עֹ֫שֶׁר37 H6239
wealth, riches — material abundance and possessions, often paired with honor or contrasted with wisdom
Osher is the standard Hebrew noun for material wealth and riches, appearing 37 times across wisdom, narrative, and prophetic literature. Its most famous context is Solomon's request: when God offered him anything, Solomon asked for wisdom rather than riches ('osher) — and God gave him both (1 Kgs 3:11-13). This pairing of wisdom and wealth becomes a signature theme in Proverbs, where 'riches and honor' (osher ve-khavod) stand together as gifts that wisdom bestows (Prov 3:16; 8:18; 22:4) but that cannot save on the day of wrath (Prov 11:4). Ecclesiastes probes the paradox of wealth that fails to satisfy (Eccl 4:8; 5:13-14; 6:2). Jeremiah captures the prophetic stance: 'let not the rich man glory in his riches' (9:22). The multilingual glosses converge: Spanish 'riquezas,' French 'richesse,' German 'Reichtum.'
Senses
1. wealth, riches — Material wealth, riches, or abundance of possessions, evaluated both positively as a divine blessing and critically as a spiritual snare. The word frequently collocates with kavod ('honor/glory') in a formulaic pair: 'riches and honor' (1 Kgs 3:13; 1 Chr 29:12, 28; 2 Chr 1:11-12; 17:5; 18:1; 32:27; Prov 3:16; 8:18; 22:4; Eccl 6:2). Wisdom literature explores its ambiguity: wealth comes from God (Prov 22:4) but cannot ransom life (Ps 49:7) or endure judgment (Prov 11:4). Ecclesiastes warns of 'osher kept by its owner to his hurt' (5:13). Jeremiah 17:11 pictures riches departing like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay. 37×
AR["ابْنًا", "بِالغِنَى", "خَرَجَ", "عُوشِر", "غِنىً", "غِنًى", "غِنًى-", "لِأَنَّ", "وَ-غِنًى", "وَالْغِنَى", "وَكُنُوزًا"]·ben["আর-ধন", "আর-ধনসম্পদ", "চেয়েছ", "ধন", "ধন-", "ধনসম্পদ", "ধনে", "ধনের", "সম্পদ"]·DE["Reichtum", "[עשר]", "riches", "und-der-zehn", "und-zehn", "zehn"]·EN["And-the-riches", "and-riches", "riches", "the-riches", "wealth"]·FR["[עשר]", "et-richesse", "le-richesse", "riches", "richesse"]·heb["ה-עושר", "ו-ה-עשר", "ו-עשר", "עושר", "עושר־", "עשר"]·HI["और-धन", "धन", "धन-", "धन-को", "धन-से"]·ID["Kekayaan-", "dan-kekayaan", "kekayaan"]·IT["[עשר]", "e-ricchezza", "il-ricchezze", "ricchezza", "ricchezze"]·jav["Lan-kasugihan", "kasugihan", "lan-kasugihan"]·KO["그리고-그-부유함과", "그리고-부", "부", "부-그", "부-를", "부-와", "부를", "부와", "부요", "부유함", "재물과"]·PT["E-a-riqueza", "Riqueza", "a-riqueza", "de-riqueza", "e-riquezas", "riqueza", "riquezas"]·RU["Богатство-", "богатства", "богатство", "богатство,", "богатством", "богатством;", "и-богатство"]·ES["Y-la-riqueza", "de-riqueza", "las-riquezas", "riqueza", "riquezas", "y-riqueza"]·SW["kusikia", "mtu", "na-utajiri", "osher", "utajiri"]·TR["Ve-zenginlik", "servet", "ve-zenginlik", "zenginlik", "zenginlik-", "zenginliği"]·urd["اور-دولت", "دولت", "دولت-سے"]
Gen 31:16, 1 Sam 17:25, 1 Kgs 3:11, 1 Kgs 3:13, 1 Kgs 10:23, 1 Chr 29:12, 1 Chr 29:28, 2 Chr 1:11, 2 Chr 1:12, 2 Chr 9:22, 2 Chr 17:5, 2 Chr 18:1 (+25 more)
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
עֹ֫שֶׁר37 n.m. 18:17, 25 riches;—ע׳ abs. Gn 31:16 + 27 times, cstr. Est 1:4; sf. עָשְׁרוֹ Je 9:22 + 5 times, עָשְׁרָם ψ 49:7 Pr 14:24; + (or ‖) כָּבוֹד 1 K 3:13 Pr 3:16 + 9 times; עָשָׂה ע׳ Je 17:11, cf. Eng. ‘make money.’