H2803 — חָשַׁב (châshab)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2803
Original: חָשַׁב
Transliteration: châshab
Pronunciation: khaw-shab
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 122 unique verses (140 tokens) across 28 books
First Occurrence: Gen 15:6 — "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute:—(make) account (of), conceive, consider, count, cunning (man, work, workman), devise, esteem, find out, forecast, hold, imagine, impute, invent, be like, mean, purpose, reckon(-ing be made), regard, think.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	68	think, count, regard, devise, esteem; participle = "cunning/skillful worker"
Niphal	27	be counted, be reckoned, be accounted, be esteemed
Piel	15	reckon up, compute, consider, think upon
Hithpael	1	reckon oneself (Num 23:9 — "shall not be reckoned among the nations")

Qal dominates (61%), covering both mental activity (thinking, devising) and evaluation (counting, esteeming). Niphal provides the passive ("be counted as"), central to imputation texts. Piel intensifies the reckoning/computing sense (Lev 25 economic calculations, Psa 73:16 deliberation). The sole Hithpael in Num 23:9 describes Israel's unique national standing.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation Group	Representative Forms	Verses	%
Count/reckon/account	counted, count, reckon, accounted, reckoned, reckoning	~28	23%
Devise/purpose/plan	devise, devised, deviseth, purposed, forecast	~23	19%
Think/consider	think, thought, thinketh, consider	~17	14%
Cunning (artisan)	cunning, cunning workman	7	6%
Esteem/regard	esteemed, esteem, regard	~8	7%
Imagine	imagine, imagined, imagineth	~8	7%
Impute	impute, imputeth, imputed	~4	3%
Other	meant, invent, find out, conceived, like, hold	~27	22%

The wide translation range reflects the word's semantic breadth — from concrete artisan work ("cunning") through mental computation ("reckon") to abstract evaluation ("esteem") and intentional planning ("devise").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	2	4.3
Jonah	1	2.1
Micah	2	1.9
Esther	3	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8
Lamentations	2	1.3
Exodus	12	1.0
Hosea	2	1.0
Leviticus	8	0.9
Isaiah	12	0.9
Jeremiah	12	0.9
Job	10	0.9
Zechariah	2	0.9
Nehemiah	3	0.7
Psalms	18	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
2 Samuel	4	0.6
Daniel	2	0.6
Proverbs	5	0.5
2 Chronicles	3	0.4
Genesis	4	0.3
2 Kings	2	0.3
Numbers	3	0.2
Deuteronomy	2	0.2
Joshua	1	0.2
1 Samuel	2	0.2
Ezekiel	2	0.2
1 Kings	1	0.1

Broadly distributed across 28 books with no single genre dominating. Exodus concentrations (12) are from tabernacle artisan passages ("cunning work"). Psalms (18) reflect both devotional reckoning (Psa 32:2, 106:31) and enemy-devising contexts (Psa 35:4, 41:7). Jeremiah (12) and Isaiah (12) use the word heavily for divine and human planning/purposing. Job (10) clusters around personal evaluation ("he counteth me for his enemy").

Semantic Categories¶

1. Reckoning / Imputing — Formal Evaluation of Status¶

Gen 15:6 — "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Psa 32:2 — "Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity"
Psa 106:31 — "And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore."
Lev 7:18 — "it shall not be imputed unto him that offereth it"
2 Sam 19:19 — "Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me"

2. Counting / Computing — Numerical or Economic Calculation¶

Lev 25:27 — "Then let him count the years of the sale thereof"
Lev 25:50 — "And he shall reckon with him that bought him"
Lev 27:18 — "then the priest shall reckon unto him the money"
Num 18:27 — "your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor"

3. Devising / Planning — Intentional Mental Activity (often malicious)¶

Jer 18:11 — "Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you"
Jer 18:18 — "Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah"
Mic 2:1 — "Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds!"
Psa 35:4 — "let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt"
Psa 36:4 — "He deviseth mischief upon his bed"
Est 9:24 — "Haman...had devised against the Jews to destroy them"

4. Thinking / Considering — General Mental Activity¶

Isa 10:7 — "Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so"
Psa 73:16 — "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me"
Psa 119:59 — "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies"
Jer 29:11 — "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD"

5. Esteeming / Regarding — Evaluative Judgment of Worth¶

Isa 53:3 — "we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not"
Isa 53:4 — "yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted"
Job 41:27 — "He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood"
Isa 40:17 — "All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing"
Lam 4:2 — "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers"

6. Cunning / Skillful Work — Artisan Fabrication¶

Exo 26:1 — "thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains...of cunning work"
Exo 31:4 — "To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass"
Exo 35:35 — "Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the...cunning workman"
2 Chr 26:15 — "engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers"

7. Imagining Against — Hostile Scheming (especially against God)¶

Nah 1:9 — "What do ye imagine against the LORD?"
Nah 1:11 — "There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD"
Hos 7:15 — "yet do they imagine mischief against me"
Zech 7:10 — "let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
רַע (raʻ)	H7451	24x	"devise evil" / "think evil" — evil as the object of scheming
עָשָׂה (ʻâsâh)	H6213	25x	"devise and do" — planning followed by execution
מַחֲשָׁבָה (machăshâbâh)	H4284	18x	"think thoughts" / "devise devices" — cognate noun reinforcing the verb
אַרְגָּמָן (ʼargâmân)	H713	11x	tabernacle passages: "cunning work" with purple fabric
כֶּסֶף (keçeph)	H3701	11x	economic reckoning contexts (Leviticus jubilee calculations)
תְּכֵלֶת (tᵉkêleth)	H8504	11x	tabernacle passages: "cunning work" with blue fabric
זָהָב (zâhâb)	H2091	10x	tabernacle artisan work with gold
מַעֲשֶׂה (maʻăseh)	H4639	10x	"the work of cunning" — artisan product

The two dominant collocation clusters reflect the word's primary domains: (1) moral/mental activity collocating with raʻ "evil" and ʻâsâh "do," and (2) artisan fabrication collocating with precious materials (purple, blue, gold, silver).

Word Family / Cognates¶

H4284 מַחֲשָׁבָה (machăshâbâh) — thought, device, plan, invention (noun derived from châshab)
H2808 חֶשְׁבּוֹן (cheshbôwn) — reckoning, account, reason, device (noun)
H2804 חֲשַׁב (chăshab, Aramaic) — to reckon, account (Aramaic cognate)
H2805 חֵשֶׁב (chesheb) — the "curious girdle" of the ephod (artisan-woven band)

Synonyms (SDBH)¶

H1819 דָּמָה (dâmâh) — to compare, liken, consider
H3289 יָעַץ (yâʻats) — to advise, counsel, devise (stronger connotation of deliberation)
H2654 חָפֵץ (châphêts) — to delight in, desire, be pleased
H3045 יָדַע (yâdaʻ) — to know, perceive

Antonyms (SDBH)¶

H959 בָּזָה (bâzâh) — to despise, hold in contempt (opposite of "esteem")
H3988 מָאַס (mâʼaç) — to reject, refuse (opposite of "reckon as valuable")

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חָכָם (châkâm)	H2450	"cunning" (5v)	châkâm = wise/skillful as an attribute; châshab = the act of devising or fabricating
יָדַע (yâdaʻ)	H3045	"cunning" (2v)	yâdaʻ = to know experientially; châshab = to think through or plan
יָעַץ (yâʻats)	H3289	"deviseth" (2v)	yâʻats = to counsel/advise others; châshab = internal mental planning
הָגָה (hâgâh)	H1897	"imagine" (2v)	hâgâh = to murmur/meditate (audible); châshab = silent mental activity
דָּמָה (dâmâh)	H1819	"thought" (1v)	dâmâh = to compare/liken; châshab = to reckon/compute value

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
λογίζομαι (logizomai)	G3049	70	31.41	Primary equivalent — "to reckon, impute, account"
λογισμός (logismos)	G3053	11	15.99	"computation, reasoning" — noun derivative
διαλογίζομαι (dialogizomai)	G1260	7	14.97	"to reckon thoroughly, deliberate"
βύσσος (byssos)	G1040	11	14.35	"fine linen" — tabernacle artisan contexts
κόκκινος (kokkinos)	G2847	10	13.25	"scarlet" — tabernacle artisan contexts
πορφύρα (porphyra)	G4209	8	12.32	"purple" — tabernacle artisan contexts
κακός (kakos)	G2556	13	8.55	"evil" — collocates in "devise evil" passages

The dominant bridge is G3049 λογίζομαι with 70 co-occurrences and the highest PMI score (31.41), establishing a strong semantic equivalence for the reckoning/imputation sense. The fabric-related Greek words (byssos, kokkinos, porphyra) cluster in Exodus tabernacle passages where châshab means "skillfully woven."