H6238 H6238
To become rich or gain wealth; to make rich or enrich another; to pretend to be rich
The Hebrew verb 'ashar covers the full life cycle of wealth — acquiring it, bestowing it, and faking it. In its Qal and intransitive Hiphil forms, the verb describes the process of becoming rich, as when Hosea's Ephraim boasts 'I have become rich' (Hos 12:9) and Proverbs warns that whoever hastens to get rich will not go unpunished (Prov 28:20). The transitive Hiphil shifts the agency: the LORD 'makes poor and makes rich' (1 Sam 2:7), and the hand of the diligent enriches (Prov 10:4). The Psalmist celebrates God enriching the land with rain (Ps 65:10). Most delightful is the lonely Hitpael in Proverbs 13:7, describing someone who 'pretends to be rich' while having nothing — a wry observation on human vanity. Arabic ghathara ('to abound') and Aramaic 'atar confirm the root's connection to abundance.
3. pretend to be rich — The pretensive sense (Hitpael): to make oneself appear rich, to feign or pretend to be wealthy when one is not. This sense appears only once, in Proverbs 13:7: 'There is one who pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; one who pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.' Spanish hacerse rico and French faire le riche both convey the performative pretense. The Hitpael stem here functions in its classic pretensive role, producing a witty proverb about the gap between appearance and reality that has lost none of its bite across millennia. 1×
AR["مُتَغَنٍّ"]·ben["যে-নিজেকে-ধনী-করে"]·DE["[מתעשר]"]·EN["one-who-pretends-to-be-rich"]·FR["s'enrichir"]·heb["מתעשר"]·HI["धनवान-बननेवाला"]·ID["yang-berpura-pura-kaya"]·IT["one-chi-pretends-a-essere-ricco"]·jav["tiyang-kang-ethok-ethok-sugih"]·KO["부유해지는-자-가"]·PT["quem-se-faz-rico"]·RU["обогащающий-себя"]·ES["el-que-se-hace-rico"]·SW["anayejifanya-tajiri"]·TR["zenginleşen"]·urd["امیر-بننے-والا"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. become rich, gain wealth — The intransitive sense: to become rich, grow wealthy, gain riches — describing the process or state of arriving at prosperity. Hosea 12:9 gives the self-congratulatory 'I have become rich,' while Job 15:29 denies that the wicked shall be rich and Proverbs 23:4 counsels against toiling to acquire wealth. Proverbs 28:20 warns that haste toward riches invites punishment. Spanish enriquecerse ('to become rich') and the French reflexive s'enrichir both mirror the intransitive construction. The wisdom literature treats this sense with suspicion as often as with approval. 9×
AR["اغتَنَيتُ","لِتَغْتَنِيَ","لِيَغْتَنِيَ","وَ-اغْتَنَوْا","وَ-قَدِ-اغْتَنَيْتُ","يَسْتَغْنِي","يَغْتَني","يَغْتَنِي"]·ben["আমি-ধনী-হয়েছি","এবং-আমি-ধনী-হয়েছি","এবং-ধনী-হয়েছে","ধনী-হতে","ধনী-হবে","ধনী-হয়","সে-ধনী-হবে"]·DE["[ואעשר]","[ויעשירו]","[יעשיר]","[יעשר]","[עשרתי]","becomes-reich","zu-der-Reiche"]·EN["I-have-become-rich","and-grown-rich","becomes-rich","blessed","he-is-rich","shall-gain-riches","to-become-rich"]·FR["[ויעשירו]","et-s'enrichir","s'enrichir","à-s'enrichir"]·heb["התעשרתי","ו-אעשיר","ו-העשירו","ייעשר","יעשיר","ל-התעשר"]·HI["और-धनी-हो-गए","और-मैं-धनी-हो-गया","धनवान-होगा","धनी-हो","धनी-होगा","धनी-होने-के-लिए","धनी-होने-को","मैं-धनी-हो-गया-हूं","वह-धनी-होगा"]·ID["akan-menjadi-kaya","dan-aku-menjadi-kaya","dan-menjadi-kaya","ia-kaya","untuk-menjadi-kaya"]·IT["[ואעשר]","[ויעשירו]","[יעשיר]","[עשרתי]","arricchi'","becomes-ricco","he-is-rich","per-a-become-ricco"]·jav["Kawula-dados-sugih","badhé-dados-sugih","badhé-sugih","kanggé-dados-sugih","lan-dados-sugih","lan-sugih-kula","nyawa","sugih"]·KO["그리고-내가-부하니","그리고-부유해졌다","부유하게-되리라","부유하여졌노라","부유해지도다","부유해지려고","부유해지지","부유해지지-않고"]·PT["e-enriqueceram","e-enriqueci","enriquecer","enriquecerá","enriqueci","para-enriquecer"]·RU["богатеет","и-разбогател-я","и-разбогатели","разбогатеет","разбогател","разбогатеть","чтобы-разбогатеть"]·ES["a-enriquecerse","me-he-enriquecido","para-enriquecerte","se-enriquece","se-enriquecerá","y-me-he-enriquecido","y-se-enriquecieron"]·SW["atajilimbikizia","hatakuwa-tajiri","kupata-mali","kutajirika","mtu","na-nimetajirika","na-wametajirika","nimetajirika","tajiri"]·TR["ve-zengin-oldular","ve-zenginleştim","zengin-olmak-için","zengin-olur","zenginleşecek","zenginleşir","zenginleşirse","zenginleştim"]·urd["امیر-ہو-جائے","امیر-ہونے-کو","امیر-ہونے-کے-لیے","امیر-ہوگا","اور-دولتمند-ہو-گئے","اور-دولتمند-ہوا","دولت-مند-ہو-گا","دولتمند-ہوگا","میں-دولتمند-ہو-گیا-ہوں"]
2. make rich, enrich — The causative-transitive sense (Hiphil): to make rich, to enrich, to bestow wealth upon another person or thing. First Samuel 2:7 places this power squarely with God: 'the LORD makes poor and makes rich.' Saul offers to 'enrich' the family of whoever kills Goliath (1 Sam 17:25), and Genesis 14:23 preserves Abraham's refusal to let the king of Sodom say 'I have made Abram rich.' Psalm 65:9-10 extends the image agriculturally: God 'greatly enriches' the land with streams of water. Spanish enriquecer and German bereichern both capture the transitive causation. 7×
AR["أَغْنَيْتُ","أَغْنَيْتِ","تُغْنيها","تُغْنِي","وَ-يُغْنِي","يُغْنِيهِ"]·ben["এবং-ধনী-করেন","তাকে-ধনী-করবে","তুমি-তাকে-ধনী-করেছ","ধনী-করে","ধনী-করেছি","ধনী-করেছিলে"]·DE["[העשרת]","[תעשיר]","du-enrich-es","habe-reich-gemacht","und-macht-reich","wird-mache-reich-ihn"]·EN["You-enrich-it","and-makes-rich","made-rich","makes-rich","will-make-rich-him","you-enriched"]·FR["et-fait-riche","fera-fais-riche-lui","fit-riche","s'enrichir"]·heb["העשרת","העשרתי","ו-מעשיר","יעשר-נו","תעשיר","תעשרנה"]·HI["और-धनी-करता","तू-धनी-करता-है-उसे","धन-देग-उसे","धनवान-बनाता-है","धनवान-बनाती-है","धनी-बनाए-तूने","मैने-धनि-किय"]·ID["Engkau-memperkayanya","dan-memperkaya","engkau-memperkaya","memperkaya","raja-akan-memberi-kekayaan"]·IT["[העשרת]","arricchi'","e-fa-ricco","fece-ricco","makes-ricco","vorrà-fa-ricco-lui"]·jav["Panjenengan-nyugihaken","damel-sugih-ipun","lan-damel-sugih","nggawe-sugih","panjenengan-ndadosaken-sugih","sampun-damel-sugih"]·KO["그리고-부하게하는다","부요하게-했다","부유하게-하리라-그를","부유하게-했다-너는","부유하게한다","풍성하게-하시도다"]·PT["a-enriqueces","e-enriquece","enriquece","enriquecerá-o","enriqueceste","enriqueci"]·RU["и-обогащает","обогатил","обогатит-его","обогащает","обогащаешь-её","обогащала"]·ES["enriquece","enriqueciste","enriquecí","la-enriqueces","lo-enriquecerá","y-enriquece"]·SW["atamfanya-tajiri","inayotajirishia","na-anafanya-tajiri","nilimtajirisha","uliwatajirisha","unaifanya-tajiri","unatajirishwa"]·TR["ve-zenginleştirir","zengin-edecek-onu","zenginleştirdim","zenginleştirdin","zenginleştirir","zenginleştirirsin-onu"]·urd["امیر-کرے-گا-اُسے","امیر-کیا-تُو-نے","اور-دولتمند-کرتا-ہے","تُو-امیر-کرتا-ہے-اُسے","دولتمند-بناتا-ہے","دولتمند-بناتی-ہے","دولتمند-کیا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [עָשַׁר] vb. be or become rich (NH in der. spec., and deriv.; Aramaic עֲתַר, ܥܬܰܪ; cf. Arabic غَثَرَ abound with herbage, غَثْرَةٌ abundance, of herbage, goods, etc.);— Qal Pf. 1 s. עָשַׁרְתִּי Ho 12:9 I have become rich; Impf. 3 ms. יֶעְשַׁר Jb 15:29 he shall not be rich.—1 K 22:49 read עָשָׂה. Hiph. 1. make rich, c. acc. pers.: Pf. 1 s. הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי Gn 14:23; 2 fs. הֶעֱשַׁרְתְּ Ez 27:33 (of…