isha · fire offering

What it means

isha (אִשָּׁה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “fire offering”.

An offering burned on the altar for God; sometimes any sacrifice.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. An offering burned for YHWH, with a pleasing aroma.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Fire offering: the part of a sacrifice that is burned on the altar for YHWH. BDB relates it to אֵשׁ (fire, H784). It is a word of the laws of Leviticus and Numbers.

• The burnt offering, “a fire offering, a pleasing aroma” Leviticus 1:9Exodus 29:18
• The fat of the sacrifice of peace Leviticus 3:3Leviticus 3:11
• The priests' portion Leviticus 2:3Leviticus 24:9Deuteronomy 18:1
• Offerings of the feasts Leviticus 23:8Numbers 28:2

Historical and cultural background

What was left of the grain offering was “a most holy thing among the fire offerings of YHWH”, and Aaron and his sons ate it (Leviticus 2:3). The Levites, with no inheritance in the land, ate “the fire offerings of YHWH” (Deuteronomy 18:1).

How we translate it

Always “fire offering” (47 times) or “fire offerings” (18), as this edition's glossary sets for אִשֶּׁה; לֶחֶם אִשֶּׁה is “food of a fire offering” (Leviticus 3:11).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• fire offering ×47
• fire offerings ×18

Where it appears

• Exodus×4
• Leviticus×42
• Numbers×16
• Deuteronomy×1
• Joshua×1
• 1 Samuel×1

• Exodus 29:18

  You shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to YHWH, a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to YHWH it is.

• Exodus 29:25

  Then you shall take them from their hands and offer them up in smoke on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before YHWH; it is a fire offering to YHWH.

• Exodus 29:41

  The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, with the same grain offering as the morning and with the same libation you shall offer with it, for a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to YHWH.

• Exodus 30:20

  When they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to offer up in smoke a fire offering to YHWH,

• Leviticus 1:9

  Its entrails and its legs he shall wash in water, and the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 1:13

  The entrails and the legs he shall wash in water, and the priest shall present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 1:17

  He shall tear it open by its wings —he shall not divide it— and the priest shall offer up in smoke it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:2

  He shall bring it to the sons of Aaron, the priests, and he shall take from there his full handful of its fine flour and of its oil, with all its frankincense, and the priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion on the altar, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:3

  What is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and for his sons; it is a most holy thing among the fire offerings of YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:9

  The priest shall take up from the grain offering its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:10

  What is left of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and for his sons; it is a most holy thing among the fire offerings of YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:11

  No grain offering that you present to YHWH shall be made leavened, for any leaven and any honey— you shall not offer up in smoke any of it as a fire offering to YHWH.

• Leviticus 2:16

  The priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of its crushed grain and of its oil, with all its frankincense, a fire offering to YHWH.

• Leviticus 3:3

  From the sacrifice of peace he shall present as a fire offering to YHWH the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

• Leviticus 3:5

  The sons of Aaron shall offer up in smoke it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is on the wood that is on the fire, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 3:9

  From the sacrifice of peace he shall present as a fire offering to YHWH its fat: the whole fat tail, which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

• Leviticus 3:11

  The priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is food of a fire offering to YHWH.

• Leviticus 3:14

  From it he shall present his offering, a fire offering to YHWH: the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

• Leviticus 3:16

  The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar; it is food of a fire offering for a pleasing aroma. All fat belongs to YHWH.

• Leviticus 4:35

  All its fat he shall remove, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace, and the priest shall offer up in smoke them on the altar, on top of the fire offerings of YHWH. So the priest shall make expiation for him for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

• Leviticus 5:12

  He shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take from it his full handful as its memorial portion and offer it up in smoke on the altar, on top of the fire offerings of YHWH; it is a sin offering.

• Leviticus 6:17

  It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion from my fire offerings; it is a most holy thing, like the sin offering and like the guilt offering.

• Leviticus 6:18

  Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it, as a statute forever throughout your generations, from the fire offerings of YHWH. Whatever touches them will become holy.”

• Leviticus 7:5

  The priest shall offer up in smoke them on the altar as a fire offering to YHWH; it is a guilt offering.

• Leviticus 7:25

  For whoever eats the fat of the beast from which one presents a fire offering to YHWH, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

• Leviticus 7:30

  His own hands shall bring the fire offerings of YHWH; the fat with the breast he shall bring —the breast to wave it as a wave offering before YHWH.

• Leviticus 7:35

  This is the portion of Aaron and the portion of his sons from the fire offerings of YHWH, on the day he brought them near to serve as priests to YHWH,

• Leviticus 8:21

  The entrails and the legs he washed in water, and Moses offered up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, it was a fire offering to YHWH, as YHWH had commanded Moses.

• Leviticus 8:28

  Moses took them from their palms and offered them up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering; they were an ordination offering for a pleasing aroma; it was a fire offering to YHWH.

• Leviticus 10:12

  Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons who were left, “Take the grain offering that is left from the fire offerings of YHWH, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is a most holy thing.

• Leviticus 10:13

  You shall eat it in a holy place, for it is your portion and the portion of your sons from the fire offerings of YHWH; for so I have been commanded.

• Leviticus 10:15

  The thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring, together with the fire offerings of the fat portions, to wave as a wave offering before YHWH; and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, as a statute forever, as YHWH has commanded.”

• Leviticus 21:6

  They shall be holy to their Elohim and shall not profane the name of their Elohim, for they present the fire offerings of YHWH, the food of their Elohim; so they shall be holy.

• Leviticus 21:21

  No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to present the fire offerings of YHWH; he has a defect; he shall not come near to present the food of his Elohim.

• Leviticus 22:22

  Blind, or broken, or maimed, or with warts, or with an itch, or with scabs: you shall not present these to YHWH, and you shall not give from them a fire offering on the altar to YHWH.

• Leviticus 22:27

  “When a calf or a lamb or a kid is born, it shall be seven days under its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be accepted as a fire offering to YHWH.

• Leviticus 23:8

  And you shall present a fire offering to YHWH seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work at all.”

• Leviticus 23:13

  and its grain offering, two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to YHWH, a pleasing aroma; and its libation of wine, a fourth of a hin.

• Leviticus 23:18

  And with the bread you shall present seven lambs without defect, a year old, and one young bull and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to YHWH, with their grain offering and their libations, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 23:25

  You shall do no laborious work at all, and you shall present a fire offering to YHWH.”

And 25 more times.