H6588 — פֶּשַׁע (peshaʻ)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6588
Original: פֶּשַׁע
Transliteration: peshaʻ
Pronunciation: peh'-shah
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: H6586 פָּשַׁע (pasha) — to break away from authority, rebel, transgress
Occurrences: 90 unique verses (95 tokens), 17 books
First Occurrence: Gen 31:36 — "What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H6586; a revolt (national, moral or religious): — rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.

The root פָּשַׁע (H6586) carries the sense of breaking away from just authority — it denotes active defection, not merely moral failure. The noun pesha designates the act or condition of such revolt.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
transgression / transgressions	~68	76%
sin / sins	2	2%
trespass	3	3%
rebellion	1	1%
Other / prepositional phrases	~16	18%

Dominated by "transgression." "Rebellion" appears once (Job 34:37), revealing the word's core sense.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Amos	10	6.8
Micah	5	4.8
Lamentations	3	1.9
Proverbs	12	1.3
Job	10	0.9
Ezekiel	10	0.8
Isaiah	10	0.8
Daniel	3	0.8
Psalms	14	0.6
1 Samuel	2	0.2
Exodus	3	0.2
Joshua	1	0.2
Leviticus	2	0.2
Genesis	2	0.1
Numbers	1	0.1
1 Kings	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1

Concentration in Amos and Micah reflects prophetic indictment of national covenant violations. Psalms has the most occurrences (14) but lower density — mostly in confession psalms. Near-absence from Torah narrative books (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers) confirms pesha is primarily a prophetic and wisdom term.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Formulaic Prophetic Indictment of Nations¶

The Amos oracle refrain applies pesha to national crimes, using a fixed "three transgressions / four" escalation formula. - Amos 1:3 — "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof" - Amos 1:6 — "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four..." (repeated for Tyrus, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, Israel) - Amos 5:12 — "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins" - Micah 1:5 — "For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel"

2. Covenant Violation Requiring Divine Response¶

Pesha paired with YHWH's name and the divine response of judgment or forgiveness. - Exod 23:21 — "he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him" - Exod 34:7 — "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty" (the classic triad) - Ezek 18:30–31 — "Repent... Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart" - Dan 9:24 — "Seventy weeks are determined... to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins"

3. Personal Confession Before God¶

The Psalms use pesha primarily in penitential contexts — the speaker acknowledging personal revolt. - Ps 32:1 — "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" - Ps 51:1, 3 — "blot out my transgressions... For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me" - Ps 103:12 — "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" - Job 13:23 — "How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin"

Proverbs extends pesha from the covenant sphere to general moral life — covering or ignoring sin vs. confronting it. - Prov 10:12 — "love covereth all sins (pesha)" - Prov 17:9 — "He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends" - Prov 28:2 — "For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof" - Prov 29:16 — "When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth"

5. Bearing and Blotting Out Transgression¶

Isaiah clusters pesha with God's sovereign act of removal — bearing, blotting, and atoning. - Isa 43:25 — "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake" - Isa 53:5 — "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" - Isa 53:8 — "for the transgression of my people was he stricken" - Micah 7:18 — "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
חַטָּאָה (chattah)	H2403	24x	"transgression and sin" — the two-term pair
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	20x	Divine name in judgment/forgiveness context
עָוֺן (avon)	H5771	19x	"iniquity and transgression and sin" — the classic triad
שׁוּב (shub)	H7725	13x	"turn from transgression" — repentance formula
נָשָׂא (nasa)	H5375	10x	"forgive / bear transgression"
שָׁלוֹשׁ / אַרְבַּע (three / four)	H7969/H702	8x each	Amos oracle formula
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	8x	"committed transgression"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H6586 פָּשַׁע (pasha) — root verb: to rebel, transgress (37 occurrences)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H6588.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H6588.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חַטָּאָה (chattah)	H2403	both → "sin/transgression"	chattah = missing the mark, often unintentional; pesha = deliberate revolt/defection
עָוֺן (avon)	H5771	both → "iniquity/sin"	avon = the twisted state of guilt and its accumulated weight; pesha = the act of breaking away
אָשָׁם (asham)	H817	both → "trespass"	asham = guilt with liability for restitution; pesha = willful defection from authority
παράβασις (parabasis)	G3847	both → "transgression" (KJV NT)	parabasis = stepping aside from a specific line; pesha = active revolt against authority

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001003020] Wrong — search_relationships.py groups peshaʻ in the broad "wrong/offense" field, reinforcing its place among culpable acts of rebellion.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἀσέβεια (asébeia)	G763	27	6.73	impiety/ungodliness — highest PMI
ἀνομία (anomía)	G458	29	5.27	lawlessness/iniquity
ἁμαρτία (hamartía)	G266	34	4.55	sin — broadest NT word, used widely
ἀδίκημα (adikēma)	G92	5	6.39	a specific wrong done
ἁμάρτημα (hamartēma)	G265	4	5.73	concrete act of sin

No single dominant Greek equivalent. The LXX distributes pesha across asébeia (emphasizing the godward dimension of impiety), anomía (the lawlessness dimension), and hamartía (the general sin word). This spread reflects that pesha's core sense — active revolt against legitimate authority — lacks a precise Greek lexical match.