Lexical Summary siach: bushes, shrub Original Word: שִׂיחַ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance bush, plant, shrub From siyach; a shoot (as if uttered or put forth), i.e. (generally) shrubbery -- bush, plant, shrub. see HEBREW siyach NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition a bush, shrub, plant NASB Translation bushes (3), shrub (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs שִׂיחַ noun [masculine] bush, shrub, plant; — ׳שׂ absolute collective Job 30:4, construct הַשָּׂדֶךְ ׳שׂ Genesis 2:5 (J); plural שִׂיחִים Job 30:7, אַחַד הַשִּׂיחִם Genesis 21:15 (E). I, II. שִׂים, שִׂימָה etc., see I, II. שׂום. שֵׂךְ, שֻׂכָּה see IV. שׂכד. שׂךְ see II. שׂכד. שׂכה (√ of following; Late Hebrew סָכָה look out, Aramaic סְכָא look out, hope, סַכְוָאָה watchman, סָכוּתָא (for Hebrew מִצְמָּה) outlook-point; Topical Lexicon Semantic Range and Imagery שִׂיחַ denotes low-lying desert vegetation—shrubs that survive in arid soil. This imagery places it at the opposite end of the botanical spectrum from tall trees of Lebanon; it is humble, exposed, and easily uprooted. The word therefore lends itself to themes of dependence on rain, transience, and human vulnerability. Occurrences in Canonical Context “Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground”. שִׂיחַ marks the incomplete, rain-waiting stage of creation. Its absence highlights God’s sovereign ordering of environment, rain, and human stewardship. The first occurrence thus sets a rhythm: before human labor or natural precipitation, life waits on divine initiative. “When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes”. The same word now frames a scene of desperation. Hagar’s dying water-skin and the burning wilderness of Beersheba underscore the frailty of human provision. Yet even beneath a mere shrub, God’s angel speaks hope (Genesis 21:17–18), showing that divine compassion reaches the margins of geography and society. “They plucked mallow among the bushes and the roots of the broom tree were their food”. Job describes the outcasts who feed on desert plants. שִׂיחַ becomes an index of social collapse: forced foraging rather than cultivated harvest. “They brayed among the bushes and huddled beneath the nettles”. Here the shrub is a meager shelter for the dispossessed, amplifying Job’s lament that he, once esteemed, is mocked by those who live among such bushes. Theological Motifs 1. Dependence on Divine Provision In both Eden and Beersheba, the shrub signals need. Rain has not yet fallen; water has run dry. Scripture uses the plant’s vulnerability to highlight mankind’s absolute reliance on the Creator (Psalm 104:10-14; Matthew 6:30). 2. Reversal and Redemption Hagar’s scene anticipates God’s pattern of meeting people at their lowest. The bush becomes the backdrop for promise: “I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 21:18). That theme culminates in Isaiah 53:2, where Messiah is “a shoot out of dry ground,” turning barrenness into salvation. 3. Social Justice Job’s portrayal indicts communities that marginalize the needy. The prophetic tradition echoes this concern (Isaiah 58:7). שִׂיחַ thus invites self-examination regarding economic and relational deserts around us. Historical and Cultural Background Ancient Near Eastern travelers identified bushes like the broom tree (Retama raetam) as both fuel and scant shade. Their root systems mine deep moisture, illustrating survival in extremes. Nomads stored water skins beneath such shrubs, matching Hagar’s action. Job’s “saltwort” (mallow) was a last-resort food, confirming the word’s association with subsistence living on the fringe. Ministry Significance Pastoral counseling—Hagar’s narrative offers a template for ministering to single parents, refugees, and anyone abandoned. God hears the cry that arises from under a bush, not merely a temple. Preaching—Genesis 2:5 affirms work’s dignity: cultivation is part of humanity’s original calling. Sermons can trace how Christ, the second Adam, restores that vocation. Missions—Job 30 calls churches to seek the marginalized who “bray among the bushes,” translating compassion into tangible aid. Christological Foreshadowing The humble shrub contrasts with the majestic tree imagery reserved for the coming King (Ezekiel 17:22-24). Yet Jesus first appears as a carpenter’s son in Nazareth, identifying with the lowly of Job 30 before ascending as Lord of all. The God who met Hagar under a bush later reveals Himself in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), pointing to the incarnation—holiness drawing near without consuming the weak. Application for Contemporary Disciples • Embrace dependence: spiritual droughts drive believers to the only true Source. Forms and Transliterations הַשִּׂיחִֽם׃ השיחם׃ שִׂ֑יחַ שִׂ֣יחַ שִׂיחִ֥ים שיח שיחים haś·śî·ḥim hassiChim haśśîḥim śî·aḥ śî·ḥîm Siach śîaḥ siChim śîḥîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 2:5 HEB: וְכֹ֣ל ׀ שִׂ֣יחַ הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה טֶ֚רֶם NAS: Now no shrub of the field was yet KJV: And every plant of the field before INT: and every plant of the field was yet Genesis 21:15 Job 30:4 Job 30:7 4 Occurrences |
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Pa`el hope for; Arabic 
(
,
) is complain (i.e. disclose grief ?), 
lamp-niche, Ethiopic 
window).