H5382 H5382
To forget or be forgotten; causatively, to cause someone to forget — spanning personal grief, divine judgment, and providential erasure of pain
A verb whose two stems trace the full arc of forgetting. In the Qal and Nifal, the subject simply forgets — Jeremiah's speaker has 'forgotten prosperity' (Lam 3:17), and God warns he will 'forget' his people (Jer 23:39), while Isaiah reassures Israel 'you will not be forgotten by me' (Isa 44:21). In the Piel and Hiphil, someone is made to forget: Joseph names his son Manasseh 'because God has made me forget all my hardship' (Gen 41:51), and Job's friends suggest that God 'makes forget' some of one's guilt (Job 11:6). Spanish consistently uses 'olvidar,' while the causative 'hizo olvidar' mirrors the Hebrew stem distinction precisely.
Senses
1. forget (Qal/Nifal intransitive) — Qal and Nifal intransitive forms meaning 'to forget' or 'be forgotten.' In Lam 3:17 the speaker says 'I forgot prosperity,' expressing personal grief. In Jer 23:39 God declares he will forget his people in judgment, while Isa 44:21 reassures 'you will not be forgotten by me.' Spanish 'me he olvidado' and 'me olvidarás' track the person distinctions closely, confirming the simple intransitive semantics. 3×
AR["تُنْسَيْنِي", "نَسِيتُ", "وَ-أَنْسَاكُمْ"]·ben["ও-আমি-তুলে-নেব", "ভুলে-গেছিলাম-আমি", "ভুলে-যাবে-আমাকে"]·DE["[ונשיתי]", "[נשיתי]", "[תנשני]"]·EN["I-forgot", "and-I-will-lift-you", "you-will-be-forgotten-by-Me"]·FR["[ונשיתי]", "[נשיתי]", "[תנשני]"]·heb["ו-נשיתי", "נשיתי", "תינשני"]·HI["और-उठाऊँगा", "भूलेगा-मुझे", "मैं-भूल-गया"]·ID["akan-dilupakan-oleh-Ku", "akan-mengangkat", "aku-melupakan"]·IT["[ונשיתי]", "[נשיתי]", "[תנשני]"]·jav["kawula-kesupen", "lan-Aku-badhe-nilar", "panjenengan-badhé-kasupekaken-Ingsun"]·KO["그리고-잇으리라", "내-가-잊었네", "잊으리라-나를"]·PT["e-esquecerei", "esqueci", "me-esquecerás"]·RU["будешь-забыт-Мной", "забыл-я", "и-забуду"]·ES["me-he-olvidado", "me-olvidarás", "y-os-olvidaré"]·SW["na-nitawasahau", "nimesahau", "sahauliwa"]·TR["unutacaksin-beni", "unuttum", "ve-unutacağım"]·urd["اور-بھول-جاؤں-گا", "بھول-گیا-میں", "تو-بھلایا-جائے-گا-مجھ-سے"]
2. cause to forget (Piel/Hifil causative) — Piel and Hiphil causative forms meaning 'to make someone forget.' Joseph's naming of Manasseh in Gen 41:51 — 'God has made me forget all my toil' — is the paradigmatic instance, where forgetting is a gift of grace. Job 11:6 suggests God causes the guilty to forget some of their iniquity, and Job 39:17 notes the ostrich whom God 'made forget' wisdom. Spanish 'me hizo olvidar' and German 'vergessen ließ mich' both preserve the causative structure faithfully. 3×
AR["أَنْسَانِيَ", "أَنْسَاهَا", "يُنْسيكَ"]·ben["তিনি-ভুলে-যান", "ভুলিয়ে-দিয়েছেন", "ভুলিয়ে-দিয়েছেন-আমাকে"]·DE["[השה]", "[ישה]", "vergessen-ließ-mich"]·EN["forgets", "has-made-forget-her", "has-made-me-forget"]·FR["a-fit-moi-oublier", "השה-elle", "ישה"]·heb["השהה", "ישה", "נשני-י"]·HI["भुला-दिया-उसे", "भुला-दिया-मुझे", "भुला-देता-है"]·ID["melupakan", "membuat lupa padanya"]·IT["forgets", "ha-fece-me-dimenticare", "has-made-forget-sua-sua"]·jav["Gusti-Allah-sampun-damel-kula-kesupen", "ndamel-piyambak-ipun-kesupen", "ngampuni"]·KO["잊게-하셨다-그것에게", "잊게-하신다", "잊게하셨다"]·PT["a-fez-esquecer", "faz-esquecer", "fez-esquecer-me"]·RU["забывает", "забыть-дал-мне", "лишил-её"]·ES["ha-olvidado", "le-hizo-olvidar", "me-hizo-olvidar"]·SW["alimsahaulisha", "amenisahaulisha", "anakusamehe"]·TR["unutturdu-bana", "unutturdu-ona", "unutturur"]·urd["بھلا-دیا", "بھلا-دیا-مجھے", "بھول-دیتا-ہے"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. [נָשָׁה] vb. forget (NH id.; Assyrian nišîtu perhaps forgottenness DlHWB 486; Aramaic נְשָׁא (especially Ithpe., Aph.), ܢܫܳܐ forget; Arabic نَسِىَ forget, neglect; cf. Ethiopic ናሕሰየ ignoscere, condonare, indulgere Di 633);— Qal Pf. 1 s. וְנָשִׁיתִי אֶתְכֶם נָשֹׁא Je 23:39 I will forget you finally (but 𝔊 𝔙 𝔖 Che Gie וְנָשָׂאתִי, sq. וְנָטַשְׁתִּי as v 33 b, v. iii. מַשָּׂא); נָשִׁיתִי…