יָשֵׁן (ya.shen)
ya.shen
sleeping
H:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:A
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word for sleeping often describes more than just physical rest. In the Psalms, God is pictured waking up from slumber to act with power. This reminds us that He is never truly inactive or unaware of our struggles. Even when circumstances seem still, He is present and ready to intervene on behalf of His people.
Other passages use this word for a deep, divinely sent sleep that protects David from Saul. Here, rest becomes a shield. It suggests that sometimes God provides peace not by removing the danger immediately, but by giving us the strength to wait safely until He moves. This kind of rest is a gift we can trust in.
In Daniel, sleeping describes those who have died, with a promise of future awakening. This offers hope beyond our current limits. We do not need to fear the end of our earthly days because God holds the power to restore life. His faithfulness extends into eternity, securing our future when we can no longer secure it ourselves.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [was] sleeping2×
- [is] sleeping2×
- sleeping1×
- of/ [the] sleepers of1×
- like/ a sleeper1×
- [were] sleeping1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מִ/יְּשֵׁנֵ֥י1×
- כְּ/יָשֵׁ֥ן\׀1×
- יָשֵׁן֙1×
- יָשֵׁ֥ן1×
- יָשֵׁ֣ן1×
- יְשֵׁנָ֖ה1×
- יְשֵׁנָ֔ה1×
- יְשֵׁנִ֔ים1×
Key Verses
-
I Samuel 26:12
So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it, or knew it, nor did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.
This verse shows God using deep sleep to protect David, demonstrating His sovereign control over enemies.
-
Psalms 78:65
Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine.
Here the metaphor of waking from sleep illustrates God's sudden and powerful intervention in history.
-
Daniel 12:2
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
This passage uses the term to describe physical death, anchoring the biblical hope of bodily resurrection.