# H6588 - pesha **Strong's:** [H6588](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6588/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** peh'-shah **Part of speech:** masculine noun (from the verbal root H6586 *pasha*, "to rebel, transgress") **Frequency:** ~93 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible, concentrated in Psalms, the prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Micah), and the priestly atonement texts. **LXX equivalents:** ἀνομία (*anomia*, lawlessness), ἁμαρτία (*hamartia*, sin), ἀσέβεια (*asebeia*, ungodliness) ## Semantic range (Brown-Driver-Briggs) 1. **Transgression, rebellion**, the deliberate breach of an established relationship of authority, not merely the violation of a rule. The verbal root *pasha* means "to revolt against a superior", covenantal or political rebellion. 2. **Trespass, breach**, the act of crossing a line one has been bound not to cross. 3. **Guilt of transgression**, by metonymy, the standing condition of having rebelled. ## Theological force, sin as covenant rebellion *Pesha* is the strongest of the three principal Hebrew sin-words. The classical OT triad, distinct but overlapping, is: - **[H2403 - chattath](/codex/h2403-chattath/) (חַטָּאָה / חַטָּאת, *chattath*)**, "missing the mark," failure to attain the standard; also the technical sin-offering. Default for inadvertent / culpable failure. - **[H5771 - avon](/codex/h5771-avon/) (עָוֹן, *ʿawon*)**, "iniquity," twisted / perverted state; sin viewed as crookedness or warping of moral faculties; carries the standing-guilt sense. - **H6588 *pesha***, "transgression / rebellion," the deliberate, covenant-breaking, willful breach of a binding relationship. The triad's classical co-appearance is the [Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/) mercy-formula: "forgiving *ʿawon* and *peshaʿ* and *chattath*"; and [Numbers 14.18](/codex/numbers-14-18/); and the Day-of-Atonement liturgy in [Leviticus 16:21](/codex/leviticus-16-21/) where the high priest confesses "all the *ʿawōnōt* of the sons of Israel and all their *pishʿēhem* and all their *chattōʾtām*", the threefold confession aiming to leave no sin-category unaddressed. The verbal root's political-rebellion sense ([1 Kings 12:19](/codex/1-kings-12-19/), "Israel has been in rebellion *pasha* against the house of David") is the controlling metaphor: sin against God is **covenantal rebellion against a divine sovereign**, not merely failure or weakness. This is why *pesha* is the word the prophets reach for when indicting Israel's idolatry and breach of covenant, the sin is treason, not error. ## Notable verses ### The mercy formula and Day of Atonement - **[Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/)**, the LORD's self-revelation: "forgiving *ʿawon* and *peshaʿ* and *chattath*", the threefold object of YHWH's covenant mercy - **[Numbers 14:18](/codex/numbers-14-18/)**, the formula repeated when Moses intercedes for Israel after the spies - **[Leviticus 16:21](/codex/leviticus-16-21/)**, Aaron lays both hands on the live goat and confesses "all the iniquities (*ʿawōnōt*) of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions (*pishʿēhem*) in regard to all their sins (*chattōʾtām*)", the scapegoat carries the threefold weight ### Isaiah, Suffering Servant pierced for *peshaʿ* - **[Isaiah 53.5](/codex/isaiah-53-5/)**, "He was pierced through for our *peshaʿ*, He was crushed for our *ʿawon*", penal substitution language: the Servant absorbs the rebellion of the many - **[Isaiah 53:8](/codex/isaiah-53-8/)**, "for the *peshaʿ* of My people, the stroke was due Him" - **[Isaiah 53.12](/codex/isaiah-53-12/)**, "He bore the sin of many, and interceded for the *poshʿim* (transgressors)" - **[Isaiah 43:25](/codex/isaiah-43-25/)**, "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your *peshaʿim* for My own sake" - **[Isaiah 44:22](/codex/isaiah-44-22/)**, "I have wiped out your *peshaʿim* like a thick cloud, and your *chattaʾoth* like a heavy mist" - **[Isaiah 59:12](/codex/isaiah-59-12/)**, "our *peshaʿim* are with us, and we know our *ʿawōnōt*" ### Psalms, confession and forgiveness - **[Psalms 32:1](/codex/psalms-32-1/)**, "How blessed is he whose *peshaʿ* is forgiven (*nesuy*), whose *chataʾah* is covered", Paul cites this LXX form in [Romans 4:7](/codex/romans-4-7/) - **[Psalms 51:1](/codex/psalms-51-1/)**, "blot out my *peshaʿim*" - **[Psalm 51:3](/codex/psalms-51-3/)**, "I know my *peshaʿim*, and my sin is ever before me" - **[Psalm 103:12](/codex/psalms-103-12/)**, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our *peshaʿim* from us" ### Prophetic indictment - **[Amos 1](/codex/amos-1/)-2**, the cycle "for three *peshaʿim* of [nation], and for four, I will not turn back its punishment", covenant rebellion as the basis of judgment on the nations and Israel - **[Micah 6:7](/codex/micah-6-7/)**, "shall I give my firstborn for my *peshaʿ*?" - **[Micah 7:18](/codex/micah-7-18/)**, "Who is a God like You, who pardons *ʿawon* and passes over *peshaʿ*?" - **[Ezekiel 18:30](/codex/ezekiel-18-30/)**, "Repent and turn away from all your *peshaʿim*" - **[Ezekiel 33:10](/codex/ezekiel-33-10/)**, "our *peshaʿim* and our *chattaʾoth* are upon us" - **[Daniel 9:24](/codex/daniel-9-24/)**, the Seventy Weeks: "to finish the *peshaʿ* and to make an end of *chattath* and to atone for *ʿawon*", eschatological resolution of the entire sin-triad ## Patristic / scholarly note The Septuagint's variability in rendering *pesha* (sometimes ἀνομία, sometimes ἁμαρτία, sometimes ἀσέβεια) reflects the difficulty of mapping a single Greek word onto its specific covenantal-rebellion sense. Paul's most decisive use of the lexeme stands in [Romans 4:7-8](/codex/romans-4-7-8/) where he quotes [Psalms 32:1](/codex/psalms-32-1/) (LXX), *μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι*, to ground his doctrine of forensic justification: forgiveness is the non-imputation of *peshaʿ*. The Hebrew rebellion-against-covenant frame undergirds the Pauline logic: justification is reconciliation of a covenant-breaking rebel to the covenant Lord, not the rehabilitation of a slightly-flawed citizen. In Rabbinic theology, the threefold *chattath / ʿawon / peshaʿ* triad becomes the basis for differentiated repentance, Maimonides (*Hilkhot Teshuvah* 1.1-2) treats *peshaʿ* as the most severe category, requiring not merely confession but explicit reversal of the rebellion. The Christian doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement (cf. [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/)) reads [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/)'s "pierced for our *peshaʿ*" as the controlling text: what the goat-of-Azazel could only carry symbolically ([Lev 16](/codex/leviticus-16/)), the Servant carries actually. The English "rebellion" captures the political / covenantal weight better than "transgression," though "transgression" is the King-James-tradition default. Modern translations (NASB, ESV, NIV) retain "transgression" but the lexicographers (BDB, HALOT, Koehler-Baumgartner) consistently note the verbal root's political-revolt origin. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ Top-cited references using *peshaʿ*: [Isaiah 53.5](/codex/isaiah-53-5/), [Psalms 32:1](/codex/psalms-32-1/), [Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/). ## See also - [H2403 - chattath](/codex/h2403-chattath/), *chattath* (sin / sin-offering), the "missing the mark" companion - [H5771 - avon](/codex/h5771-avon/), *ʿawon* (iniquity / guilt), the third member of the triad - [G0266 - hamartia](/codex/g0266-hamartia/), Greek "sin", LXX often renders *pesha* with *hamartia* or *anomia* - [H3722 - kaphar](/codex/h3722-kaphar/), *kaphar* (to atone / cover), what is required to deal with *pesha* - [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/), relies on [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/)'s "pierced for our *peshaʿ*" - [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/), [Psalms 32](/codex/psalms-32/), [Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/), locus classicus passages