"]·urd["عورت","عورت-کا","عورت-کی","عورت-کے"]
3. sense 3 — Distributive 'each one' — 5 occurrences where 'ishsha functions as a distributive pronoun meaning 'each' in the context of paired or grouped items. All five appear in Exodus 26 describing the tabernacle curtains: 'five curtains shall be coupled to one another' (Exod 26:3), and loops set 'each opposite its counterpart' (Exod 26:5). This mirrors the masculine 'ish used distributively ('each man'). French chaque, Spanish una, and German jeder all select distributive-pronoun glosses rather than 'woman/wife,' confirming a genuine grammaticalized use distinct from the core nominal senses. 5×
AR["واحِدَةً","واحِدَةٌ"]·ben["একটি"]·DE["jeder-Frau"]·EN["each-woman"]·FR["chaque-femme"]·heb["אישה"]·HI["एक"]·ID["satu"]·IT["ciascuno-donna"]·jav["setunggal"]·KO["여자가"]·PT["uma"]·RU["один","одна","одно"]·ES["una"]·SW["kimoja","moja"]·TR["kadın"]·urd["ایک"]
4. sense 4 — Female mate of an animal — 2 occurrences, both at Gen 7:2, where Noah is commanded to take animals aboard the ark 'a male and his female' ('ish ve'ishto). English 'mate,' Spanish hembra, and German Weibchen all shift to animal-specific female vocabulary. This zoological extension parallels how 'ish can mean 'male' of an animal, and the pair formula 'ish ve'ishto applied to animals is a vivid reminder that the Hebrew Bible's vocabulary for gender is rooted in the broadest categories of living creatures. 2×
AR["وَ-أُنْثَاهُ"]·ben["এবং-তার-স্ত্রী"]·DE["und-sein-Weibchen"]·EN["and-his-mate"]·FR["et-son-mate"]·heb["ו-אישה-ו"]·HI["और-उस्की-मादा"]·ID["dan-betinanya"]·IT["e-suo-mate"]·jav["lan-èstrinipun"]·KO["그리고-그의-아내"]·PT["e-a-sua-fêmea"]·RU["и-самку-его"]·ES["y-su-hembra"]·SW["na-jike-yake"]·TR["ve-dişisi"]·urd["اور-مادہ-اُس-کی"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0001 1. father, immediate male parent (1031×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אִשָּׁה775 n.f. woman, wife, female (Arabic أُنْثَى, Sab. אנתֿת etc. DHMZK 1884, 360, Aramaic אִתְּתָא, אִנְתְּתָא, אִתָּא, ܐܰܢ̱ܬܬܴܐ, Palm. Nab. אנתתא, Ethiopic አንስት Ph. אשת, Assyrian aššatu COTGloss)—א׳ abs. Gn 2:23 +; cstr. אֵשֶׁת Gn 11:29 + (appar. abs. Dt 21:11; 1 S 28:7 ψ 58:9 but cf. Bö§ 728 Ges§ 130, 5); sf. אִשְׁתִּי Gn 20:11 +; אִשְׁתְּךָ Gn 12:18 + (אֶשְׁתְּךָ ψ 128:3), etc.; Pl.…