Original Word: בָּשַׁל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: bashal
Pronunciation: bah-SHAL
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-shal')
KJV: bake, boil, bring forth, roast, seethe, sod (be sodden)
NASB: boil, boiled, boiling, baked, boiled at all, cook, produced ripe
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to boil up
2. (hence) to be done in cooking
3. figuratively to ripen

bake, boil, bring forth, roast, seethe, sod be sodden

A primitive root; properly, to boil up; hence, to be done in cooking; figuratively to ripen -- bake, boil, bring forth, roast, seethe, sod (be sodden).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to boil, seethe, grow ripe
NASB Translation
baked (1), boil (12), boiled (7), boiled at all (1), boiling (2), cook (1), produced ripe (1), ripe (1), roasted (1), seethe (1).

בָּשַׁל verb boil, seethe (intransitive), grow ripe (Aramaic בְּשַׁל, ripen, Nas. boil, NSyriac be boiled, cooked, compare Assyrian bašâlu (bašlu, cooked) Zim^{BP 76}) —

Qal Perfect בָּשַׁל Joel 1 Samuel 4:13, בָּֽשְׁלוּ Ezekiel 24:5; — boil, cook (intransitive) Ezekiel 24:5; grow ripe (of קציר) Joel 4:13; —

Pi`el Perfect3masculine singular suffix בִּשְּׁלָם 1 Kings 19:21; וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֫ Exodus 29:31; Deuteronomy 16:7, בִּשְּׁלוּ Lamentations 4:10 2t., וּבִשְּׁלוּ consecutive Zechariah 14:21; Imperfect3feminine singular וַתְּבַשֵּׁל 2 Samuel 13:8; 2masculine singular תְּבַשֵּׁל Exodus 23:19 2t., יְבַשְּׁלוּ Ezekiel 46:20,24, וַיְבַשְּׁלוּ2Chronicles 35:13, תְּבַשְּׁלוּ Exodus 16:23, וַנְּבַשֵּׁל 2 Kings 6:29; Imperative בַּשֵּׁל 2 Kings 4:38, בַּשְּׁלוּ Leviticus 8:31, בַּשֵּׁ֑לוּ Exodus 16:23; Infinitive בַּשֵּׁל 1 Samuel 2:13; Participle מְבַשְּׁלִים Ezekiel 46:24; —

1 boil (transitive) object omitted Numbers 11:8, בָּשָׂר 1 Samuel 2:13; גְּדִי Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21; נזיד 2 Kings 4:38; of offerings, object הקדשׁים2Chronicles 35:13; object אשׁם Ezekiel 46:20, זבח Ezekiel 46:24 (no object) Ezekiel 46:24, compare Zechariah 14:21 (no object); Exodus 16:23 (twice in verse) opposed to אפה bake.

2 cook (general), object בשׂר 1 Kings 19:21; Exodus 29:31; Leviticus 8:31 (both P); object בֵּן 2 Kings 6:29 compare יֶלֶד Lamentations 4:10; hence also of הפסח Deuteronomy 16:7 (compare Di; "" Exodus 12:8,9 has צְלִי אֵשׁ opposed to מְבֻשָּׁל בַּמַּיִם) 2 Chronicles 35:13 (בָּאֵשׁ), cakes (הלבבות) 2 Samuel 13:8.

Pu`al Perfect3feminine singular בֻּשָּׁ֑לָה Leviticus 6:21; Imperfect3feminine singular תְּכֻשַּׁלֿ Leviticus 6:21; Participle מְבֻשָּׁל Exodus 12:9; 1 Samuel 2:15; — be boiled, sodden, במים Exodus 12:9 compare Leviticus 6:21 (twice in verse) (all P) 1 Samuel 2:15.

Hiph`il Perfect הִבְשִׁילוּ ripened, brought to ripeness Genesis 40:10 (a vine, its grape-clusters).

Summary of Meaning

The verb בָּשַׁל (bashal) conveys the idea of bringing something to completion by heat or by time—whether boiling meat, cooking grain, or ripening fruit. In Scripture it appears roughly twenty-eight times and touches household life, public worship, covenantal ethics, prophetic judgment, and eschatological hope.

Domestic and Culinary Uses

Bashal most commonly pictures the ordinary preparation of food. Tamar “took the dough, kneaded it, and cooked the cakes in his sight” (2 Samuel 13:8). During Israel’s wilderness journey the people “ground [the manna]…and cooked it in a pot” (Numbers 11:8). Such verses remind readers that the God who rains bread from heaven also permits its simplest preparation, affirming the goodness of everyday labor.

Sacrificial and Ritual Contexts

1 Samuel 2:13–15 describes priests who abused their right to the sacrificial “boiling” (bashal) pot, seizing portions before the fat was offered. By contrast, Josiah’s reform honored God as “they cooked the Passover offerings over the fire…and boiled the other holy offerings in pots” (2 Chronicles 35:13). Bashal therefore marks the line between self-serving religion and obedient worship.

Sabbath Provision and Divine Care

When manna first appeared the LORD instructed, “Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil, and set aside what remains” (Exodus 16:23). Bashal here underscores God’s concern that His people rest: work is completed beforehand so the Sabbath remains undisturbed.

Covenantal Separation: The Goat in Its Mother’s Milk

Three times the law warns, “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21). The same verb stresses that covenant living must reject practices that blur life and death or imitate pagan fertility rites. The prohibition safeguards reverence for life and the holiness of Israel’s distinct worship.

Images of Judgment and Siege

Bashal can carry fearful overtones. During Samaria’s famine two mothers confess, “So we cooked my son and ate him” (2 Kings 6:29). Lamentations echoes the horror: “The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children” (Lamentations 4:10). Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem as a rusted pot: “Heap on the wood…boil the meat well” (Ezekiel 24:10). The same verb that depicts daily meals is employed to expose covenant breach and divine wrath.

Agricultural Ripeness and Fruitfulness

In Joseph’s prison narrative the vine “blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes” (Genesis 40:10). Bashal here extends from heat to maturation; fruit reaches proper sweetness in God’s timing. Habakkuk laments a season when “the olive crop fails” (Habakkuk 3:17), implying fruit that never bashal—never fully develops. Spiritual application follows naturally: authentic faith matures under the Spirit’s nurture.

Promise of Future Holiness

Zechariah foresees a day when “Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and cook in them” (Zechariah 14:21). Bashal becomes a symbol of transformed normalcy; even common cookware will serve sacred purpose when Messiah reigns. Ordinary life and worship will be indistinguishable in their consecration.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Bashal affirms the dignity of routine service—preparing meals, tending crops, guiding families toward maturity.
• It warns against profaning sacred duties, whether through priestly greed or household compromise.
• It calls believers to prepare wisely for rest, trusting God’s provision as Israel did with manna.
• It illustrates the awful cost of sin yet also the hope of complete purification when the Lord makes every vessel holy.

Selected Occurrence Guide

Genesis 40:10; Exodus 12:9; Exodus 16:23; Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21; Numbers 11:8; 1 Samuel 2:13–15; 2 Samuel 13:8; 2 Kings 6:29; 2 Chronicles 35:13; Ecclesiastes 10:20 (Aramaic cognate); Lamentations 4:10; Ezekiel 24:5–10; Habakkuk 3:17; Zechariah 14:21.

בִּשְּׁל֖וּ בִּשְּׁל֗וּ בִּשְּׁלָ֣ם בַּשְּׁל֣וּ בַּשֵּׁ֔לוּ בָּשְׁל֥וּ בָשַׁ֖ל בֻּשָּׁ֔לָה בשל בשלה בשלו בשלם הִבְשִׁ֥ילוּ הַֽמְבַשְּׁלִ֔ים הבשילו המבשלים וַֽיְבַשְּׁל֥וּ וַנְּבַשֵּׁ֥ל וַתְּבַשֵּׁ֖ל וּבִשְּׁל֣וּ וּבִשְּׁלוּ֙ וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֙ וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֥ וּבַשֵּׁ֥ל ובשל ובשלו ובשלת ויבשלו ונבשל ותבשל יְבַשְּׁלוּ־ יבשלו־ כְּבַשֵּׁ֣ל כבשל מְבֻשָּׁ֖ל מבשל תְּבַשְּׁלוּ֙ תְּבֻשַּׁל־ תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל תבשל תבשל־ תבשלו ḇā·šal bā·šə·lū baš·šê·lū baš·šə·lū ḇāšal bāšəlū basheLu bashShelu baššêlū baššəlū biš·šə·lām biš·šə·lū bishsheLam bishsheLu biššəlām biššəlū buš·šā·lāh bushShalah buššālāh ham·ḇaš·šə·lîm hamḇaššəlîm hamvashsheLim hiḇ·šî·lū hiḇšîlū hivShilu kə·ḇaš·šêl kəḇaššêl kevashShel mə·ḇuš·šāl məḇuššāl mevushShal tə·ḇaš·šə·lū ṯə·ḇaš·šêl tə·ḇuš·šal- ṯəḇaššêl təḇaššəlū təḇuššal- tevashShel tevashsheLu tevushshal ū·ḇaš·šêl ū·ḇiš·šal·tā ū·ḇiš·šə·lū ūḇaššêl ūḇiššaltā ūḇiššəlū uvashShel uvishshalTa uvishsheLu vannevashShel vaShal vattevashShel vayvashsheLu wan·nə·ḇaš·šêl wannəḇaššêl wat·tə·ḇaš·šêl wattəḇaššêl way·ḇaš·šə·lū wayḇaššəlū yə·ḇaš·šə·lū- yəḇaššəlū- yevashsheluInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts