בָּשֵׁל (ba.shel)
ba.shel
cooked
H:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:A
Word Overview
The Hebrew word bāšēl describes food that has been cooked or boiled through the application of heat. It functions primarily as an adjective to distinguish prepared meals from raw ingredients, marking a fundamental step in human sustenance and hospitality.
This term appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both within the legal codes of Exodus and Numbers. In these contexts, it specifies how certain sacrificial portions or ritual foods must be prepared, ensuring they are fully processed before being offered or consumed by the priests.
The word highlights the practical reality of ancient Near Eastern cooking, where boiling was a common method for tenderizing meat and preparing grain. By using this specific term, the text emphasizes the completeness of the preparation required for holy things, separating what is ritually ready from what remains raw and unprocessed.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word bāšēl reminds us that God cares about the details of our daily lives, including how we prepare food. In ancient Israel, cooking was not just a chore but a necessary step to make raw ingredients safe and nourishing. By specifying that certain offerings must be cooked, the text shows that holiness involves bringing order and care to ordinary things.
When you read about boiled meat in Numbers or the instructions for the Passover lamb, it highlights God’s desire for completeness. He does not accept half-prepared gifts; He wants what is fully ready. This encourages us to offer our best efforts in worship and service, ensuring our actions are thoughtful and wholehearted rather than rushed or careless.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- boiled1×
- and/ boiled1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וּ/בָשֵׁ֥ל1×
- בְּשֵׁלָה֮1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 12:9
Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts.
This verse uses the concept of cooking to distinguish between raw and prepared food, emphasizing that the Passover lamb must be fully roasted by fire rather than boiled in water.
-
Numbers 6:19
The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved the head of his separation;
Here the term specifies a boiled shoulder as part of the Nazirite’s offering, showing that cooked meat was an accepted and significant component of ritual sacrifice.