Original Word: רְזוֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: razown
Pronunciation: rah-ZONE
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-zone')
KJV: leanness, X scant
NASB: wasting disease, short
Word Origin: [from H7329 (רָזָה - become lean)]

1. thinness

leanness, scant

From razah; thinness -- leanness, X scant.

see HEBREW razah

Word Origin
from razah
Definition
leanness, wasting, scantness
NASB Translation
short (1), wasting disease (2).

I. רָזוֺן noun [masculine] leanness, wasting, scantness; — absolute ׳ר:

1 leanness Isaiah 10:16 (figurative; opposed to מִשְׁמַנָּיו).

2 wasting, i.e. wasting disease, Psalm 106:15 (compare Bae).

3 ׳אֵיפַת ר Micah 6:10 ephah of scantness, scant measure. — II. רָזוֺן see רזן. below

רזח (? cry out, compare Talmud מְרֻזָּח bewailed).

Meaning and Old Testament Usage

The noun רְזוֹן occurs three times, each time depicting a condition of emaciation, scarcity, or reduction. Whether translated “wasting disease,” “leanness,” or “short ephah,” the word portrays the stripping away of abundance and vigor. Its appearance in Psalm 106:15, Isaiah 10:16, and Micah 6:10 links physical depletion with divine judgment on sin and covenant unfaithfulness.

Contexts of the Three Passages

Psalm 106:15 — While recalling Israel’s wilderness rebellions, the psalmist says, “So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them”. The people demanded meat instead of relying on the LORD’s provision of manna. Their craving was satisfied, yet רְזוֹן followed—an act of judgment that exposed the poverty of a flesh-driven life. The word thus paints “leanness of soul,” an inner barrenness that accompanies external indulgence.

Isaiah 10:16 — Addressing arrogant Assyria, the prophet declares, “Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors”. Despite boasting in military might, the empire will be hollowed out from within. רְזוֹן underscores how swiftly the LORD can reverse worldly strength, reducing a boasting nation to frailty.

Micah 6:10 — Micah indicts Judah’s corrupt merchants: “Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah which is accursed?”. Here רְזוֹן describes the undersized measure used to cheat customers. The same root that signifies bodily thinness now exposes economic fraud, revealing that unjust gain produces communal “leanness” rather than prosperity.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Retribution: In each setting רְזוֹן marks God’s purposeful response to pride, ingratitude, or injustice. It is never random deprivation but a calibrated consequence to turn hearts back to covenant faithfulness.

2. Inner versus Outer Plenty: The wilderness generation had full bellies yet empty souls; Assyria possessed vast armies yet lacked true security; Judah’s traders amassed treasure yet faced spiritual bankruptcy. רְזוֹן highlights the futility of abundance divorced from righteousness.

3. Covenant Ethics and Social Justice: Micah’s usage extends the concept beyond personal health to public commerce. A “short ephah” violates the commands for honest scales (Leviticus 19:35-36). Thus רְזוֹן serves as a prophetically charged symbol of societal decay.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Heart-Check for Desires: Psalm 106 warns that persistent clamoring for lesser gifts may result in God granting the request while withdrawing His favor. Pastoral counseling can employ this verse to examine whether believers are chasing provisions more than the Provider.

• Confidence and National Pride: Isaiah 10 helps congregations discern cultural arrogance. Military, economic, or technological strength can mask inner weakness that only becomes visible when God sends רְזוֹן—an unexpected crisis that reveals dependency.

• Marketplace Integrity: Micah 6 challenges Christian business owners and employees to uphold fair pricing and truthful representation. The passage offers a biblical foundation for combating exploitative practices that, though profitable, invoke the curse of רְזוֹן.

Connections to New Testament Themes

John 6:26-27 mirrors Psalm 106, as Jesus rebukes the crowds for seeking bread rather than eternal life. Luke 12:15 echoes the warning against greed, affirming that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” The wasting brought by רְזוֹן foreshadows the spiritual emptiness of pursuing material gain apart from Christ.

Paul’s description of hollow human boasting in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 parallels Isaiah 10:16; God chooses what is weak to shame the strong. Likewise, James 5:1-5 directs harsh words to fraudulent merchants, recalling Micah’s indictment and promising misery—the New Testament counterpart to רְזוֹן—for ill-gotten wealth.

Conclusion

רְזוֹן is a vivid, multifaceted warning sign—a divinely sent leanness that reveals the consequences of misplaced desire, arrogant self-reliance, and economic injustice. By tracing its three occurrences, readers grasp a unified biblical principle: true fullness is found only in humble obedience to the LORD, whereas rebellion, pride, and dishonesty inevitably lead to wasting away, both physically and spiritually.

רָז֑וֹן רָז֖וֹן רָז֣וֹן רזון rā·zō·wn raZon rāzōwnInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts