H6660 H6660
lying in wait, hostile intent; malicious premeditation to harm another person
This noun, derived from the verb for 'lying in wait,' denotes hostile, premeditated intent to harm someone. In the Numbers passage about cities of refuge, it distinguishes murder from manslaughter: did the killer act 'with hostile intent' or not? The presence or absence of this malicious premeditation determined whether someone could flee to safety or deserved death. The term emphasizes the heart attitude behind an action—the difference between passionate accident and cold calculation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Numbers 35:20 and 22 contrast killing 'with hostile intent' versus 'without hostile intent,' using this noun to describe the malicious premeditation that makes killing murder rather than manslaughter. English uses 'intent,' Spanish 'acecho' (ambush/hostile intent), French and German similar terms for 'intent' or 'lying in wait.' The legal distinction is crucial: those who killed 'with hostile intent' faced execution, while those without such intent could find refuge. The term probes motive and premeditation, recognizing that the same external action (causing death) carries vastly different moral weight depending on the heart behind it. 2×
AR["بِتَرَصُّدٍ", "تَرَصُّدٍ"]·ben["ফাঁদ।", "ব-ফাঁদে"]·DE["intent", "mit-intent"]·EN["intent", "with-intent"]·FR["avec-intent", "intent"]·heb["ב-צדיה", "צדיה"]·HI["घात", "घात-में"]·ID["dengan-sengaja", "sengaja"]·IT["con-intent", "intent"]·jav["mawi-rancangan", "rancangan"]·KO["계획", "이-계획으로"]·PT["cilada", "com-cilada"]·RU["в-засаде", "засады"]·ES["acecho", "con-acecho"]·SW["hila", "kwa-hila"]·TR["pusuda"]·urd["گھات-میں", "گھات-کے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† צְדִיָּה n.f. lying-in-wait;—(ב)צ׳ Nu 35:20, 22 i.e. with malicious intent (P).