H3427 — יָשַׁב (yashab)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3427
Original: יָשַׁב
Transliteration: yashab
Pronunciation: yaw-shab'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 975 unique verses (1,200 tokens) across 38 books
First Occurrence: Gen 4:16 — "And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry: — (make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(-tle), (down-) sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	1,033	sit, dwell, remain, inhabit
Hiphil	38	cause to dwell, settle, place
Niphal	8	be inhabited, be settled
Hophal	2	be made to dwell
Piel	1	(rare)

The Qal dominates at 95.4%, with the Hiphil causative ("cause to dwell, settle someone") as the only significant secondary stem.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
dwell / dwelt / dwelled / dwelleth / dwellest	~310	32%
inhabitants / inhabitant	~175	18%
sit / sat / sitteth / sitting / sittest	~135	14%
abide / abode / abiding / abideth	~60	6%
inhabit / inhabited	~25	3%
remain / remained	~15	2%
tarry / tarried	~15	2%
dwell in (thy dwelling, habitation)	~20	2%
set / placed / settle	~15	2%
continue / endure	~5	1%
marry / married	~5	1%
Other (lurking, ease self, haunt, keep house, etc.)	~195	20%

The KJV renders yashab primarily as "dwell" (32%), followed by participial "inhabitants" (18%) and "sit" (14%).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Zephaniah	7	13.2
Zechariah	21	10.0
Jeremiah	132	9.7
Micah	10	9.5
Judges	57	9.2
Joshua	47	7.1
Joel	5	6.8
1 Kings	52	6.4
2 Chronicles	49	6.0
Lamentations	9	5.8
2 Kings	39	5.4
Esther	9	5.4
1 Samuel	42	5.2
Isaiah	63	4.9
Nehemiah	20	4.9
Amos	7	4.8
Ezra	12	4.3
1 Chronicles	40	4.2
Genesis	63	4.1
Deuteronomy	39	4.1
Ezekiel	49	3.8
2 Samuel	26	3.7
Leviticus	22	2.6
Numbers	32	2.5
Psalms	58	2.4
Exodus	20	1.6
Proverbs	8	0.9
Job	8	0.7
Daniel	1	0.3

Highest density in the Minor Prophets (Zephaniah, Zechariah, Micah) and Jeremiah — books addressing land desolation and repopulation. The narrative-conquest books (Judges, Joshua) also show high density due to "inhabitants of the land" formulas. Near-absent from Daniel (1v), Ecclesiastes (1v).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Sitting (Posture)¶

Gen 18:1 — "he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day"
Exo 17:12 — "they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon"
Exo 18:13 — "Moses sat to judge the people"
Job 2:8 — "he sat down among the ashes"

2. Dwelling / Residing in a Place¶

Gen 4:16 — "dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden"
Gen 13:12 — "Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain"
Lev 23:42 — "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days"
Jer 29:5 — "Build ye houses, and dwell in them"

3. Inhabitants of a Land or City (Participial)¶

Exo 15:14-15 — "the inhabitants of Palestina... all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away"
Jos 9:24 — "the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land"
Jer 1:14 — "Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land"
Zec 12:8 — "the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem"

4. Sitting on a Throne / in Authority¶

1 Ki 1:46 — "Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom"
1 Ki 22:19 — "I saw the LORD sitting on his throne"
Isa 6:1 — "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up"
Psa 110:1 — "Sit thou at my right hand" (implied from usage)
Zec 6:13 — "he shall sit and rule upon his throne"

5. Remaining / Abiding / Tarrying¶

Gen 22:5 — "Abide ye here with the ass"
Gen 24:55 — "Let the damsel abide with us a few days"
1 Sam 23:14 — "David abode in the wilderness in strong holds"
Lam 5:19 — "Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever"

6. Sitting in Judgment¶

Joel 3:12 — "there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about"
Pro 20:8 — "A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment"
Mal 3:3 — "he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver"
Jdg 5:10 — "ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way"

7. Desolation / Uninhabited (Negative)¶

Isa 13:20 — "It shall never be inhabited"
Jer 6:8 — "lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited"
Jer 50:13 — "it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate"
Zep 3:6 — "their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	245x	"dwell in the land" / "inhabitants of the land"
בּוֹא (bo)	H935	148x	"come and dwell" — arrival followed by settling
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	132x	"the king sat" — royal enthronement
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	131x	"dwell in a house" / "sat in his house"
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael)	H3478	131x	"Israel dwelt" — national settlement formula
עִיר (iyr)	H5892	121x	"inhabitants of the city" / "dwell in a city"
עַם (am)	H5971	105x	"the people that dwell"
יְרוּשָׁלִַ͏ם (Yerushalaim)	H3389	102x	"inhabitants of Jerusalem" — prophetic address

Synonyms¶

H166 אָהַל (ahal) — to pitch a tent (temporary dwelling)
H1481 גּוּר (gur) — to sojourn, dwell as a stranger (temporary, alien residence)
H2583 חָנָה (chanah) — to encamp (military or nomadic camping)
H7931 שָׁכַן (shakan) — to settle down, dwell, tabernacle (emphasizes the act of settling; used of the divine Presence)

Antonyms¶

H6965 קוּם (qum) — to rise, stand up (opposite of sitting)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁכַן (shakan)	H7931	dwell, abide, inhabitant	shakan emphasizes settling and the ongoing state of dwelling; used for God "dwelling" in the tabernacle. yashab is the general term for sitting/dwelling.
גּוּר (gur)	H1481	dwell, sojourn, abide	gur denotes temporary, alien sojourning — a foreigner's residence. yashab implies settled, permanent dwelling.
κατοικέω (katoikeo)	G2730	dwell, dwelt, inhabitants	Greek NT equivalent for permanent dwelling; LXX's primary rendering of yashab.
κάθημαι (kathemai)	G2521	sit, sat, sitting	Greek NT equivalent for physical sitting; LXX renders yashab's "sit" sense with this word.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
κατοικέω (katoikeo)	G2730	459	26.72	Primary — permanent dwelling/inhabiting
καθίζω (kathizo)	G2523	160	22.53	Active sitting, being seated (on throne)
κάθημαι (kathemai)	G2521	130	21.77	Sitting posture / being seated
οἰκέω (oikeo)	G3611	55	14.95	Occupy a house, reside
ἐνοικέω (enoikeo)	G1774	29	14.74	Dwell in (figuratively)
θρόνος (thronos)	G2362	55	13.98	Throne — contextual translation of sitting on a throne

The LXX splits yashab's semantic range into distinct Greek verbs: katoikeo for dwelling/inhabiting (459x), kathizo/kathemai for physical sitting (290x combined), showing the two primary senses.