H817 — אָשָׁם (ʼasham)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H817
Original: אָשָׁם
Transliteration: ʼâshâm
Pronunciation: aw-shawm
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: אָשַׁם (ʼasham, H816) — primitive root verb: to be guilty, offend, trespass
Occurrences: 41 unique verses (47 tokens) across 10 books
First Occurrence: Gen 26:10 — "thou shouldest have brought guiltiness (ʼasham) upon us"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H816; guilt; by implication, a fault; also a sin-offering: — guiltiness, (offering for) sin, trespass (offering).

Word Family / Cognates¶

H816 אָשַׁם (ʼasham) — root verb: to be guilty, offend, trespass (32v)
H818 אָשֵׁם (ʼashem) — adjective: guilty, one who is guilty
H819 אַשְׁמָה (ʼashmah) — feminine noun: guilt, guiltiness, offense

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
trespass offering (all forms)	33	80.5%
trespass (abstract guilt/restitution)	5	12.2%
guiltiness	1	2.4%
offering for sin	1	2.4%
sin (at/with sin)	2	4.9%

Note: The KJV renders this single word both as "trespass offering" (the sacrificial ritual) and as abstract "trespass/guiltiness/sin" (the guilt state), reflecting the dual nature of the noun.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	23	2.7
1 Samuel	4	0.5
Numbers	4	0.3
Ezekiel	4	0.3
Genesis	1	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1
Proverbs	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0

Heavily concentrated in Levitical sacrificial legislation (56% of all occurrences). Leviticus 5–7 and 14 account for the bulk. Outside the Pentateuch, usage shifts toward the abstract guilt sense (Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah) or applies the sacrificial concept in narrative (1 Samuel 6, Philistines) and eschatological temple (Ezekiel 40–46).

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Trespass/Guilt Offering as Ritual Sacrifice¶

The dominant usage — the ʼasham as a specific sacrificial animal brought to the priest for atonement of guilt, distinct from the sin offering (chaṭṭaʼah). - Lev 5:18 — "he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering (ʼasham)" - Lev 7:1 — "this is the law of the trespass offering (ʼasham): it is most holy" - Lev 14:12 — "the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering (ʼasham)" - Lev 19:21 — "he shall bring his trespass offering (ʼasham) unto the LORD"

2. The Guilt/Liability State¶

Abstract sense — the condition of being guilty, the liability incurred by transgression. Here ʼasham refers not to the offering but to the guilt itself. - Gen 26:10 — "thou shouldest have brought guiltiness (ʼasham) upon us" — guilt as social liability - Jer 51:5 — "their land was filled with sin (ʼasham) against the Holy One of Israel" - Pro 14:9 — "Fools make a mock at sin (ʼasham)"

3. Restitution/Compensation for Trespass¶

The ʼasham as the required recompense — the debt owed. Numbers 5 uses it for the principal plus one-fifth penalty that must be paid. - Num 5:7 — "he shall recompense his trespass (ʼasham) with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part" - Num 5:8 — "let the trespass (ʼasham) be recompensed unto the LORD" - 2 Ki 12:16 — "the trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD"

4. Non-Israelite/Pagan Use of the Concept¶

The Philistines recognize the need for an ʼasham to appease Israel's God after capturing the ark. - 1 Sam 6:3 — "return him a trespass offering (ʼasham): then ye shall be healed" - 1 Sam 6:4 — "What shall be the trespass offering (ʼasham) which we shall return to him?" - 1 Sam 6:17 — "the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering (ʼasham)"

5. The ʼasham as Vicarious/Substitutionary Offering¶

The singular prophetic application where a person's soul is made the ʼasham. - Isa 53:10 — "when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin (ʼasham), he shall see his seed"

6. Eschatological Temple Provision¶

Ezekiel's future temple vision includes the ʼasham alongside other offerings, showing its enduring place in the sacrificial system. - Eze 40:39 — "two tables on this side... to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering (ʼasham)" - Eze 42:13 — "there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering (ʼasham)" - Eze 46:20 — "the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering (ʼasham) and the sin offering"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	18x (44%)	"the priest" officiates the ʼasham ritual
חַטָּאָה (chaṭṭaʼah)	H2403	13x (32%)	ʼasham paired with sin offering in ritual lists
בּוֹא (boʼ)	H935	9x (22%)	"bring" the ʼasham to the LORD
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	8x (20%)	"give" restitution or present the offering
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	7x (17%)	"make atonement" with the ʼasham
אַיִל (ʼayil)	H352	7x (17%)	"a ram" — the standard ʼasham animal
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	7x (17%)	"most holy" — status designation for the ʼasham
כֶּבֶשׂ (kebes)	H3532	6x (15%)	"a lamb" — alternative ʼasham animal
מִנְחָה (minchah)	H4503	6x (15%)	"meat/grain offering" listed alongside ʼasham

Synonyms (from SDBH semantic domain)¶

H2403 חַטָּאָה (chaṭṭaʼah) — sin / sin offering. The broader category of sin offering for purification. The chaṭṭaʼah addresses defilement; the ʼasham addresses liability/debt.
H2399 חֵטְא (cheṭʼ) — sin, offense
H2398 חטא (chaṭaʼ) — to sin, miss the mark
H801 אִשֶּׁה (ʼishsheh) — offering made by fire (broader sacrificial term)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
מַעַל (maʻal)	H4604	"trespass"	maʻal = treachery/unfaithfulness, emphasizes breach of trust; ʼasham = guilt-debt requiring restitution
חַטָּאָה (chaṭṭaʼah)	H2403	"sin offering"	chaṭṭaʼah = purification offering addressing ritual contamination; ʼasham = guilt offering addressing specific liability with required restitution
עָוֺן (ʻavon)	H5771	"sin/iniquity"	ʻavon = iniquity/moral crookedness; ʼasham = guilt-debt, the obligation incurred
פֶּשַׁע (peshaʻ)	H6588	"trespass"	peshaʻ = willful rebellion/transgression; ʼasham = the resulting guilt-liability

Semantic Domains¶

Guilty [002003003014]: H816 ʼasham (verb), H818 ʼashem (adj), H819 ʼashmah (noun), H2398 chaṭaʼ, H2399 cheṭʼ, H2400 chaṭṭaʼ
Sacrifice [002003002020]: H801 ʼishsheh, H818 ʼashem, H819 ʼashmah, A1684/A1685 dᵉbach, H2076 zabach

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἄγνοια (ágnoia) G52	6	16.03	"ignorance" — captures the unwitting-trespass context
ἁμαρτία (hamartía) G266	15	12.48	"sin" — generic rendering loses the guilt-offering specificity
βάσανος (básanos) G931	4	12.32	"torment/testing" — a surprising rendering in some contexts
ἱερεύς (hiereús) G2409	17	11.11	"priest" — co-occurs in ritual contexts, not a direct translation
ἀμνός (amnós) G286	6	10.13	"lamb" — the sacrificial animal, not the guilt concept

Note: The LXX has no single consistent equivalent for ʼasham. The guilt-offering concept is rendered variably — sometimes by the abstract πλημμέλεια (plēmmeleia, "error/transgression," not in KJV Strong's) in Leviticus ritual texts, sometimes absorbed into ἁμαρτία. This fragmentation means the Hebrew ʼasham's unique guilt-plus-offering duality is largely lost in Greek translation.