TR: yârash → klēronoméō (Possess / Inherit)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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יָרַשׁ (yârash) → κληρονομέω (klēronoméō) → κληρονομέω (klēronoméō)
H3423, 204v 100x as translation 17v in NT
"possess, dispossess, of yârash "inherit"
inherit" PMI score: 29.45
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H3423 | יָרַשׁ (yârash) | 204v | take possession (Qal) / drive out, dispossess (Hiphil) / inherit |
| H5157 | נָחַל (nâchal) | ~59v | inherit, receive as an allotted share |
| H5159 | נַחֲלָה (nachălâh) | ~223v | inheritance, heritage, possession |
| H3425 | יְרֻשָּׁה (yerushshâh) | 14v | possession, heritage (noun from H3423) |
| H776 | אֶרֶץ (ʼerets) | — | the land — dominant object of yârash |
Key OT passages: - Deut 1:8 — "Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess (yârash) the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers" - Ps 37:11 — "the meek shall inherit (yârash) the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" - Ps 37:29 — "The righteous shall inherit (yârash) the land, and dwell therein for ever"
Canonical word study: H3423-yarash.md
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yârash (H3423) | κληρονομέω (G2816) | 100x | Primary equivalent — the dominant LXX rendering for the "possess / inherit" sense |
| yârash (H3423) | ἐξαίρω (G1808) | 20x | "remove, take away" — for the Hiphil "drive out" sense |
| yârash (H3423) | κατοικέω (G2730) | 38x | "dwell, settle" — renders the result-state ("possess and dwell") |
| yârash (H3423) | κληρονόμος (G2818) | 3x | "heir" — for Qal participial "heir" (e.g. Gen 15:3) |
| nâchal (H5157) | κληρονομέω (G2816) | 21x | Second Hebrew source — "inherit as allotted share" |
| nachălâh (H5159) | κληρονομέω (G2816) | 17x | Nominal source — "inheritance" → "to inherit" (nominal-verbal crossover) |
| ʼerets (H776) | G2816 co-occ | 72x | Frequent collocate in the bridge, not a direct translation |
Direction of flow: In the Hebrew Bible, yârash and nâchal are distinct (displacement vs. allotment). The LXX collapses both into κληρονομέω, shifting the NT conceptual default toward "inherit as received share" (nâchal-flavor) while preserving the "possess" sense through context. This is the single most important semantic consequence of the chain.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2816 | κληρονομέω (klēronoméō) | 17v | inherit, receive by inheritance |
| G2817 | κληρονομία (klēronomía) | — | inheritance (noun) |
| G2818 | κληρονόμος (klēronómos) | — | heir |
| G2819 | κλῆρος (klēros) | — | lot, allotted portion |
| G2820 | κληρόω (klēróō) | — | assign by lot |
Key NT passages: - Matt 5:5 — "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit (klēronoméō) the earth" — direct quotation-fragment of Ps 37:11 LXX - Heb 1:4 — "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance (klēronoméō) obtained a more excellent name than they" - Rev 21:7 — "He that overcometh shall inherit (klēronoméō) all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" - Gal 4:30 — "Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir (klēronoméō) with the son of the freewoman" — quoting Gen 21:10 (the only NT use carrying the "displace / not share inheritance" nuance)
Canonical word study: G2816
Direct OT→NT Quotations¶
| NT Verse | Quotes OT | Shared Word | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt 5:5 | Ps 37:11 | yârash → klēronoméō | Jesus reapplies the meek-inherit-land promise; LXX κληρονομήσουσιν γῆν preserved verbatim |
| Gal 4:30 | Gen 21:10 | yârash → klēronoméō | Paul's Hagar/Sarah allegory pivots on "not inherit with" — yârash's exclusion-sense carried through |
| Rom 4:13 (allusive) | Gen 15:7; 17:8 | yârash → klēronoméō (via κληρονόμος) | "the promise... that he should be the heir of the world" |
| Heb 11:8 (allusive) | Gen 15:7 ff. | yârash → klēronoméō | Abraham "went out, not knowing whither he went" — land he would receive for an inheritance |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same: - The core "take as your own possession/inheritance" semantic holds from Qal yârash through κληρονομέω into NT usage. - The promise-to-Abraham frame (land → heir → inheritance) is preserved: Gen 15 sits at the head of the chain; Rom 4 and Heb 11 sit at the tail. - The righteous/meek inheriting the land (Ps 37) is carried into Matt 5:5 without semantic drift — Jesus quotes the LXX directly.
What shifts: - Loss of the dispossession edge. Hebrew yârash is violent in the Hiphil — "drive out the nations." Greek κληρονομέω has no dispossession sense; it is strictly "inherit." The NT rarely deploys the displacement valence (Gal 4:30 is the clearest exception, and even there the verb κληρονομέω is paired with ἐκβάλλω "cast out" to recover the missing edge). - Object expansion. OT object is almost always "the land" (H776 ʼerets). NT objects: "the earth" (Matt 5:5), "eternal life" (Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25), "the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:9–10; Gal 5:21), "the promises" (Heb 6:12), "a blessing" (1 Pet 3:9), "all things" (Rev 21:7), "salvation" (Heb 1:14). The concrete geography becomes eschatological. - Conflation with nâchal. The LXX's single-verb rendering of both yârash (take-by-displacement) and nâchal (receive-as-allotted-share) means the NT inherits the softer nâchal-sense as default. "Inheritance" in Paul/Hebrews reads more like assigned share than conquered territory. - Qal-Hiphil distinction erased. The Hebrew stem contrast (possess vs. cause-to-be-dispossessed) has no Greek counterpart; Greek relies on additional verbs (ἐκβάλλω, ἐξαίρω) to recover the Hiphil sense when needed.
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py H3423 (auto-detected bridge G2816) Last updated: 2026-04-18