רָ֝שָׁ֗ע

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 רָ֝שָׁ֗ע

   ra-SHA

   a wicked one
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וּבִמְשֹׁ֥ל רָ֝שָׁ֗ע

   u-vim-SHOL ra-SHA

   and in ruling of or when ruling of a wicked one
3. clause🔊 וּבִמְשֹׁ֥ל רָ֝שָׁ֗ע יֵאָ֥נַֽח עָֽם׃

   u-vim-SHOL ra-SHA ye-A-na-kh AM

   and in ruling of or when ruling of a wicked one groans people
4. sentence🔊 בִּרְב֣וֹת צַ֭דִּיקִים יִשְׂמַ֣ח הָעָ֑ם וּבִמְשֹׁ֥ל רָ֝שָׁ֗ע יֵאָ֥נַֽח עָֽם׃

   bir-VOT tsa-di-KIM yis-MA-kh ha-AM u-vim-SHOL ra-SHA ye-A-na-kh AM

   when increasing or in the increase of righteous ones rejoices the people and in ruling of or when ruling of a wicked one groans people

Exegesis

The conjunction u-vimshōl rā-ša‘ {וּבִמְשֹׁל רָ֝שָׁ֗ע | u-bim-šōl rā-ša‘} introduces an adversative “but when a wicked person rules,” leading to yē-ʾānāḥ ʿām {יֵאָ֥נַֽח עָֽם | yē-’ā-naḥ ʿām} ‘the people groan’. The shift from plural ṣad-dî-qîm to singular rā-ša‘ heightens the antithetic parallelism characteristic of Hebrew wisdom poetry. The matching imperfect verbs yiś-maḥ and yē-’ā-naḥ mirror opposite communal emotional responses, and the infinitive constructs were rendered as temporal “when” clauses with the adversative preserved as “but” to maintain Hebrew contrast.

Root and etymology

r-sh-ʿ🔊 ר־שׁ־עresh–shin–ayin

“to be wicked or criminal”

• 🔊 רֶשַׁעresha‘wickednessPsalm 5:5
• 🔊 רְשָׁעִיםreshā‘imwicked onesPsalm 1:5