H3452 H3452
A desolate waste or wilderness; often used as a quasi-proper noun for the Jeshimon desert region near the Dead Sea.
Derived from the root meaning 'to be desolate,' this noun paints a vivid picture of barren, uninhabitable terrain. With the definite article, it functions almost as a place name for the Jeshimon, the stark wilderness region overlooking the Dead Sea where David hid from Saul (1 Sam 23:19, 24; 26:1, 3). Numbers uses it for the wasteland visible from the heights of Pisgah and Peor (Num 21:20; 23:28). Without the article, it carries a more abstract poetic force, evoking primordial desolation in the 'howling waste' of Deuteronomy 32:10 or God's power to make rivers flow through the wasteland (Isa 43:19-20). German 'der Jeshimon' preserves the toponym, while Spanish 'el desierto' and 'la soledad' capture both the geographic and emotional dimensions.
Senses
1. wilderness, wasteland (specific locale) — The concrete, often semi-proper usage designating specific desert regions, particularly the Jeshimon wilderness near the Dead Sea. Nearly all occurrences take the definite article, functioning as a recognizable geographic reference. The Samuel narratives place David in 'the Jeshimon' as a fugitive (1 Sam 23:19, 24; 26:1, 3), while Numbers locates it as the vista from Pisgah (21:20) and Peor (23:28). The Psalms extend the locative sense to describe wandering 'in the wilderness, in a wasteland' (Ps 107:4). Spanish consistently uses 'el desierto' or 'el yermo,' French employs transliterations alongside 'désolation,' and German preserves 'der Jeshimon' as a topographic marker. 12×
AR["القَفرِ", "الْقَفْرِ", "الْيَشِيمُون", "الْيَشِيمُونِ", "في-القَفر", "في-القَفْرِ", "في-قَفر", "فِي-القَفْرِ", "فِي-الْقَفْرِ"]·ben["নির্জন-স্থানে", "প্রান্তরে", "মরুপ্রান্তরে", "মরুভূমিতে", "মরুভূমির", "যিশীমোনের"]·DE["[בישימן]", "[בישמון]", "der-Jeshimon", "der-Wueste", "der-wasteland", "durch-der-Wüste", "in-der-Wüste", "in-der-wasteland", "in-ein-wasteland"]·EN["in-a-wasteland", "in-the-desert", "in-the-wasteland", "the-Jeshimon", "the-wasteland", "the-wilderness", "through-the-wilderness"]·FR["[בישימן]", "[בישמון]", "dans-désolation", "le-Jeshimon", "le-désert", "le-wasteland"]·heb["ב-ישימון", "ה-ישימון", "ה-ישימן"]·HI["उजाड़-में", "जेशीमोन-के", "निर्जन-स्थान-में", "में-सूखी-भूमि", "यशीमोन-के"]·ID["di-padang-belantara", "di-tempat-sunyi", "melalui-padang-belantara", "padang-belantara", "padang-tandus"]·IT["[בישימן]", "[בישמון]", "desolazione", "il-Jeshimon", "il-deserto", "il-wasteland"]·jav["ara-ara-samun", "gung-liwang-liwung", "ing-ara-ara-samun", "ing-panggenan-sepi", "ing-pasamunan", "wonten-ing-papan-samun"]·KO["광야-에서", "그-광야", "그-광야의", "에-황야에", "예시몬의", "황무지", "황무지-에서", "황폐한-땅-에서"]·PT["na-solidão", "no-ermo", "o-deserto", "pelo-deserto", "por-caminho-deserto"]·RU["Йешимона", "в-пустыне", "в-степи", "по-пустыне", "пустыни"]·ES["el-desierto", "en-el-yermo", "en-la-soledad", "en-soledad", "por-desierto"]·SW["jangwa", "jangwani", "nyikani", "wa-Yeshimoni"]·TR["-Yeşimon'un", "Yeşimon'un", "boş-yerde", "issiz-yerde", "çölde", "ıssız-yerde", "ıssızlıkta"]·urd["بِ-بیابان", "بِ-بیابان-میں", "بیابان", "بیابان۔", "صحرا-میں", "ویرانی-میں", "ویرانے-میں", "یشیمون"]
2. desolation, waste (abstract) — The abstract, poetic sense of utter desolation and barrenness, stripped of geographic specificity. Deuteronomy 32:10 describes finding Israel 'in a howling waste' (yeshimon), where the parallelism with 'desert land' and 'howling wilderness' underscores the word's evocative, non-locative force. English renders 'desolation,' Spanish 'soledad,' French 'désolation,' and German 'Verwüstung,' all emphasizing the emotional and spiritual emptiness of the landscape rather than any particular place. Isaiah 43:19-20 similarly uses the word for the generic wasteland that God will transform with rivers and springs. 1×
AR["قَفْرٍ"]·ben["প্রান্তরের"]·DE["Verwuestung"]·EN["desolation"]·FR["desolation"]·heb["ישימון"]·HI["वीराने-की"]·ID["tanah-tandus"]·IT["desolazione"]·jav["mubeng"]·KO["황무지의"]·PT["ermo"]·RU["пустыни"]·ES["soledad"]·SW["nyika"]·TR["ıssızlığın"]·urd["علاقے-کے"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יְשִׁימוֹן n.m. waste, wilderness;—abs. יְשִׁימוֹן 1 S 23:19 + 5 times; יְשִׁימֹן Nu 21:20 + 3 times; יְשִׁמוֹן Is 43:19; יְשִׁמֹן Dt 32:10; cstr. יְשִׁימוֹן ψ 107:4;—waste, wilderness: a. c. art., alm. n.pr. Nu 21:20 (commanded by Pisgah), 23:28 (by Peʿor; both JE), frequented by David as an outlaw 1 S 23:19, 24; 26:1, 3. Probably some part of the wilderness of Judah, bordering on Dead Sea…