H6212 — עֶשֶׂב (eseb)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6212
Original: עֶשֶׂב
Transliteration: eseb
Pronunciation: eh
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From an unused root meaning to glisten or be green
Occurrences: 32 unique verses (33 tokens) across 12 books
First Occurrence: Gen 1:11 — "the herb yielding seed"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

seb; from an unused root meaning to glisten (or be green); grass (or any tender shoot):—grass, herb.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
herb	9	28.1%
the grass	7	21.9%
grass	5	15.6%
like grass	3	9.4%
the herb	2	6.2%
other herb/herbs phrases	6	18.8%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Micah	1	1.0
Amos	1	0.7
Genesis	7	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Exodus	4	0.3
Deuteronomy	3	0.3
Psalms	7	0.3
Proverbs	2	0.2
Isaiah	2	0.2
Jeremiah	2	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1

Genesis anchors the word in creation/food provision. Exodus and prophetic texts often use it for vegetation under plague, drought, or renewal imagery.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Created Vegetation and Seed-Bearing Herb¶

Gen 1:11 — "the herb yielding seed"
Gen 1:12 — herb yields seed after its kind
Gen 1:29 — every herb bearing seed is given for food

2. Food for Animals and Humans¶

Gen 1:30 — every green herb is given for meat to living creatures
Gen 3:18 — the man will eat "the herb of the field"
Gen 9:3 — moving creatures are given "even as the green herb"
Deut 11:15 — grass in the fields is given for cattle

3. Field Vegetation Under Plague or Judgment¶

Exo 9:22, 25 — hail strikes "every herb of the field"
Exo 10:12, 15 — locusts eat every herb left after the hail
Jer 12:4 — "the herbs of every field wither"
Isa 42:15 — YHWH dries up herbs in judgment imagery

4. Grass as Transience or Weakness¶

2 Kgs 19:26 / Isa 37:27 — inhabitants are "as the grass of the field"
Ps 92:7 — the wicked spring as grass
Ps 102:4, 11 — heart/life withers like grass

5. Rain/Dew/Renewal Imagery¶

Deut 32:2 — speech drops "as the small rain upon the tender herb"
Mic 5:7 — the remnant is like dew/showers on grass
Zech 10:1 — YHWH gives showers and grass in the field

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	16x	herb/grass of the earth or land
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	13x	"every herb" / total vegetation affected
שָׂדֶה (sadeh)	H7704	10x	herb/grass of the field
אָכַל (akal)	H398	8x	eating herb/grass; plague consumes herbs
דֶּשֶׁא (deshe)	H1877	6x	grass/tender herb overlap
פְּרִי (peri)	H6529	6x	fruit and herb in creation/plague contexts
בְּהֵמָה (behemah)	H929	5x	grass/herb as cattle food
עֵץ (ets)	H6086	5x	tree + herb vegetation lists
זֶרַע (zera)	H2233	4x	seed-bearing herb
חָצִיר (chatsiyr)	H2682	4x	grass/hay overlap

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
דֶּשֶׁא (deshe)	H1877	herb/grass	deshe stresses sprouting/tender vegetation; eseb is herb/grass/shoot more broadly.
חָצִיר (chatsiyr)	H2682	grass	chatsiyr often hay/grass as withering fodder; eseb includes herb/field shoot and food-provision contexts.
יֶרֶק (yereq)	H3418	grass/green thing	yereq emphasizes green/verdure; eseb names the herb/grass itself.
χόρτος (chortos)	G5528	grass	Primary LXX/NT Greek bridge for eseb.

Semantic Domain¶

001002008003002 — Crops (relationship tool). Other listed crop-domain members include H20 abattiyach, H1211 batsal, H1248/H1249 bar, and related crop/produce vocabulary.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
χόρτος (chortos) G5528	22	8.54	Primary bridge; trace created.
βοτάνη (botane) G1008	8	8.66	Herbage/herb equivalent.
χλωρός (chloros) G5515	6	8.25	Green/color vegetation overlap.
καρπός (karpos) G2590	7	5.63	Fruit/produce contexts.
ξηραίνω (xeraino) G3583	5	6.12	Withering/drying contexts.
χάλαζα (chalaza) G5464	4	6.77	Hail contexts in Exodus.