H3331 H3331
to spread out, lay down (as a bed or couch); to make one's bed in Sheol
This rare verb appears in poetic and prophetic texts describing the spreading or laying out of something as one would prepare a bed or couch. Isaiah uses it mockingly to ask whether laying out sackcloth and ashes truly constitutes a proper fast, while the psalmist contemplates that even if he 'makes his bed' in Sheol, God is there. The Aramaic and Arabic cognates suggest meanings related to laying down or spreading out, with the Aramaic also developing a sense of 'explaining' or 'expounding'—perhaps from the metaphor of laying out ideas.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The verb appears in Hiphil and Hophal stems describing spreading or laying out. The psalmist asks rhetorically, 'If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there' (Ps 139:8), using the Hiphil to express God's omnipresence. Isaiah mocks false fasting: does one 'spread out' sackcloth and ashes as if preparing a proper bed (Isa 58:5)? The Hophal passive appears when 'sackcloth and ashes are spread' in mourning (Esth 4:3) and when the king of Babylon finds 'worms spread' as his bedding in death (Isa 14:11). French étendre and Spanish extender follow the spreading/extending action across Romance languages, while German wenn ich machen mein Bett gives the conditional bed-making sense in Psalm 139. 4×
AR["مَفْرُوشٌ", "وَإِنْ-فَرَشْتُ", "يَفْتَرِشُ", "يُفْرَشُ"]·ben["এবং-বিছাই", "পাতা-হচ্ছিল", "বিছানো", "বিছিয়ে-দেওয়া-হয়েছে"]·DE["[יציע]", "[יצע]", "und-wenn-ich-machen-mein-bed"]·EN["and-if-I-make-my-bed", "he-spreads", "is-spread", "spread"]·FR["[יציע]", "[יצע]", "et-étendre"]·heb["ו-אציעה", "יוצע", "יציע", "יצע"]·HI["और-मैं-बिछाऊँ", "बिछाना", "बिछाया-गया", "लेटे-थे"]·ID["dan-jika-aku-membentangkan", "dibentangkan", "dihamparkan", "ia-menghamparkan"]·IT["[ואציעה]", "[יצע]", "stendere"]·jav["dipun-gelar", "dipungelar", "dipunjereng", "lan-menawi-kula-njereng"]·KO["그리고-펴면", "까는가", "깔렸다", "펴지도다"]·PT["era-estendido", "estender", "se-fizer-minha-cama", "é-estendido"]·RU["и-если-постелю-себе-в-", "подстелать", "постилались", "постлана"]·ES["está-tendido", "extender?", "fue-extendido", "y-si-hago-cama"]·SW["kutandika", "na-kama-nitatandika", "umetandikwa", "yalitandikwa"]·TR["serildi", "ve-yaysam", "yayma-mi"]·urd["اور-اگر-میں-بچھاؤں", "بچھئے", "بچھئے-گئے", "بچھائی-گئی"]
Related Senses
H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)H5927 1. go up, ascend (Qal) (779×)H7971 1. to send, dispatch (Qal) (701×)G2064 1. come / arrive (physical movement toward) (588×)H5307 1. Qal: fall down physically (339×)H5375 1. Qal: to lift up, raise (330×)H5975 1. to stand, stand up (310×)H5674a 1. Qal: pass by, pass through (256×)H3381 1. Qal: to go down, descend (physical movement) (242×)G1831 1. go/come out physically (193×)H5337 1. deliver, rescue, save (Hifil) (188×)H7901 1. lie down, rest, sleep (183×)G1525 1. enter a place physically (179×)H7812 1. prostrate oneself, bow down, worship (173×)H3318 2. Hifil: bring out, lead out, take out (persons) (172×)H7725 2. to bring back, restore (Hifil) (151×)H5674a 2. Qal: cross over (134×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [יָצַע] vb. Hiph. lay, spread, late (Ges§ 71; Aramaic יְצַע Pa. Aph. id., also expound, ‘auslegen;’ Arabic وَضَعَ is put or lay (down, on a place, etc.), but ض = Aramaic ע)— Hiph. Impf. יַצִּיעַ Is 58:5; אַצִּ֫יעָה ψ 139:8; lay, spread out, sq. acc. שׂק ואפר Is 58:5; שׁאול ψ 139:8 if I spread out Sheʾôl (as my couch). Hoph. Impf. יֻצַּע (Pu. Pf. De Di al.) be laid, spread; subj. שׂק ואפר Est 4:3; subj. רִמָּה worm, as couch for king of Babylon Is 14:11.