Lexical Summary
yashen: sleep, slept, chronic
Original Word:יָשֵׁן
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:yashen
Pronunciation:yah-SHANE
Phonetic Spelling:(yaw-shane')
KJV: old (store), remain long, (make to) sleep
NASB:sleep, slept, chronic, fell asleep, remained long, sleeps, supply
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. (properly) to be slack or languid
2. (by implication) to sleep
3. (figuratively) to die
4. (also) to grow old, stale or inveterate
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
to be slack or languid, grow old
A primitive root; properly, to be slack or languid, i.e. (by implication) sleep (figuratively, to die); also to grow old, stale or inveterate:
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto sleep
NASB Translationchronic (1), fell asleep (1), remained long (1), sleep (10), sleeps (1), slept (5), supply (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic noun
sleep; Arabic
be sleepy,
,
sleep Assyrian
šittiu,
sleep, Dl
HWB 246,
šunatu, šuttu,
dream, Id
ib, Flood: iv. 22 Asrb
Annals,v R. 2, 97) —
PerfectJob 3:13; consecutiveJeremiah 51:39 2t.;ImperfectIsaiah 5:27;Psalm 121:4;1 Kings 19:5, etc.;Infinitive constructEcclesiastes 5:11; —sleep, go to sleep, andbe asleep,Genesis 2:21 (J),Genesis 41:5 (E),Ezekiel 34:25;Job 3:13;Psalm 3:6;Psalm 4:9;Proverbs 4:16;Ecclesiastes 5:11, also2 Samuel 4:6 We Dr Kit Bu, see ; with , of Ass. armyIsaiah 5:27 ("" ); of Baal1 Kings 19:5; of , 1Ki 44:24;1 Kings 12:14 ("" ); with accusative of congnate meaning with verbJeremiah 51:39,57 (see ), of death, comparePsalm 13:4.Niph`al only in derivatives sense ofbecome inactive or stationary; Perfect consecutiveDeuteronomy 4:25and ye be grown old , i.e. (see Di Dr) have lost freshness of first impressions; of inanimate things,be old, stale, onlyParticipleLeviticus 26:10 (H), feminineLeviticus 13:11 =old leprosy (P); these possibly denominative from
.ImperfectJudges 16:19and she made him sleep.
(√ of following; Biblical Hebrew , ).
Topical Lexicon
Literal Sleep as God-Given NecessityThe verb יָשֵׁן often describes normal human rest. Adam sleeps while God fashions Eve (Genesis 2:21); Joseph’s Pharaoh sleeps between two revelatory dreams (Genesis 41:5); Elijah, exhausted after Carmel, “lay down and slept” until an angel revived him (1 Kings 19:5). Psalm texts highlight divine care in ordinary slumber: “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me” (Psalm 3:5) and “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).Ecclesiastes 5:12 commends the sweet sleep of the laborer, confirming that rhythmic rest is a gracious provision, not a weakness to despise.
Sleep and Divine Operations
Yashen frequently occurs where God acts while people cannot. Deep sleep allows painless surgery in Eden (Genesis 2:21), conceals David’s stealth in Saul’s camp (1 Samuel 26:12), and removes resistance when Delilah betrays Samson (Judges 16:19). Such scenes emphasize sovereignty: human inability enlarges divine initiative.
Dreams and visions emerge from yashen moments. Pharaoh’s doubled dream (Genesis 41:5) and the prophetic dreams of others illustrate that revelation can be granted when the mind is inactive, ensuring the source is unmistakably from God.
Metaphorical Uses: Security, Apathy, Death
1. Security and trust
Psalm 121:4 contrasts the ever-vigilant Keeper with slumbering mortals: “Indeed, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Believers may rest precisely because God does not.
2. Spiritual apathy
Sleep can denote moral numbness.Proverbs 4:16 portrays the wicked who “cannot sleep unless they do evil,” hinting at restless consciences.Hosea 7:6 rebukes leaders whose hearts are “like an oven”; their passion languishes into complacent drowsiness, then flares into sin.
3. Approaching death and judgment
Psalm 13:3 fears “sleep in death.”Jeremiah 51:39, 57 warns Babylon of a “perpetual sleep” from which there is no awakening, prefiguring final judgment. Thus yashen becomes a threshold image—either temporary rest or irreversible ruin, depending on covenant standing.
Covenantal Rest and Protection
In the promised land God pledges secure sleep: “I will make a covenant of peace… they will live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests” (Ezekiel 34:25). Fulfillment scenes show covenant faithfulness producing fearless rest, linking yashen to shalom.
‘Old’ or ‘Aged’ Nuance
The same root also yields the sense of “old, stored, matured.”Leviticus 26:10 speaks of still eating the “old” harvest when new crops arrive;Deuteronomy 4:25 warns of idolatry “when you have grown old in the land.” The shift from sleep to agedness suggests ripened time—either a blessing of abundance or a danger of complacency. Mature grain and seasoned generations must remain fresh in devotion, lest spiritual lethargy set in.
Prophetic and Eschatological Echoes
Isaiah 5:27 foretells enemy armies that “neither slumber nor sleep,” an ironic reversal ofPsalm 121:4; judgment comes through forces as wakeful as God Himself. Songs 5:2 pictures covenant love: “I sleep, but my heart is awake,” hinting at the believer’s responsive readiness even in rest. Such passages anticipate New Testament exhortations to “wake up” spiritually while resting confidently in Christ.
Ministry Applications
• Encourage balanced rhythms: hard work, prayerful trust, and restorative rest honor God’s design.
• Use yashen texts pastorally:Psalm 4:8 for anxiety,Ecclesiastes 5:12 for overwork,Psalm 121:4 for night-watch intercession.
• Warn against spiritual drowsiness by preachingHosea 7:6 andPsalm 13:3, coupling them with calls to vigilance (Matthew 26:41;Romans 13:11).
• Celebrate God’s covenant promise of safe sleep (Ezekiel 34:25) as a foretaste of eternal Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-11).
Thus יָשֵׁן spans bodily rest, divine intervention, moral urgency, and eschatological hope, witnessing to the comprehensive care and righteous demands of the Lord who grants sleep yet summons His people to stay spiritually awake.
Forms and Transliterations
אִישַׁ֥ן אישן וְאִ֫ישָׁ֥ן וְיָשְׁנ֖וּ וְיָשְׁנ֥וּ וְיָשָׁ֕ן וְנוֹשַׁנְתֶּ֖ם וַיִּישַׁ֔ן וַיִּישָׁ֑ן וַיִּישָׁ֕ן וַתְּיַשְּׁנֵ֙הוּ֙ וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה ואישן ואישנה ויישן וישן וישנו ונושנתם ותישנהו יְשֵׁנִ֔ים יְשֵׁנִֽים׃ יְשֵׁנָ֖ה יִֽ֭שְׁנוּ יִישָׁ֑ן יָ֝שַׁ֗נְתִּי יָשֵׁ֣ן יישן ישן ישנה ישנו ישנים ישנים׃ ישנתי לִישֽׁוֹן׃ לישון׃ נוֹשֶׁ֤נֶת נוֹשָׁ֑ן נושן נושנת תִישַׁ֥ן ׀ תישן ’î·šan ’îšan iShan lî·šō·wn liShon lîšōwn nō·wō·šān nō·wō·še·neṯ noShan noShenet nōwōšān nōwōšeneṯ ṯî·šan ṯîšan tiShan vaIShanah vaiyiShan vatteyashsheNehu veIShan venoshanTem veyaShan veyasheNu wā’îšānāh wā·’î·šā·nāh wat·tə·yaš·šə·nê·hū wattəyaššənêhū way·yî·šan way·yî·šān wayyîšan wayyîšān wə’îšān wə·’î·šān wə·nō·wō·šan·tem wə·yā·šān wə·yā·šə·nū wənōwōšantem wəyāšān wəyāšənū yā·šan·tî yā·šên yāšantî yāšên yaShanti yaShen yə·šê·nāh yə·šê·nîm yəšênāh yəšênîm yesheNah yesheNim yî·šān yiš·nū yîšān yiShan Yishnu yišnū
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