H5448 H5448
burden (of tyranny); oppressive weight of foreign rule or subjugation
This noun, distinguished from the similar H5447, specifically denotes the burden of tyranny or oppression, always used figuratively. It appears three times in Isaiah, consistently describing the weight of foreign domination that God will remove. Isaiah 9:4 (English v.3) celebrates liberation: 'the yoke of his burden' broken as on Midian's day. Isaiah 10:27 prophesies 'his burden shall depart from your shoulder'—Assyrian oppression ending. Isaiah 14:25 promises to 'break Assyria in my land, and on my mountains trample him, and his burden shall depart from them.' This is not merely heavy cargo but the crushing weight of subjugation—political, economic, spiritual oppression under foreign masters.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All three instances appear in Isaiah's oracles of liberation from Assyrian domination. The term always pairs with imagery of shoulders and yokes—the physical weight pressing down on a subject people. Isaiah 9:4's reference to Midian recalls Gideon's miraculous victory when God shattered oppressors. The repeated phrase 'his burden shall depart' (10:27, 14:25) creates a refrain of promised freedom. Cross-linguistic renderings uniformly use 'burden/carga' language, though the context makes clear this is specifically tyrannical burden—not merely heavy but unjust, not merely carried but imposed by conquering power. 3×
AR["حِمْلُهُ", "حِمْلِهِ", "وَ-حِمْلُهُ"]·ben["ও-তার-বোঝা", "তার-বোঝা", "তার-বোঝার"]·DE["[וסבלו]", "[סבלו]"]·EN["and-his-burden", "his-burden"]·FR["[וסבלו]", "[סבלו]"]·heb["ו-סובלו", "סובלו"]·HI["उसका-बोझ", "उसके-बोझ-का", "और-उसका-बोझ"]·ID["bebannya", "dan-bebannya"]·IT["[וסבלו]", "[סבלו]"]·jav["lan-momotanipun", "momotan-ipun"]·KO["그-짐이", "그의-짐의"]·PT["e-seu-fardo", "fardo-seu"]·RU["и-ноша-его", "ноша-его", "ноши-его"]·ES["su-carga", "y-su-carga"]·SW["mzigo-wake", "na-mzigo-wake", "ya-mzigo-wake"]·TR["ve-yuku", "yuku", "yukunu"]·urd["اور-اُس-کا-بوجھ", "اُس-کا-بوجھ", "اُس-کے-بوجھ-کا"]
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
† [סֹ֫בֶל] n.m. Is 10:27 burden (always fig. of burden of tyranny);—only sf. סֻבֳּלוֹ, Is 10:27 (v. reff. on סֻבְּכוֹ, [סְבֹךְ]), עֹל ס׳ 9:3; 14:25 (in all conceived as burden resting on shoulders).