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shebanq

תְּשׁוּעָה tešūʿāh – deliverance, state of

Semantic Fields: Deliverance   
Author(s): James K. Aitken
First published: 2000-07-31
Last update: 2024-08-08 (Graham I. Davies, Paul Sanders)
Citation: James K. Aitken, תְּשׁוּעָה tešūʿāh – deliverance, state of,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2000 (update: 2024)

For a fuller discussion of the lexical field ‘Deliverance’ as a whole, see on this site the Overview of SAHD entries for ‘Deliverance’ words by Graham I. Davies.

Introduction

Grammatical Type: noun fem.
Occurrences: 34x HB (0/14/20); 3x Sir; 0x Qum; 0x inscr. (Total: 37).

  • Nebiim: Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 19:3; 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 5:1; 13:17 (2x); Isa 45:17; 46:13 (2x); Jer 3:23;
  • Ketubim: Pss 33:17; 37:39; 38:23; 40:11, 17; 51:16; 60:13; 71:15; 108:13; 119:41, 81; 144:10; 146:3; Prov 11:14; 21:31; 24:6; Lam 3:26; 1 Chron 11:14; 19:12; 2 Chron 6:41;
  • Sira: 39:18B, 20B; 46:1B.
  • Text doubtful: -

Qere/Ketiv: none.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 See ישׁע: Root and Comparative Material.

A.2 The etymology of תְּשׁוּעָה is controversial: morphologically it seems to be necessary to regard the taw as a formative element, so that the root would be שׁוע (ע״ו), but according to its sense(s) an association with ישׁע has often been thought to be required.

A.3 BDB recorded (448a) that ‘most assign it to שׁוע, but no sufficient evidence for existence of such a √’. Presumably they meant that there was no evidence for a root שׁוע as a by-form of ישׁע. This is in fact what they say (447b) about שׁוֹעַ, ‘acc. to most from second. √שׁוע = ישׁע … (cf. תְּשׁוּעָה infr.); but actual existence of such a √ not proven; Thes allows שׁוֹעַ = יְשׁוֹעַ’. On תְּשׁוּעָה BDB say (after giving its meaning as ‘deliverance, salvation’): ‘= יְשׁוּעָה (formed by false anal., as if from √שׁוע, in sense of ישׁע)’.

A.4 It can no longer be said that ‘most’ favour a derivation of תְּשׁוּעָה from שׁוע. The major recent dictionaries, like BDB, all relate it to ישׁע (HAL, 1657a; Ges18, 1461a; DCH viii:684). Only a minority of scholars think differently. Kopf (1958:206-07) defended the association with שׁוע, but in the form of שָׁוַע = ‘cry’, claiming that it was in turn cognate with Arab. ǵawwaṯa (i.e., a word with the corresponding consonants in the reverse order, so assuming metathesis, a shaky argument according to Barr 1987:97-98), which means specifically ‘cry for help’. Presumably he saw this as related to the sense of ‘help’ which תְּשׁוּעָה can have. Sawyer too preferred a connection of תְּשׁוּעָה with שׁוע, but as a ‘by-form’ of ישׁע and without detailed discussion (1982:1042; cf. 1037-38). He also allowed the possibility that הושׁיע ‘could’ be the basis for תְּשׁוּעָה.

B.1 Ges18 (1461b) cite an article by Rabin (1963-64:114-17) as providing discussion of תְּשׁוּעָה, but this is an error, as that part of the article is about תְּשׁוּקָה (so correctly DCH viii:767).

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 The pattern is taqtul(at) (BL, 496, §61rη-uη). BL indicate that most such nouns are from ע״ו roots, but there are three from other weak roots, which are not or are no longer ע״יו: תקופה (from הקיף/נקף), תרופה (cf. רפא) and תשׁועה (cf. הוֹשִׁיעַ, ‘perhaps under the influence of יְשׁוּעָה’). Brockelmann (1908-1913:383, §204a[3]) likewise saw תשׁועה as modelled on this pattern, but as a secondary form of ישׁועה.

A.2 Regarding the close correspondence in form between יְשׁוּעָה and תְּשׁוּעָה, Barth (1894:278) had earlier seen this pair as related to a phenomenon of substitution in Arabic which was distinct from nouns with a genuinely preformative element, where the same sense could be conveyed by nouns beginning with either mem or taw (1894:280-81). This does also clarify the curious formation of תְּשׁוּעָה while keeping it fully within the ישׁע word-group.

B.1 Gevirtz (1892:60*-61*) apparently conflated the two phenomena distinguished by Barth (cf. A.2 above) and challenged Barth’s conclusion about the latter group, showing that there generally was a semantic distinction between nouns with different preformatives. Even if Gevirtz is correct in this, it is not relevant to the semantics of יְשׁוּעָה and תְּשׁוּעָה, since (as Barth saw) the yodh in יְשׁוּעָה is a root-letter and not a formative element.

B.2 BL went on (496, §61uη) to conjecture that the root √שׁוע was a secondary development from תְּשׁוּעָה, supposing that the noun שׁוֹעַ was from שָׁע = ‘helper’. This inverts the argument criticised by BDB and is itself no more persuasive. It was criticised in HAL (1657a), apparently on the basis that Kopf (1958) had shown that √שׁוע (I) had a cognate of its own in Arab., with a distinct meaning and guttural consonant (cf. HAL, 1339-40).

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 תְּשׁוּעָה is the subject of the verbs

  • הָיָה, ‘to be’: 1 Sam 11:9; 2 Sam 19:3;
  • אחר piel, ‘to delay’: Isa 46:13;
  • בּוֹא, ‘to come’: Ps 119:41.

A.2 תְּשׁוּעָה is the direct object of the verbs

  • נָתַן, ‘to give’: Judg 15:18; 2 Kgs 5:1; Isa 46:13; Ps 144:10;
  • עָשָׁה, ‘to do/make’: 1 Sam 11:13; 19:5; 2 Sam 23:10, 12.

It is also the direct object of the verbs

  • אָמַר, ‘to say’: Ps 40:11;
  • ספר piel, ‘to tell’: Ps 71:15;
  • לָבֵשׁ, ‘to put on’: 2 Chron 6:41.

A.3 תְּשׁוּעָה is governed by

  • ישׁע niph.: Isa 45:17;
  • ישׁע hiph.: 1 Chron 11:14;
  • כָּלָה + לְ: Ps 119:81;
  • הָיָה, ‘to be’ + לְ: 1 Chron 19:12.

A.4 תְּשׁוּעָה is nomen regens of עוֹלָמִים, ‘everlasting’ (Isa 45:17), יִשְׂרָאֵל, ‘Israel’ (Jer 3:23), צַדִּיקִים, ‘the righteous’ (Ps 37:39), אָדָם, ‘mankind’ (Pss 60:13; 108:13), and יהוה, ‘LORD’ (Lam 3:26).

A.5 תְּשׁוּעָה is nomen rectum of חֵץ, ‘arrow’ (2 Kgs 13:17), pl. part. אָהַב, ‘to love’ (Ps 40:17), and אֱלֹהִים, ‘God’ (Ps 51:16).

A.6 תְּשׁוּעָה is found in a nominal clause with בַּיהוה, ‘in the LORD’ (Jer 3:23), מֵיהוה, ‘from the LORD’ (Ps 37:39), לַיהוה, ‘to the LORD’ (Prov 21:31), שָׁוְא, ‘worthless’ (Pss 60:13; 108:13), שֶׁקֶר, ‘falsehood’ (Ps 33:17), לוֹ, ‘in him’ (= אָדָם; Ps 146:3), and בְּרֹב יוֹעֵץ, ‘in an abundance of counsellors’ (Prov 11:14; 24:6).

A.7 תְּשׁוּעָה is modified only by the adjective גָּדוֹל, ‘great’ (Judg 15:19; 1 Sam 19:5; 2 Sam 23:10, 12; 1 Chron 11:14; Sir 46:1). This may reflect its particular sense of victory.

A.8 תְּשׁוּעָה, preceded by waw, follows the noun אֱמוּנָה, ‘faithfulness’ (Ps 40:11).

A.9 תְּשׁוּעָה is in apposition to אֲדֹנָי, ‘Lord’ (Ps 38:23).

A.10 תְּשׁוּעָה is found with a pronominal suffix on only eight occasions in the HB: 1 sg. (Isa 46:13; Pss 38:23; 51:16), 2 m.sg. (Pss 40:11, 17; 71:15; 119:41, 81).

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX):

  • βοήθεια, ‘help provided’: Prov 21:31; 24:6;
  • σωτηρία, ‘rescue, deliverance’: Judg 15:8; 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 19:3; 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 5:1; 13:17 (2x); Isa 45:17; 46:13 (2x); Jer 3:23; Pss 33[32]:17; 37[36]:39; 38[37]:23; 51[50]:16; 60[59]:13; 71[70]:15; 108[107]:13; 144[143]:10; 146[145]:3; Prov 11:14; 1 Chron 11:14; 19:12; 2 Chron 6:41; Sir 46:1;
  • σωτήριον, ‘deliverance, security’: Pss 40[39]:11, 17; 119[118]:41, 81; Lam 3:26; Sir 39:18.

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

  • ܙܕܝܩܘܬܐ (zaddīqūṯā), ‘righteousness’: Ps 51:16 (see A.2);
  • ܢܨܚܢܐ (neṣḥānā), ‘victory’: Judg 15:18; 1 Chron 11:14;
  • ܦܘܩܕܢܐ (puqdānā), ‘command, order’: Sir 39:18;
  • ܦܘܪܩܢܐ (purqānā), ‘salvation, redemption’: 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 5:1; 13:17 (2x); Isa 46:13 (2x); Jer 3:23; Pss 33:17; 40:11 (see A.3), 17; 51:16; 60:13; 108:13; 119:41, 81; 144:10; 146:3; Prov 11:14; 21:31; 24:6; Lam 3:26; 2 Chron 6:41; Sir 46:1;
  • ܦܨܝ/ܦܨܐ (pṣy/pṣʾ) pael, ‘to save, deliver’, impf. 2 m.sg. (ܬܦܨܝܢܝ, ‘you will deliver me’): 1 Chron 19:12;
  • ܦܪܘܩܐ (pārōqā), ‘saviour, liberator’: Isa 45:17; Ps 37:39;
  • ܦܪܩ (prq), ‘to save, liberate’, impv. m.sg. (ܦܪܘܩܝܢܝ, ‘save me’): Ps 38:23;
  • ܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ (tešbōḥtā), ‘praise, glory’: Ps 71:15;
  • omitted: 2 Sam 19:3.

c. Targum (Tg):

  • נִצְחָנָא, ‘victory’: 2 Kgs 5:1; 13:17;
  • פורקנא, ‘redemption, salvation’: Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 13:17; Isa 45:17; 46:13; Jer 3:23; Pss 33:17; 37:39; 38:23; 40:11, 17; 51:16; 60:13; 71:15; 108:13; 119:41, 81; 144:10; 146:3; Prov 11:14; 21:31; 24:6; Lam 3:26; 1 Chron 11:14; 2 Chron 6:41; Sir 39:18; 46:1;
  • פרק, ‘to redeem’; part. act. masc. ‘redeemer’ (see A.5): Isa 46:13; 1 Chron 19:12;
  • תְּשׁוּעָתָא (Heb. loanword; see A.4): 2 Sam 19:3.

d. Vulgate (Vg):

  • auxilium, ‘help’: 1 Chron 19:12;
  • salus, ‘a being safe and sound, welfare’: Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 5:1; 2 Kgs 13:17 (2x); Isa 45:17; 46:13 (2x); Jer 3:23; Pss 33[32]:17; 37[36]:39; 38[37]:23; 51[50]:16; 60[59]:13; 108[107]:13; 119[118]:41; 144[143]:10; 146[145]:3; Prov 11:14; 21:31; 24:6; 1 Chron 11:14; 2 Chron 6:41;
  • salutaris, ‘salvation, health’: Pss 40[39]:11, 17; 71[70]:15; 119[118]:81; Lam 3:26;
  • victoria, ‘victory’: 2 Sam 19:3[2].

A.1 The meaning ‘victory’ is found for some translations in the Pesh (ܢܨܚܢܐ), Tg (נִצְחָנָא) and Vg (victoria).

A.2 The translation ܙܕܝܩܘܬܐ in the Pesh Ps 51:16 is perhaps under the influence of צְדָקָה at the end of the verse (which is also translated by ܙܕܝܩܘܬܐ).

A.3 The sequence of words in the Pesh at Ps 40:11 suggests that ܘܗܝܡܢܘܬܟ݂, ‘and your faith’, represents וּתְשׁוּעָתְךָ, but since ܘܗܝܡܢܘܬܟ݂ is clearly the translation of אֱמוּנָתְךָ, the preceding word ܦܘܪܩܢܟ apparently represents וּתְשׁוּעָתְךָ. This implies that there has been a reversal of the pair.

A.4 The Tg translates by the Hebrew loanword תְּשׁוּעָתָא at 2 Sam 19:3.

A.5 The Pesh twice renders תְּשׁוּעָה by ܦܪܘܩܐ, ‘saviour, liberator’ (Isa 45:17; Ps 37:39). On two occasions the Tg renders the noun תְּשׁוּעָה by the verbal form פַּרִיק, ‘redeemer’ (Isa 46:13; 1 Chron 19:12), indicating that it is interpreting the noun as denoting a person. This is not a feature of LXX and Vg.

B.1 In the Pesh ܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ, ‘praise’, at Ps 71:15 may well be a contextual interpretation, encouraged by the preceding phrase כל היום (cf. Pss 44:9; 119:164; 145:2); note also how Pesh introduces ܫܒܚ (šbḥ) before ܦܪܩ (prq) in Ps 13:6.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

A.1 See ישׁע: Lexical/Semantic Fields A.4.

A.2 תְּשׁוּעָה is found in parallelism with צְדָקָה, ‘righteousness’ (Isa 46:13a; Pss 40:11; 71:15), תִּפְאֶרֶת, ‘glory, honour’ (Isa 46:13b), מָעוּז, ‘stronghold’ (Ps 37:39), עֶזְרָה, ‘help’ (Pss 60:13; 108:13), חֶסֶד, ‘loving kindness’ (Ps 119:41), and the verb מַלֵּט, ‘to save’ (Ps 33:17).

A.3 In 11 of its 34 occurrences in the HB it is in prose passages (see Driver 1890:90).

6. Exegesis

A.1 HAL’s glosses, ‘Hilfe, Rettung, Sieg’ (1657), cover the main uses of תְּשׁוּעָה. BDB divides the lexeme into two prime meanings of ‘deliverance, salvation’ (448), where ‘deliverance’ should be understood as a physical act involving deliverance from battle, but also a general state rather than an action of victory and of help. BDB’s definition of יֵשַׁע includes the gloss ‘rescue’ (447), which might have been helpful here also.

A.2 In prose תְּשׁוּעָה denotes a victory over one’s enemies that may imply deliverance from one’s opponents (Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 11:9, 13; 19:5; 2 Sam 19:3; 23:10, 12; 2 Kgs 5:1; 13:17 [2x]), especially when it is the object of the verbs נָתַן, ‘to give’, or עָשָׂה, ‘to make’ (e.g., Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 19:5). This meaning is clear for תְּשׁוּעָה, whilst יֵשַׁע is used in the context of victory but does not precisely denote it. תְּשׁוּעָה in prose in similar manner denotes assistance in battle (1 Chron 19:12).

A.3 In verse, תְּשׁוּעָה may denote victory (Pss 33:17; 144:10; Prov 11:14; 21:31; 24:6) and also assistance (Pss 60:13; 108:13; 146:3), but equally often seems to denote the well-being that God will bring about (Isa 45:17; 46:13; Jer 3:23; Lam 3:26; Ps 119:41, 81). This might be the protection afforded to Israel, or the haven that God provides for the righteous (Ps 37:39). The synonymous parallelism with מָעוּז, ‘stronghold’, at Ps 37:39 suggests that תְּשׁוּעָה is a state of defence or protection.

A.4 On one occasion (Ps 38:23), תְּשׁוּעָה (+ 1 sg. pronominal suffix) is an epithet of the Lord.

A.5 In 2 Chron 6:41 Solomon prays that the priests may be ‘clothed with’ תשׁועה, where clothing is a metaphor for endowment, as it is in Ps 132:8-9, on which this part of the prayer is closely modelled. Ps 132:9 speaks of being clothed with צֶדֶק, but the Chronicler has preferred תשׁועה on the basis of יֵשַׁע in the same idiom later in the psalm (132:16), perhaps because he uses the root צדק only in a moral sense elsewhere and this may have seemed inappropriate here.

7. Conclusion

A.1 A תְּשׁוּעָה is often ‘given’ or ‘made’ (Syntagmatics A.2) and is only described in the HB by the adjective ‘great’ (Syntagmatics A.7). These distinctive features of the noun may reflect its meanings in some cases of ‘victory’ and ‘help’, translations that the versions occasionally choose (Ancient Versions A.1). Although the versions are not consistent in such renderings for the same passages, this perhaps strengthens the case that they saw such meanings in the word rather than weakens it. Their renderings are not affected by the context of one particular passage, but are reflected in the use of the lexeme more generally.

A.2 The more prosaic meaning of תְּשׁוּעָה (outlined in A.1 above) in comparison with יֵשַׁע or יְשׁוּעָה is explained by its 11 appearances in prose texts in contrast to the latter (Lexical/Semantics Field(s) A.3).

A.3 Although the meaning victory in battle suggests that תְּשׁוּעָה could denote deliverance, it often means little more than a state of well-being brought about by God (Exegesis A.3). The victory in battle is usually spoken about in the past so that it does not denote so much an act of deliverance, but more the state into which one has been brought. As יֵשַׁע it is only found in the singular.

A.4 The usage of תְּשׁוּעָה, as indicated by Syntagmatics, Versions, Lexical Fields and Exegesis, confirms its association with the ישׁע group, even if its formal characteristics seem at first sight to point in a different direction.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Barr 1987
James Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 2nd. ed., Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Barth 1894
Jacob Barth, Die Nominalbildung in den semitischen Sprachen, 2nd. ed., Leipzig: Hinrichs.
Ben-Asher 1978
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Brockelmann 1908-1913
Carl Brockelmann, Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen, Berlin: Reuther & Reichard.
Driver 1890
Samuel R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, Oxford: Clarendon.
Gevirtz 1982
Stanislav Gevirtz, ‘Formative ע in Biblical Hebrew’, Eretz Israel 16:57*–66*.
Kopf 1958
Lothar Kopf, ‘Arabische Etymologien und Parallelen zum Bibelwörterbuch’, VT 8:161-214.
Rabin 1963-64
Chaim Rabin, `Etymological Notes’, Tarbiz 33:109-17.
Sawyer 1972
John F. A. Sawyer, Semantics in Biblical Research: New Methods of Defining Hebrew Words for Salvation (SBT 2nd series, 24) London: SCM.
Sawyer 1982
John F. A. Sawyer, ‘ישׁע’, ThWAT 3:1035-59 (ET 1990: TDOT 6:441-63).
Watson 1980
Wilfred G. E. Watson, ‘Gender-matched synonymous parallelism in the OT’, JBL 99:321–41.
Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database