בָּשָׂר266 H1320
Flesh, meat; the physical body, edible animal tissue, or the outer skin; humanity in its frailty before God.
Basar is the Hebrew Bible's primary word for the material, corporeal dimension of living creatures. At its most common it denotes the body itself — the physical being of humans and animals as distinct from spirit or soul, as when God declares 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is flesh' (Gen 6:3). Yet it also narrows to the concrete: the roasted meat of the Passover lamb (Exod 12:8), the sacrificial portions laid on the altar, and the everyday meat of meals. In priestly legislation a third, more specialized sense emerges — the visible skin or body surface inspected for leprosy, where Swahili ngozi ('skin') and Arabic bashara ('epidermis') preserve the original Semitic root meaning more transparently than English 'flesh' does. Across all three senses, basar carries an undertone of vulnerability and transience.
1. body, physical being — The living body as a whole, the corporeal self as opposed to spirit, soul, or inner life — the overwhelmingly dominant sense at 207 occurrences. 'All flesh' (kol basar) is a standard idiom for all living creatures or all humanity (Gen 6:12-13, 17). The body-as-person sense is confirmed cross-linguistically: Swahili mwili, Hindi sharir, Korean 육체 all select 'body/physical being' vocabulary rather than 'meat' words. This is the sense at work when the psalmist says 'my flesh also shall rest in hope' (Ps 16:9) — not his meat, but his whole embodied self. 207×
AR["بَشَرٌ","بَشَرٍ","لَحْمًا","لَحْمٍ"]·ben["মাংস","মাংসে","মাংসের"]·DE["Fleisch","Fleisch-ist","Fleisches"]·EN["flesh","meat"]·FR["chair","viande"]·heb["בשר"]·HI["माँस","मांस","मानस","शरीर","शरीर-का","शरीर-के","शरीर-को","शरीर-ने"]·ID["daging","makhluk"]·IT["carne"]·jav["daging"]·KO["고기를","살","육체","육체-가","육체-의"]·PT["carne","carne,","é-carne"]·RU["мясо","плоти","плоть","плотью"]·ES["carne"]·SW["mwenye-mwili","mwili","ni-nyama","nyama","wenye-mwili"]·TR["beden","bedende","bedeni","bedenin","et","eti","etin"]·urd["جسم","جسم-نے","جسم-کا","گوشت"]
Gen 2:21, Gen 6:3, Gen 6:12, Gen 6:13, Gen 6:17, Gen 6:19, Gen 7:16, Gen 7:21, Gen 8:17, Gen 9:4, Gen 9:11, Gen 9:15 (+38 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. flesh, meat (edible substance) — Edible flesh or meat — animal tissue as food, sacrificial material, or physical substance, appearing 49 times. The Passover instructions specify eating the basar roasted (Exod 12:8); the Israelites crave basar in the wilderness (Num 11:4-13); the priests consume basar of the peace offering (Exod 29:31-32). Korean 고기 and Swahili nyama consistently select dedicated 'meat/food' vocabulary here, distinguishing this from the body-as-person sense. The cultic and dietary contexts provide the clearest boundary marker. 49×
AR["-اللَّحْمَ","ال-لَّحْمَ","الـ-لَّحْمِ","اللَّحْمَ","اللَّحْمُ","اللَّحْمِ","الْ-لَحْمَ","الْ-لَحْمِ","الْبَشَرَ","الْبَشَرُ"]·ben["-মাংস","মাংস","মাংসকে","মাংসের","সেই-মাংস"]·DE["der-Fleisch"]·EN["the-flesh","the-meat"]·FR["chair","la-chair","le-chair","le-viande"]·heb["ה-בשר"]·HI["उसे","माँस","माँस-को","मांस","मांस-की","मांस-के","मांस-को"]·ID["daging","daging-itu"]·IT["il-carne","la-carne"]·jav["Daging","daging","daging-punika","daging.","dagingipun"]·KO["고기를","그-고기","그-고기-는","그-고기가","그-고기라","그-고기를","그-고기와","그-고기의","그-고기이라","그-살","그-살-이","그-살을"]·PT["A-carne","a-carne","a-carne,"]·RU["-мяса","-мясо","-мясом","мяса","мясо","плоть"]·ES["La-carne","la-carne"]·SW["nyama"]·TR["-et","-eti","de-eti","et","eti","etin","etle","etten"]·urd["-گوشت","-گوشت-میں","-گوشت-کے","گوشت","گوشت-کی"]
Exod 12:8, Exod 12:46, Exod 16:3, Exod 21:28, Exod 29:31, Exod 29:34, Lev 4:11, Lev 6:27, Lev 7:15, Lev 7:17, Lev 7:18, Lev 7:21 (+37 more)
3. skin, body surface — The outer skin or body surface, a specialized sense appearing 14 times almost exclusively in priestly/medical legislation concerning skin diseases and bodily discharges (Lev 13-15; 2 Kgs 5:10-14). When the priest inspects a 'swelling in the flesh,' the meaning is clearly dermatological, not the whole body. Swahili ngozi ('skin'), Arabic bashara ('epidermis'), and the BDB entry's own cognate note (Arabic bashar = skin) all confirm that this represents the original concrete meaning of the Semitic root, preserved in specialized ritual contexts while the broader 'body' sense came to dominate. 14×
AR["بَشَرَتي","بَشَرَتِهِ","بِ-بَشَرِ","جَسَدُكَ","جَسَدِي","فِي-بَشَرِهَا","كَجِلْدِهِ","لَحْمِكَ","لَحْمِي","لَكِنِ-"]·ben["-আমার-মাংস","আমার-মাংস","আমার-মাংসের","তার-দেহের","তার-মাংসে","তার-মাংসের-মতো","তোমার-গাত্র","তোমার-দেহ","দেহ-আমার","দেহকে-তোমার","মাংসে"]·DE["Fleisch","dein-Fleisch","in-Fleisch-von","in-Fuersten-von","in-ihr-Fleisch","wie-sein-Fleisch"]·EN["as-his-flesh","flesh-my","his-flesh","in-flesh-of","in-her-flesh","my-flesh","your-flesh"]·FR["chair","comme-son-chair","dans-chair-de","dans-princes-de","dans-sa-chair","mon-chair-moi","ton-chair","ton-chair-toi"]·heb["ב-שר","בשרו","בשרי","בשרך","כ-בשרו"]·HI["अपना-शरीर","अपने-शरीर-को","उसके-शरीर-का","तेरा-शरीर","मा̃स-जैसा-उस्का","में-उसके शरीर","में-शरीर","मेरा-मांस","मेरे-शरीर-के","मेरे-शरीर-को","शरीर-तेरा"]·ID["daging-mu","dagingku","dagingmu","dagingnya","di-dalam-tubuhnya","seperti-dagingnya","tubuh","tubuhku"]·IT["carne","carne-mio","carne-tuo","come-suo-carne","in-carne-di","in-lei-carne","in-principi-di","tuo-carne"]·jav["badan-","badanipun","daging-kawula","daging-kula","daging-panjenengan","kados-dagingipun","wonten-ing-badanipun"]·KO["그녀-의-살-에","그의-살처럼","그의-육체의","나의-살-을","나의-살-이","나의-살을","나의-살의","나의-살이","내-살-과","네-살-이","당신의-살-이","몸-나의","살-너의","살-에"]·PT["carne-minha","carne-tua","como-carne-sua","em-carne-de","em-carne-sua","minha-carne","sua-carne","tua-carne"]·RU["в-теле-её","к-телу","как-плоть-его","плоти-его","плоти-моей","плоть-мою","плоть-мою;","плоть-моя","плоть-твою,","плоть-твоя"]·ES["como-su-carne","en-carne-de-","en-su-carne","mi-carne","su-carne","tu-carne"]·SW["kama-mwili-wake","katika-mwili-wake","mwili-wa-","mwili-wako","mwili-wangu","ngozi-yangu","wa-mwili-wake"]·TR["bedeni","bedenim","bedenimi","bedenimin","bedenin","bedenini","eti-gibi","etim","etimi","etin","vücuduna","vücudunda"]·urd["اُس-کے-جسم-میں","اُس-کے-جسم-کی","اپنا-گوشت","تیرا-جسم","جسم-اپنے","جسم-کو","میرا-جسم","میرا-گوشت","میرے-جسم-کے","گوشت-اُس-کے-جیسی","گوشت-تیرا","گوشت-میرے-کو"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)H1818 1. blood (physical substance) (327×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)G4561 1. flesh, physical body (150×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
בָּשָׂר266 n.m. flesh (cf. Arabic بَشَرٌ skin, Syriac ܒܶܣܪܳܐ, Assyrian bišru, blood-relation, Dl Assyrian Stud. i. 143, cf. Pr 170, Sab. בשר תורם flesh of bulls)—Gn 2:21 + 126 times; cstr. בְּשַׂר Gn 17:11 + 40 times; sf. בְּשָׂרִי etc. ψ 16:9 + 96 times; pl. בְּשָׂרִים Pr 14:30;— 1. of the body: a. of animals Gn 41:2–19; Ex 21:28; 22:30; Nu 12:12 (E) Nu 11:4–33 (JE) Gn 9:4 + (P 30 times) Dt…