3573. Kushan Rishathayim
Lexical Summary
Kushan Rishathayim: Cushan-Rishathaim

Original Word: כּוּשַׁן רִשְׁעָתַיִם
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Kuwshan Rish`athayim
Pronunciation: koo-SHAN rish-a-THA-yeem
Phonetic Spelling: (koo-shan' rish-aw-thah'-yim)
KJV: Chushan-rishathayim
NASB: Cushan-rishathaim
Word Origin: [apparently from H3572 (כּוּשָׁן - Cushan) and the dual of H7564 (רִשׁעָה - wickedness)]

1. Cushan of double wickedness
2. Cushan-Rishathajim, a Mesopotamian king

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Chushan-rishathayim

Apparently from Kuwshan and the dual of rish'ah; Cushan of double wickedness; Cushan-Rishathajim, a Mesopotamian king -- Chushan-rishathayim.

see HEBREW Kuwshan

see HEBREW rish'ah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
appar. from Kushan and rishah
Definition
king of Aram-naharaim
NASB Translation
Cushan-rishathaim (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
כּוּשַׁן רִשְׁעָתַ֫יִם proper name, masculine king of Aram Naharaim Judges 3:8 (twice in verse); Judges 3:10 (twice in verse); otherwise unknown, ᵐ5 Ξουσαρσαθαιμ, ᵐ5L Ξουσανρεσαμωθ.

כּוֺשָׁרוֺת see [ כּוֺשָׁרָה] below כָּשַׁר.

Topical Lexicon
Scriptural Occurrences

Cushan Rishathaim is mentioned four times, all within the narrative of Israel’s first oppression after the death of Joshua. Twice his name appears in Judges 3:8 and twice in Judges 3:10. The Berean Standard Bible records: “So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim eight years” (Judges 3:8). Later, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and Othniel prevailed against him” (Judges 3:10).

Historical Context

1. Period: Early in the era of the Judges, soon after Joshua’s generation had “grown old and died” and Israel “did evil in the sight of the LORD” (Judges 2:10-12).
2. Locale: Aram Naharaim (“Mesopotamia” or “Aram of the Two Rivers”), the region between the Tigris and Euphrates. The oppressor therefore came from outside Canaan, contrasting with later oppressions that arose within the land.
3. Duration: Israel served him eight years, the shortest subjugation recorded up to that point but long enough to underscore their helplessness without Yahweh’s favor.
4. Deliverer: Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, raised up when Israel cried out to the LORD. Othniel’s victory inaugurated the first cycle of relief and rest, lasting forty years (Judges 3:11).

Role in Redemptive History

• Prototype Oppressor: Cushan Rishathaim is the archetype of foreign domination used by God to discipline His covenant people.
• Foreshadowing the Cycles: His defeat establishes the pattern repeated throughout Judges—sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence (rest).
• Spirit-Empowered Deliverance: The first explicit mention in Judges of “the Spirit of the LORD” empowering a judge (Judges 3:10), prefiguring later Spirit-endowed leaders and ultimately the Messiah who liberates from sin itself.

Theological Insights

1. Divine Sovereignty: “He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim” (Judges 3:8) affirms that even pagan kings serve God’s larger purposes.
2. Covenant Accountability: Israel’s idolatry leads to oppression; repentance leads to deliverance—underscoring the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28.
3. Name Significance: The double term Rishathaim (“wickednesses”) intensifies the portrait of evil, highlighting the contrast between human tyranny and divine righteousness.
4. Promise of Rest: The forty years of peace after Othniel’s victory echo the Sabbath motif, pointing forward to the ultimate rest secured in Christ (Hebrews 4:8-10).

Ministry Applications

• Call to Repentance: Like Israel, churches and individuals must forsake compromise lest God allow corrective discipline (Revelation 2:5).
• Dependence on the Spirit: Effective ministry, modeled by Othniel, relies on the Holy Spirit rather than human prowess.
• Encouragement in Oppression: Believers facing hostility can trace God’s faithfulness from Cushan Rishathaim to Calvary, confident that deliverance belongs to the LORD.
• Leadership Formation: Othniel’s emergence illustrates how prior faithfulness (see Joshua 15:16-19) prepares a servant for greater responsibility.

Related Names and Nations

Aram Naharaim is linked to Abraham’s ancestral homeland (Genesis 24:10), reminding readers that the same God who called a family from that region now disciplines a nation by it. Later oppressors—Moab, Midian, Philistia—mirror Cushan Rishathaim’s role, each exposing Israel’s need for a righteous king, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Summary

Cushan Rishathaim stands as the inaugural foreign oppressor in Judges, a figure through whom God both chastens and rescues His people, spotlighting themes of sin, judgment, repentance, and Spirit-empowered salvation that resonate throughout Scripture and culminate in the gospel.

Forms and Transliterations
רִשְׁעָתַ֔יִם רִשְׁעָתַ֖יִם רִשְׁעָתָֽיִם׃ רשעתים רשעתים׃ riš‘āṯayim riš‘āṯāyim riš·‘ā·ṯa·yim riš·‘ā·ṯā·yim rishaTayim
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Judges 3:8
HEB: בְּיַד֙ כּוּשַׁ֣ן רִשְׁעָתַ֔יִם מֶ֖לֶךְ אֲרַ֣ם
NAS: them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king
KJV: them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king
INT: sold the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia

Judges 3:8
HEB: אֶת־ כּוּשַׁ֥ן רִשְׁעָתַ֖יִם שְׁמֹנֶ֥ה שָׁנִֽים׃
NAS: served Cushan-rishathaim eight
KJV: served Chushanrishathaim eight
INT: and the sons of Israel Cushan-rishathaim eight years

Judges 3:10
HEB: אֶת־ כּוּשַׁ֥ן רִשְׁעָתַ֖יִם מֶ֣לֶךְ אֲרָ֑ם
NAS: gave Cushan-rishathaim king
KJV: delivered Chushanrishathaim king
INT: the LORD his hand Cushan-rishathaim king Aram

Judges 3:10
HEB: עַ֖ל כּוּשַׁ֥ן רִשְׁעָתָֽיִם׃
NAS: over Cushan-rishathaim.
KJV: prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
INT: his hand over Cushan-rishathaim

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3573
4 Occurrences


riš·‘ā·ṯa·yim — 4 Occ.

3572
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