H376 / H802 ish / ishah (eesh / ee-SHAH) — man / woman. Ishah also means "wife"; translators choose which.
Word: אִישׁ (ish, Strong's H376) · אִשָּׁה (ishah, Strong's H802; construct form eshet) · with שֵׁם (shem, "name," Strong's H8034)
In brief
Ish is a man and ishah is a woman. Like Greek anēr and gynē, the same words also mean "husband" and "wife," so translators decide in each verse. The pair first appears in Genesis 2:23, when the human sees the woman and says "she shall be called ishah, because she was taken out of ish." Many readers take this as the man naming the woman and so having authority over her. Whether 2:23 is a naming at all is a real question, because the Hebrew naming formula with shem appears only later, in 3:20.
Where it appears
- Genesis 2:23 — "she shall be called (qara) ishah." There is no shem, "name," in the verse. This is the first time the text uses ish at all.
- Genesis 3:20 — "the man called his wife's shem Eve." Here the full naming formula appears, after the fall and the words of 3:16.
- Proverbs 31:10 — eshet chayil, "a woman of strength" or "a wife of strength." The Hebrew allows either; translations choose.
- Ruth 3:11 — Boaz calls Ruth an eshet chayil. Ruth is a widow, not his wife, so "woman" fits here.
What the text shows
Some scholars, notably Phyllis Trible, read Genesis 2:23 as recognition, the human seeing a partner, and read 3:20 as the first true naming, a sign of the broken relationship after the fall. Others read 2:23 as a naming that shows the man's leadership. This is an interpretive question, and both readings rest on the same two verses.
How translations render it
| Translation | Proverbs 31:10 |
|---|---|
| KJV | "a virtuous woman" |
| ESV | "An excellent wife" |
| NIV (2011) | "A wife of noble character" |
| NRSV | "A capable wife" |
| CEB | "A competent wife" [VERIFY] |
Choosing "wife" makes Proverbs 31 a portrait of a married woman. Choosing "woman" makes it a portrait any woman can grow into, the way Ruth is called the same thing before she marries.
See for yourself
- Compare Genesis 2:23 with 3:20 in an interlinear. Which verse has the word shem?
- Read Ruth 3:11 and Proverbs 31:10. Does "wife" fit both?
Related words
'adam (H120, human) · chayil (H2428, strength) · gynē (G1135, woman, wife) · anēr (G435, man, husband)