H7389a H7389a
poverty, want, destitution — the condition of material lack and economic vulnerability
Found exclusively in Proverbs, this noun denotes the stark reality of material deprivation. It appears in wisdom sayings that contrast poverty with wealth (Prov 30:8, opposing 'osher') and with the security of the rich (Prov 10:15). The multilingual evidence is unanimous — Spanish 'pobreza,' French 'pauvreté,' English 'poverty' — confirming a single, stable semantic core. Proverbs treats it as a consequence of laziness (6:11; 24:34) or of chasing fantasies (28:19), making it both an economic and moral category in Hebrew wisdom thought.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Material poverty and economic destitution, the condition of lacking resources and being economically vulnerable. All five occurrences cluster in Proverbs, where it stands opposite wealth (Prov 30:8) and the protective 'strong city' of the rich (10:15). Multilingual glosses converge tightly — Spanish 'pobreza,' French 'pauvreté' — leaving no room for polysemy. Wisdom literature treats this poverty as the predictable fruit of idleness (6:11; 24:34) or empty pursuits (28:19). 5×
AR["فَقْراً", "فَقْرٌ", "فَقْرُكَ", "فَقْرُهُمْ"]·ben["তাদের-দারিদ্র্য", "তোমার-দারিদ্র্য", "দারিদ্র্য"]·DE["Haupt", "[ראשך]", "[ריש]", "[רישך]", "[רישם]"]·EN["is-their-poverty", "poverty", "your-poverty"]·FR["leur-pauvreté-eux", "pauvreté", "ton-pauvreté-toi"]·heb["ראשך", "ריש", "רישך", "רישם"]·HI["गरीबी", "गरीबी-तेरी", "निर्धनता", "निर्धनता-है"]·ID["Kemiskinan", "kemiskinan", "kemiskinan-mereka", "kemiskinanmu"]·IT["povertà", "povertà-loro", "povertà-tuo"]·jav["kamiskinan", "kamiskinan-panjenengan", "kamiskinanipun", "kamlaratan"]·KO["가난-과", "가난과", "가난이-너-의", "그-들-의-가난함-이다", "네-가난함-이"]·PT["Pobreza", "pobreza", "pobreza-deles", "pobreza-tua", "tua-pobreza"]·RU["бедности", "бедность-твоя", "бедность-твоя,", "нищета", "нищета-их"]·ES["Pobreza", "pobreza", "pobreza-de-ellos", "tu-pobreza"]·SW["ni-umaskini-wao", "umaskini", "umaskini-wako"]·TR["fakirlikleri", "fakirliği", "yoksulluk", "yoksulluğun"]·urd["غربت", "غربت-اُن-کی", "غریبی-تیری"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† רִישׁ, רֵישׁ, רֵאשׁ n.m. poverty, only Pr;—רִישׁ 28:19, sf. רִישׁוֹ 31:7; רֵישׁ 13:18, sf. רֵישֶׁ֑ךָ 24:34 (‖ מַחְסֹרֶיךָ), רֵישָׁם 10:15 (opp. עָשִׁיר); רֵאשׁ 30:8 (opp. עֹשֶׁר), sf. רֵאשֶׁ֑ךָ 6:11 (= 24:34, ‖ id.).