H7561 — רָשַׁע (râshaʻ)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7561
Original: רָשַׁע
Transliteration: râshaʻ
Pronunciation: raw-shah'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 35 unique verses, 42 tokens across 13 books
First Occurrence: Exo 22:9 — "whom the judges shall condemn (yarshiʻun), he shall pay double"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to be (causatively, do or declare) wrong; by implication, to disturb, violate: — condemn, make trouble, vex, be (commit, deal, depart, do) wicked(-ly, -ness).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	9	be wicked, act wickedly (stative/intransitive)
Hiphil	25	condemn, declare wicked, act wickedly (declarative/causative)

The Hiphil dominates at 74% of all verb tokens. It carries two distinct senses: (1) forensic/declarative — "condemn, pronounce guilty" (the judicial antonym of Hiphil tsadaq "justify/acquit"); and (2) behavioral/causative — "act wickedly, cause wickedness." The Qal functions as a stative ("be wicked") or confessional ("we have done wickedly"). No Niphal, Piel, or other stems are attested.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation Pattern	Verses	%
condemn / condemneth / condemning	12	34%
done/do/deal wickedly	10	29%
wicked / be wicked	6	17%
wickedly departed	2	6%
make trouble / vex	2	6%
committed wickedness	1	3%
Other	2	6%

Two primary translation clusters emerge: "condemn" (forensic Hiphil) and "do wickedly" (behavioral Qal/Hiphil).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Job	11	1.0
Daniel	4	1.1
Psalms	4	0.2
2 Chronicles	3	0.4
Isaiah	2	0.2
Proverbs	2	0.2
1 Samuel	2	0.2
1 Kings	2	0.2
Exodus	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Nehemiah	1	0.2
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5

Job has the highest raw count (11v, 31% of all uses) and second-highest density. Daniel has the highest density at 1.1 per 100 verses. The word concentrates in wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) and confessional/penitential texts (Daniel 9, Nehemiah 9, 1 Kings 8). It is absent from the Pentateuchal law codes except Exodus 22:9 and Deuteronomy 25:1 — both judicial procedure texts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Forensic Condemnation — Declaring Guilty (Hiphil Declarative)¶

The largest category. A judge, God, or accuser pronounces a verdict of "guilty/wicked." - Deut 25:1 — "the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn (hirshiʻu) the wicked" - 1 Ki 8:32 — "hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning (larshiʻa) the wicked" - Pro 17:15 — "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth (marshiʻa) the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD" - Job 40:8 — "wilt thou condemn (tarshiʻeni) me, that thou mayest be righteous?"

2. Confessional Acknowledgment of Wrongdoing (Qal/Hiphil)¶

Communal or individual admission of having acted wickedly — penitential formula. - 1 Ki 8:47 — "We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness (rashaʻnu)" - Dan 9:5 — "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly (wehirshaʻnu)" - Neh 9:33 — "thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly (hirshaʻnu)" - Psa 106:6 — "We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly (hirshaʻnu)"

3. Behavioral — Acting Wickedly (Qal/Hiphil)¶

Describing conduct that is morally wrong or in departure from God's ways. - 2 Sa 22:22 — "I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed (rashaʻti) from my God" - 2 Chr 22:3 — "his mother was his counseller to do wickedly (leharshiʻa)" - Dan 11:32 — "such as do wickedly (marshiʻey) against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries" - Dan 12:10 — "the wicked shall do wickedly (hirshiʻu): and none of the wicked shall understand"

4. Stative — Being in a State of Wickedness (Qal)¶

Job's protests about whether he is or is not in a state of guilt. - Job 9:29 — "If I be wicked (ʼershaʻ), why then labour I in vain?" - Job 10:7 — "Thou knowest that I am not wicked (ʼershaʻ)" - Job 10:15 — "If I be wicked (rashaʻti), woe unto me" - Ecc 7:17 — "Be not over much wicked (tirshaʻ), neither be thou foolish"

5. Causing Trouble / Disturbing (Hiphil Causative)¶

Rare sense — creating disturbance or harm. - 1 Sa 14:47 — "Saul... fought against all his enemies... whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed (yarshiʻa) them" - Job 34:29 — "when he hideth his face, who then can behold him?... who then can make trouble (yarshiʻa)?"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat)	H4941	6x	Judicial context — "condemn in judgment"
צַדִּיק (tsaddiyq)	H6662	6x	Antithetic pair — "condemn the righteous" / "justify the wicked"
צָדַק (tsadaq)	H6663	6x	Antonym verb pair — "justify...condemn" in same verse
חָטָא (chataʼ)	H2398	5x	Confessional triad — "sinned...committed iniquity...done wickedly"
עָשָׂה (ʻasah)	H6213	5x	"do wickedly" construction
עָוָה (ʻavah)	H5753	4x	Confessional triad member — "have committed iniquity"
רָשָׁע (rashaʻ)	H7563	4x	Cognate adjective co-occurring — "the wicked shall do wickedly"
דֶּרֶךְ (derek)	H1870	4x	"the way of the wicked" / departure from God's ways

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7562 רֶשַׁע (reshaʻ) — noun: wickedness, guilt (30v)
H7563 רָשָׁע (rashaʻ) — adjective: wicked, guilty (236v) — by far the most frequent form of this root
H7564 רִשְׁעָה (rishʻah) — noun: wickedness, guilt (feminine; 15v)

Synonyms (from SDBH)¶

H2398 חָטָא (chataʼ) — sin, miss the mark
H4775 מָרַד (marad) — rebel
H5753 עָוָה (ʻavah) — commit iniquity, bend/distort
H6140 עָקַשׁ (ʻaqash) — be perverse, make crooked

Antonyms (from SDBH)¶

H6663 צָדַק (tsadaq) — be righteous, justify, acquit — the primary antonym; both verbs co-occur in the same verse 6x

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
רָשָׁע (rashaʻ)	H7563	"wicked"	H7563 is the adjective/noun (the wicked person); H7561 is the verb (to be/do/declare wicked)
רַע (raʻ)	H7451	"wicked"	raʻ = general "bad/evil" (natural or moral); rashaʻ = specifically morally culpable, often forensic
אָוֶן (ʼaven)	H205	overlap via "wicked"	ʼaven = trouble, sorrow, idolatrous emptiness; rashaʻ = active wrongdoing or guilty verdict

Semantic Domain¶

Guilty (SDBH 002003003014) — with H816 ʼasham, H817 ʼasham, H818 ʼashem, H819 ʼashmah, H2398 chataʼ
Sin (SDBH 002003003018) — with H2254 chabal, H2398 chataʼ

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
ἄνομος (anomos) G459	11	6.24	"lawless" — primary equivalent; maps the forensic sense
ἀσεβέω (asebeo) G764	6	7.17	"act impiously" — maps the behavioral sense
καταδικάζω (katadikazo) G2613	3	8.34	"condemn, adjudge against" — maps the Hiphil declarative
δίκαιος (dikaios) G1342	10	4.53	"just, righteous" — appears in same verses as antithetic partner
ἀδικέω (adikeo) G91	4	5.61	"do wrong" — maps behavioral wrongdoing
ἁμαρτάνω (hamartano) G264	6	4.43	"sin" — used in confessional passages

No single dominant Greek equivalent — the LXX splits across ἄνομος (lawless), ἀσεβέω (impious), and καταδικάζω (condemn), reflecting the verb's dual forensic and behavioral senses.