נְשִׁי
ne.shi (H5386)
debt
AI Word Study
# Analysis of Hebrew נְשִׁי (Neshi) The Hebrew word נְשִׁי (neshi) denotes "debt" and appears only once in the biblical text. This singular occurrence limits our ability to observe how the term functions across different contexts or how its meaning might shift depending on usage. Based on this single attestation, we can identify that ancient Hebrew possessed this specific lexical item for expressing the concept of a financial or legal obligation owed by one party to another. The rarity of this word in the biblical corpus is noteworthy. While Hebrew contained other terms for debt and obligation, the existence of נְשִׁי suggests a distinct semantic nuance that the biblical writers chose to employ in that one instance. Without additional occurrences to clarify its precise relationship to synonymous terms or its particular connotations, we can only confirm that it functioned as a straightforward designation for debt. Its single appearance leaves unresolved questions about whether it carried specialized meaning in legal, commercial, or social contexts specific to ancient Israel. For readers of the Bible today, the presence of this word underscores that the ancient Hebrew language developed specific vocabulary for economic transactions and obligations—a reflection of the importance of such concepts in everyday life. The term's limited preservation in surviving biblical texts reminds us that our understanding of biblical Hebrew vocabulary is necessarily incomplete and shaped by which texts happened to be transmitted and
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”