H7898 H7898
shayit -- thorn-bushes, briers; thorny wild growth signaling desolation and divine judgment
A masculine collective noun for thorn-bushes or briers, appearing exclusively in Isaiah and always paired with shamir ('thorns') to form the prophetic formula shamir washayit. This thorn-pair serves as Isaiah's signature image of agricultural ruin and divine judgment: a once-cultivated vineyard overrun with briers (Isa 5:6), land bought for a thousand silver pieces now worthless and thorn-choked (Isa 7:23-25), and wickedness burning through thorns like wildfire (Isa 9:18; 10:17). In Isaiah 27:4, God declares that if thorns and briers were set against him in battle, he would burn through them. Spanish cardo, French ronce, and German Dornengestruepp all capture the wild, aggressive, unwanted growth that reclaims neglected or cursed land.
Senses
1. Thorns, briers — Thorny wild bushes or brier plants, always appearing in Isaiah's prophetic judgment oracles as part of the fixed pair shamir washayit ('thorns and briers'). The pairing describes desolate, uncultivated land that has reverted from productive vineyard to wasteland under divine curse (Isa 5:6; 7:23-25), or thorny growth consumed by the fire of God's wrath (Isa 9:18; 10:17; 27:4). Spanish cardos y espinos and French ronces et epines both reflect the paired-thorn imagery, while German Dornengestruepp emphasizes the wild, tangled character of the growth. The etymology is uncertain but may relate to devastation or rough wildness. 7×
AR["شَوْكَهُ", "وَ-أَشوَاكًا", "وَ-الأَشوَاكُ", "وَ-الأَشوَاكِ", "وَ-الْحَسَكَ", "وَ-لِلأَشوَاكِ", "وَعَوْسَجَا"]·ben["এবং-বামনা", "ও-ঝাঁটি", "ও-ঝাঁটির", "ও-ঝাঁটির-জন্য", "কাঁটাগাছ", "তার-কাঁটাগাছ"]·DE["Dornengestruepp", "und-Dornengestruepp"]·EN["and-briers", "and-for-the-briers", "its-thorns", "thorn"]·FR["et-ronce", "ronce"]·heb["ו-ל-שית", "ו-שית", "שית", "שיתו"]·HI["उसकी-झाड़ियों", "और-झाड़ियां", "और-झाड़ियों", "और-झाड़ियों-के", "और-झाड़ियों-को", "और-झाड़ी", "झाड़ी"]·ID["dan-rumpai", "semak-berduri", "semak-duri-nya"]·IT["e-spina", "spina"]·jav["lan-kangge-suket-eri", "lan-rungkud", "lan-suket-eri", "suket-eri-nipun"]·KO["그-찌레와", "그리고-찔레를", "찌레가", "찌레의", "찍레가"]·PT["abrolho", "cardos-seus", "e-cardo", "e-para-o-cardo"]·RU["волчец-его", "и-волчец", "и-волчца", "и-волчцом", "и-для-волчца"]·ES["su-espino", "y-cardo", "y-cardos"]·SW["mbigili-yake", "na-mbigili", "na-michongoma"]·TR["caliliigi", "calisini", "ve-cali", "ve-calinin", "ve-caliya"]·urd["اور-جھاڑیاں", "اور-جھاڑیوں-کا", "اور-جھاڑیوں-کے-لیے", "اُس-کی-جھاڑیاں", "کانٹے"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שַׁ֫יִת n.[m.] coll. thorn-bushes (connex. with above √ dub.; DietrAbh. 73 cp. (improb.) שׁאה devastate, שְׁאִיָּה ruin, whence שׁ׳ wild, rough growth);—always c. שָׁמִיר: abs. שׁ׳ Is 7:23, 24; 9:17; 27:4 (cf. Du); שָׁ֑יִת 5:6; 7:25; sf. שִׁיתוֹ 10:17 (fig. Assyrian).