Original Word: רָשַׁשׁ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: rashash
Pronunciation: rah-SHASH
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-shash')
KJV: impoverish
NASB: beaten down, demolish
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to demolish

impoverish

A primitive root; to demolish -- impoverish.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to beat down, shatter
NASB Translation
beaten down (1), demolish (1).

[רָשַׁשׁ] verb Po`el beat down, shatter (Syriac bruise, grind); — Imperfect3masculine singular יְרשֵׁשׁ Jeremiah 5:17 one shall beat down thy fortified cities

Pu`al Perfect1plural רֻשּׁשְׁנוּ Malachi 1:4 we are beaten down.

Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 7567 רָשַׁשׁ portrays violent breaking, crushing, or shattering. In its two canonical appearances it depicts the total ruin that accompanies divine judgment.

Semantic Range and Imagery

The verb evokes images of brittle pottery smashed to powder or fortified walls leveled to rubble. Whether applied to harvested produce, urban defenses, or national pride, the accent always falls on irreversible devastation. The focus is not casual damage but a deliberate, overwhelming dismantling that leaves no possibility of self-repair apart from God’s mercy.

Scriptural Occurrences

1. Jeremiah 5:17 – Babylonian forces “destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”
2. Malachi 1:4 – Edom confesses, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”

These passages frame רָשַׁשׁ within prophetic warnings and post-judgment reflection, presenting both the cause (persistent rebellion) and the consequence (complete collapse).

Historical Context

Jeremiah 5:17 belongs to the prophet’s indictment of Judah on the brink of Babylon’s invasion. The people’s misplaced confidence in walls and storehouses meets a crushing reality: “They will consume your harvest and food … With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities”. The verb underscores the futility of trusting human fortifications when covenant infidelity has invited divine chastening.

Malachi 1:4 speaks over a century later, when Edom’s homeland lay in ruins after successive conquests. Edom’s boast, “We will rebuild,” encounters God’s sovereign rebuttal: “They may build, but I will demolish”. רָשַׁשׁ here anchors Edom’s humiliating collapse and exposes the presumption of self-driven restoration apart from repentance.

Theological Insights

Judgment and Covenant Accountability

Both texts reveal that judgment is not arbitrary; it flows from covenant breach (Jeremiah 5:23-25) or sustained hostility toward God’s people (Obadiah 10-12). רָשַׁשׁ emphasizes that divine retribution matches the hardness of human rebellion with an equally decisive crushing.

Human Hubris versus Divine Sovereignty

Edom’s resolve to rebuild clashes with the LORD of Hosts. The shattering is thus not merely historical misfortune but a demonstration that human ambition cannot overturn God’s decree (Psalm 33:10-11).

Hope Implicit in Ruin

Paradoxically, the verb’s finality drives hearers toward the only reliable refuge. The same prophets who describe the crushing also herald renewal for the repentant (Jeremiah 31:28; Malachi 4:2). רָשַׁשׁ therefore functions as a severe mercy, stripping away false securities so true restoration may begin on God’s terms.

Prophetic and Eschatological Significance

Rashash scenes foreshadow the eschatological dismantling of worldly power (Revelation 18:21) and anticipate the Messiah’s role in breaking rebellious nations “with a rod of iron” (Psalm 2:9). Yet they also predicate the future comfort of Zion, because the God who shatters unrighteous strongholds will “rebuild the ancient ruins” for His covenant people (Isaiah 61:4).

Practical and Ministry Applications

• Call to Repentance: Rashash warns congregations against complacency masked by material success or religious formalism.
• Pastoral Comfort: Believers crushed by circumstances can recall that divine breaking is never purposeless; God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6-11).
• Missional Perspective: Nations still rise in Edomite pride. Proclaiming the gospel confronts such hubris with the offer of reconciliation before the ultimate shattering occurs.

Related Biblical Motifs

– Clay vessel broken beyond repair: Psalm 2:9; Jeremiah 19:11

– Fortress overthrown by God: 2 Chronicles 26:16; Nahum 3:12

– Harvest eaten by invaders: Deuteronomy 28:33; Joel 1:4

Concluding Reflection

Strong’s 7567 רָשַׁשׁ reminds readers that God’s justice is not an abstract concept; it can pulverize every false refuge. By exposing the fragility of human defenses, the word ultimately directs hearts to the only sure foundation—“the Rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1).

יְרֹשֵׁ֞שׁ ירשש רֻשַּׁ֗שְׁנוּ רששנו ruš·šaš·nū rushShashnu ruššašnū yə·rō·šêš yərōšêš yeroSheshInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts