H818 — אָשֵׁם (ashem)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H818
Original: אָשֵׁם
Transliteration: ʼâshêm
Pronunciation: aw-shame'
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: From אָשַׁם (ʼasham, H816) — primitive root, to be guilty
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (3 tokens) across 3 books
First Occurrence: Gen 42:21 — "We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H816; guilty; hence, presenting a sin-offering: one which is faulty, guilty.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
guilty	2	66.7%
as one which is faulty	1	33.3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ezra	1	0.4
Genesis	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1

The word appears only 3 times across the entire OT, spanning narrative (Genesis, 2 Samuel) and post-exilic restoration (Ezra). Despite its rarity, each occurrence captures a distinct social setting: fraternal guilt, royal culpability, and communal covenant-breach.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Guilt-State as Acknowledged Condition¶

Gen 42:21 — "And they said one to another, We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." Joseph's brothers use ashem as a predicate adjective describing their standing before God — a guilt-state they recognize as the cause of their present distress. The adverbial intensifier "verily" (אֲבָל) underscores the self-evident nature of the condition.

2. Culpability Requiring Redress¶

2 Sam 14:13 — "And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished." The wise woman of Tekoa applies ashem to king David — rendered "as one which is faulty" — framing his failure to restore Absalom as a guilt-condition against God's people. Here the adjective describes liability that demands corrective action.

3. Guilt-State Preceding Sacrificial Offering¶

Ezra 10:19 — "And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and [being] guilty, [they offered] a ram of the flock for their trespass." The returned exiles who married foreign women are described as ashem — in a state of guilt — and from that condition they present a ram as a trespass offering (cf. H817 ʼasham). The adjective establishes the legal-ritual status that necessitates the offering.

Common Collocations¶

With only 3 occurrences, no statistically significant collocations emerge. Notable co-occurring words (1x each):

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אָח (ʼach)	H251	1x	"guilty concerning our brother" (Gen 42:21)
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	1x	"the king as one which is faulty" (2 Sam 14:13)
אַיִל (ʼayil)	H352	1x	"a ram of the flock for their trespass" (Ezra 10:19)
אַשְׁמָה (ʼashmah)	H819	1x	"guilty... for their trespass" (Ezra 10:19)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H816 אָשַׁם (ʼasham) — root verb: to be guilty, offend, trespass (32v)
H817 אָשָׁם (ʼasham) — masculine noun: guilt, fault, trespass offering (41v)
H819 אַשְׁמָה (ʼashmah) — feminine noun: guiltiness, trespass (19v)

The adjective H818 occupies a specific niche within this family: it denotes the state of being guilty (the condition), whereas H816 (verb) denotes the act of becoming guilty, H817 (noun) denotes the guilt itself or the offering that addresses it, and H819 (feminine noun) denotes the abstract quality of guiltiness or the offense committed.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אָשַׁם (ʼasham)	H816	"guilty" (1v)	H816 is the verb "to be/become guilty"; H818 is the adjectival state "guilty"
רָשָׁע (rasha)	H7563	"guilty" (1v)	H7563 = morally wicked/wrong; H818 = legally/ritually guilty, carrying liability
ἔνοχος (enochos)	G1777	"guilty" (4v)	Greek NT word: "liable to, held in, subject to penalty"

Semantic Domains¶

[002003003014] Guilty — other words: אשׁם (H816), אָשָׁם (H817), אַשְׁמָה (H819), חטא (H2398), חֵטְא (H2399), חַטָּא (H2400)
[002003002020] Sacrifice — other words: אִשֶּׁה (H801), אָשָׁם (H817), אַשְׁמָה (H819), דבח (A1684), דְּבַח (A1685), זבח (H2076)

LXX Mapping¶

No meaningful Greek equivalent. The LXX renderings for H818's 3 occurrences do not converge on a single Greek adjective — the translations use varied constructions rather than a consistent lexical equivalent.