קָשַׁשׁ (qa.shash)
qa.shash
to gather; to assemble
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 7 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The verb qashash means to gather or collect, with a specific focus on small, scattered items like stubble or sticks. It appears in seven verses across the Old Testament, including passages in Numbers and Zephaniah where it describes the physical act of assembling dry plant material.
Its root likely relates to the noun for "stubble," suggesting an action suited to gathering loose, lightweight debris rather than heavy timber. In the Hithpoel stem, the meaning shifts slightly to describe people gathering themselves together, implying a collective assembly from scattered positions.
This word highlights the biblical attention to detail in daily life and judgment imagery. For instance, Zephaniah uses it to depict a thorough search, comparing the gathering of people to collecting every last piece of stubble, leaving nothing behind. It underscores completeness in both mundane tasks and divine reckoning.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
This word describes the quiet, often unnoticed work of gathering small items like stubble or sticks. In daily life, it reflects the dignity of ordinary tasks. When people collected these materials, they were preparing for survival, building fires to keep warm, or baking bread for their families. It reminds us that God cares about the details of our everyday existence.
Yet this same word appears in moments of judgment and assembly. In Zephaniah, it calls a scattered people to come together before the Lord. The image is thorough: just as no piece of stubble is left behind when gathering, nothing is overlooked in God’s search for truth. This offers comfort that our lives are known completely, even in our smallest actions.
Whether you are collecting resources for tomorrow or seeking community in times of uncertainty, this word invites trust. It shows that gathering is not just a physical act but a spiritual posture—one of readiness and reliance on God’s provision.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 7 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- gathering2×
- to/ gather1×
- gather yourselves together1×
- and/ they may gather1×
- and/ gather together1×
- [was] gathering1×
- [am] gathering1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מְקֹשֶׁ֣שֶׁת1×
- מְקֹשֶׁ֜שֶׁת1×
- מְקֹשֵׁ֥שׁ1×
- מְקֹשֵׁ֣שׁ1×
- לְ/קֹשֵׁ֥שׁ1×
- וָ/ק֑וֹשּׁוּ1×
- וְ/קֹשְׁשׁ֥וּ1×
- הִֽתְקוֹשְׁשׁ֖וּ1×
Key Verses
-
Zephaniah 2:1
Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, you nation that has no shame,
This verse uses the word to call a scattered nation to assemble together, emphasizing collective accountability before God.
-
I Kings 17:12
She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
Here the widow gathers sticks as her final act of obedience, highlighting how this mundane task becomes an expression of faith in desperate times.
-
Exodus 5:12
So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
The people scatter to gather stubble, showing how this word captures the hardship and dispersion experienced under oppression.