H7607 H7607
Flesh: bodily tissue; a close blood relative or kinsman; food or sustenance owed to a dependent.
The Hebrew noun she'er occupies a surprisingly compact but layered semantic space where the physical body, kinship bonds, and legal obligations converge. In its most concrete use, it names the flesh of the body — the tissue that clothes the bones and sustains life — as when the psalmist confesses that 'my flesh and my heart may fail' (Ps 73:26) or when God rained 'flesh like dust' upon the camp (Ps 78:27). But she'er also names the bond of shared blood: Leviticus 18 repeatedly uses it to identify the 'near kin' with whom marriage is forbidden, reflecting the ancient intuition that relatives are literally 'of one flesh.' Spanish carne and French chair mirror this body-to-kinship metaphor naturally, while the single legal occurrence in Exodus 21:10 — a husband's obligation to provide a wife's 'food' — shows the word narrowing to mean the sustenance that flesh requires.
1. flesh, body — The physical flesh or body of a person, denoting the corporeal substance that covers the bones and pulsates with life. Eight occurrences cluster in poetic and prophetic texts: the psalmist declares that both 'my flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart' (Ps 73:26), and God provides meat for Israel in the wilderness — 'flesh like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas' (Ps 78:27). In Micah 3:2-3, the prophet accuses leaders of stripping flesh from the people as butchers strip meat from bone. Spanish carne, French chair, and German Fleisch all render this with standard body-tissue vocabulary, while the parallel with basar in Proverbs 5:11 confirms she'er as a near-synonym for the physical body. 8×
AR["لَحْمي","لَحْمًا","لَحْمَ","لَحْمِهِ","وَ-جِسْمِكَ","وَ-لَحْمَهُمْ","وَلَحْمِي"]·ben["আমার-দেহ","আর-আমার-মাংস","এবং-তাদের-মাংস","ও-তোমার-শরীর","তার-দেহকে","মাংস"]·DE["Rest","[ושארי]","[ושארך]","[ושארם]","[שארו]","meat","mein-Fleisch"]·EN["and-my-flesh","and-their-flesh","and-your-body","flesh-of","his-own-flesh","meat","my-flesh"]·FR["[ושארי]","chair","et-chair","et-ton-ושארך-toi","son-שארו-lui"]·heb["ו-שארי","ו-שארך","ו-שארם","שאר","שארו","שארי"]·HI["और-उन-का-मांस","और-मांस-तेरा","और-मेरी-देह","माँस","मांस","मेरा-शरीर","शरीर-को"]·ID["daging","dagingku","dagingnya","dan-daging-mereka","dan-dagingku","dan-tubuhmu"]·IT["[ושארי]","[ושארם]","[שאר]","carne","e-e-tuo-corpo-tuo","suo-own-carne-suo"]·jav["awak","daging","daging-kawula","lan-awak-panjenengan","lan-daging","lan-daging-ku"]·KO["고기-를","그-의-살-을","그리고-네-몸-이","그리고-살-그들의-를","그리고-살이-나의","나-의-육체-가","살-을"]·PT["carne","carne-de","carne-dele","e-minha-carne","e-sua-carne","e-teu-corpo","minha-carne"]·RU["и-плоть-их","и-плоть-моя","и-тело-твоё.","мясо","плоть","плоть-моя","плоть-свою"]·ES["carne","carne-de","carne-de-él","mi-carne","y-mi-carne","y-su-carne","y-tu-cuerpo"]·SW["mwili-wake","mwili-wangu","na-mwili-wangu","na-nguvu-yako","na-nyama-yao","nyama","nyama-ya"]·TR["bedenim","bedenine-onun","et","etini","ve-etim","ve-etin","ve-etlerini-onların"]·urd["اور-اُن-کا-گوشت","اور-بدن-تیرا","اور-میرا-گوشت","میرا-جسم","گوشت","گوشت-اپنے-کا"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. blood relative, near kin — A close blood relative or near kinsman — one who is 'of the same flesh' — used especially in the Levitical regulations governing forbidden sexual unions and priestly mourning rights. Seven occurrences concentrate in Leviticus 18, 20, and 21, where the phrase she'er avikha ('the flesh-kin of your father,' Lev 18:12-13) defines the degrees of kinship within which marriage is prohibited. Spanish pariente cercano, French parent proche, and German Verwandter all shift from body vocabulary to explicit kinship terminology, confirming that translators recognize a distinct relational sense. The connection between flesh and kinship is not merely metaphorical — it encodes a worldview where family bonds are as tangible as the body itself. 7×
AR["قَرِيبَةُ","قَرِيبَتِهِ","قَرِيبِ","لِ-قَرِيبِهِ","لِـ-قَرِيبِهِ","مِنْ-قَرِيبِ"]·ben["-থেকে-আত্মীয়","আত্মীয়","তার-নিকটতমকে","তার-রক্তসম্পর্কীয়","তার-রক্তসম্পর্কীয়ের-জন্য"]·DE["relative-sein","relative-von","sein-relative","zu-sein-relative"]·EN["his-relative","relative-his","relative-of","to-his-relative"]·FR["relative-de","relative-son","son-relative","à-son-relative"]·heb["ל-שארו","מ-שאר","שאר","שארו"]·HI["अपने-निकट-संबंधी","अपने-रक्त-सम्बन्धी","रक्त-सम्बन्धी","रिश्तेदार-उसके","से-शेष"]·ID["atau","kepada-kerabatnya","kerabat","kerabat-dekatnya"]·IT["a-suo-relative","relative-di","relative-suo","suo-relative"]·jav["daging-sesanakipun","dhateng-sanakipun","kulawarga-","saking-sesanak","sanakipun,"]·KO["가까운-것의","그-가까운-친척-에게","그의-살","살-의","에게-그의-살"]·PT["de-parente-de","para-parente-seu","parente-de","por-seu-parente","seu-parente"]·RU["из-родни","родне","родня","родственника-своего","родственником-своим","родственнику-его"]·ES["a-pariente-de-él","carne-de","pariente-cercano","pariente-cercano-de","su-pariente-cercano"]·SW["jamaa","jamaa-yake","kutoka-jamaa-wa-","kwa-jamaa-yake"]·TR["-akrabasına-onun","yakın-akrabası","yakın-akrabasına","yakın-akrabasını","yakını-"]·urd["اپنے-رشتہ-دار","اپنے-رشتہ-دار-کے-لیے","رشتہ-دار","رشتہ-دار-اس-کے"]
3. food, sustenance — Food or sustenance owed to a dependent, specifically the provision a husband must guarantee a wife alongside clothing and conjugal rights. This rare sense appears only once, in Exodus 21:10, where the law stipulates that if a man takes a second wife, 'her food (she'arah), her clothing, and her marital rights he shall not diminish.' Spanish alimento, French nourriture, and German Nahrung all render this with straightforward food vocabulary. The semantic logic connects to the bodily sense: she'er-as-sustenance is what the flesh needs to survive, making this a metonymic extension from body to bodily need. 1×
AR["طَعامَها"]·ben["তার-খাদ্য"]·DE["ihr-Nahrung"]·EN["her-food"]·FR["sa-nourriture"]·heb["שארה"]·HI["भोजन-उसका"]·ID["makanannya"]·IT["suo-cibo"]·jav["tedha-nipun"]·KO["그녀의-음식을"]·PT["sua-comida"]·RU["пищу-её"]·ES["su-alimento"]·SW["chakula-chake"]·TR["yiyeceğini"]·urd["اُس-کا-کھانا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שְׁאֵר n.m. ψ 73:26 flesh (perhaps orig. the inner flesh, full of blood, next the bones, cf. HoffmZAW iii (1883), 107, and בָּשָׂר = (orig.) flesh next the skin);—שׁ׳ abs. ψ 78:20, 27, cstr. Mi 3:3 +, sf. שְׁאֵרִי Je 51:35 ψ 73:26, etc.;— 1. flesh: a. as food, Ex 21:10 (HPS also 1 S 9:24, for הַנִּשְׁאָר), ψ 78:20 (‖ לֶחֶם), v 27 (‖ עוֹף בָּנָף); fig. Mi 3:2 (‖ עוֹר), v 3 (‖ id.), Je 51:35 (‖…