H6718a H6718a
Game, prey (hunted animal or meat); hunting (the activity or occupation of pursuing wild game).
Tsayid is the word that fills Isaac's tent with the aroma of wild game. Rooted in the act of hunting, it most often names the quarry itself — the animal caught and brought home for food. The Genesis patriarchal narratives give it vivid life: Isaac loved Esau 'because game was in his mouth' (Gen 25:28), and the dramatic deception scene revolves around preparing tsayid for the aging father (Gen 27:5-33). Spanish caza and French chassant both hover between 'hunt' and 'game,' just as the Hebrew does, while German Wildbret ('venison') zeroes in on the meat. The rarer activity sense appears memorably in Genesis 10:9, where Nimrod is a gibbor tsayid, 'a mighty hunter before the LORD' — a description so famous it became a proverb. Leviticus 17:13 extends the term to any hunted animal or bird whose blood must be properly drained.
Senses
1. game, prey (quarry caught) — Game or prey — the animal, meat, or quarry obtained through hunting. This dominant sense (11 occurrences) is concentrated in the Isaac-Esau-Jacob narratives: Isaac sends Esau to 'hunt game' and 'make me savory food' (Gen 27:3-7), Jacob disguises himself and brings 'game' to his father (Gen 27:25, 31, 33), and Esau is described as knowing tsayid ('a man who knows game,' Gen 25:27). Leviticus 17:13 broadens the term to any hunted animal or bird. Spanish caza, French de-chassant-son, and German Wildbret all emphasize the product of the hunt. The word carries a sensory, culinary weight — this is not abstract 'prey' but food on the table, with the taste that Isaac craved. 11×
AR["صَيداً", "صَيْدًا", "صَيْدَ", "صَيْدَهُ", "مِن-صَيدي", "مِن-صَيدِ", "مِن-صَيدِهِ"]·ben["আমার-শিকার-থেকে", "তাঁর-শিকার-থেকে", "তার-শিকার", "শিকার", "শিকার-থেকে", "শিকারের"]·DE["Wildbret", "[צידו]", "der-Jagd", "hunting", "vom-Wildbret", "von-meinem-Wildbret", "von-seiner-Jagd"]·EN["from-game-my", "from-game-of", "from-hunting-his", "game", "his-game", "hunting"]·FR["chassant", "de-chassant-son", "de-game-de", "de-game-mon", "game", "hunting", "son-צידו-lui"]·heb["מ-ציד", "מ-צידו-ו", "מ-צידי-י", "ציד", "צידו"]·HI["उस-के-शिकार-से", "मेरे-शिकार-से", "शिकार", "शिकार-को", "शिकार-से"]·ID["berburu", "buruan", "buruannya", "dari-buruan", "dari-buruanku", "dari-perburuannya"]·IT["da-game-di", "da-game-mio", "da-hunting-suo", "game", "hunting", "suo-game-suo"]·jav["angonanan-", "beburon", "buru", "buruan", "saking-beburon", "saking-beburon-kula", "saking-beburonanipun"]·KO["그-의-사냥감-을", "그의-사냥에서", "나의-사냥감에서", "사냥", "사냥감-의", "사냥감을", "사냥이", "에서의-사냥감"]·PT["caça", "caça-de", "caça-dele", "de-caça-de", "de-caça-minha", "de-caça-sua"]·RU["дичь", "добычу", "добычу-свою", "от-дичи", "от-дичи-моей", "охоту", "с-охоты-своей"]·ES["caza", "caza-de", "caza-de-él", "de-caza-de", "de-mi-caza", "de-su-caza"]·SW["kutoka-kuwinda-kwake", "kutoka-mawindo", "kutoka-mawindo-yangu", "mawindo", "mawindo-ya-", "mawindo-yake", "wa-kuwinda"]·TR["av", "avcılığı", "avımdan", "avından", "avını-onun", "ağzında"]·urd["شکار", "شکار-اپنا", "شکار-اپنے-سے", "شکار-سے", "شکار-میرے-سے"]
2. hunting (activity) — Hunting as an activity or occupation, describing the pursuit itself rather than what is caught. Only two occurrences, both in Genesis 10:9, where Nimrod is called gibbor tsayid liphnei YHWH ('a mighty hunter before the LORD'), repeated for emphasis. Spanish cazador, French chasseur, and German Jager all shift to agent nouns or activity terms here, confirming that translators recognize the word as describing what Nimrod does, not what he catches. The phrase became proverbial in Israel — 'like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD' — enshrining the activity sense in cultural memory. 2×
AR["صَيْدٍ"]·ben["শিকারী"]·DE["Jäger"]·EN["hunter", "hunting"]·FR["chassant", "chasseur"]·heb["ציד"]·HI["शिकारी"]·ID["perkasa"]·IT["hunter", "hunting"]·jav["pambeburu"]·KO["사냥꾼"]·PT["caçador"]·RU["зверолов", "звероловом"]·ES["cazador"]·SW["mwindaji"]·TR["avcı"]·urd["شکاری"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. צַ֫יִד n.m. hunting, game;—abs. צ׳ Gn 10:9 +, צָ֑יִד 27:3 (Qr; > Kt צידה), Ne 13:15, cstr. צֵיד Gn 27:25; sf. צֵידִי v 19, etc.;— 1. hunting Gn 27:30; גִּבֹּר־צ׳ 10:9(×2), יֹדֵעַ צ׳ 25:27 (all J). 2. game hunted and taken (cf. BaNB 161), Gn 25:28; 27:3 (v. supr.) v 5, 7, 19, 25, 31, 33 (all J), cf. Pr 12:27; צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ עוֹף Lv 17:13 (H).