בָּזָה

מָאַס mâʼaç · H3988 · to reject, to refuse, to waste away

Both lexemes occupy the "despise" semantic space as independent Hebrew roots, sharing that sense of contempt or disdain and functioning as near-synonyms.

נָבֵל nâbêl · H5034 · to wither, to fade, to wear oneself out

Both lexemes share a sense of despising or contemning. נָבֵל (nâbêl, H5034) has a wider range of meaning (withering, fading, foolishness) but overlaps with בָּזָה (bâzâh, H959)'s more focused sense of despising or disdaining, making the two near-synonyms in that shared sense.

שָׂחַק sâchaq · H7832 · to laugh, to smile, to make merry

שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) centers on mocking and deriding laughter and scornful play, while בָּזָה (bâzâh, H959) centers on despising and disdaining as contemptuous rejection. They are overlapping but distinct actions: both express contempt and scorn, through different modes, mockery versus disdain.

קָלַל qâlal · H7043 · light, fast, swift

Both verbs can express contempt or scorn toward something — קָלַל (qâlal, H7043)'s range is much broader (including lightness, ease, cursing), while בָּזָה (bâzâh, H959) is more specialized in contempt or disdain — but they overlap enough in that shared sense to function as near-synonyms.

לוּץ lûwts · H3887 · insolent person, to behave arrogantly

Both words denote contemptuous attitudes or actions (mocking versus despising) in the area of showing disdain or scorn, and overlap in the senses of scorn and contempt.

קָלַס qâlaç · H7046 · to scorn, to disdain, to jeer

Both lexemes denote negative attitudes toward someone or something, overlapping in sense (contemptuous attitude, expressed scorn). They share membership in both "Despise" and "Revile" domains. These are near-synonyms: distinct Hebrew words that can substitute in expressing contemptuous scorn.

שָׁקַץ shâqats · H8262 · to contaminate oneself, to make oneself abominable, to regard as detestable

Both words denote negative attitudes of rejection or contempt, overlapping in sense: abhor and detest on one side, despise and disdain on the other.

בּוּז bûwz · H936 · to despise, to scorn

Both words denote the act of despising or treating with contempt (despise, revile); they are distinct Hebrew roots expressing closely related concepts of contempt and scorn, appropriate for substitution in sense.

Unwilling002001002031

The verb can carry a sense of refusing or rejecting something as unworthy of regard, as Esau despises and forfeits his birthright in Genesis 25:34, connecting it to this domain's sense of an unwilling or refusing disposition.

Despise002001002005

Its central and most frequent sense is contempt or scorn, as one who has 'despised the word of the LORD' in Numbers 15:31 or those who 'despise' the LORD are declared insignificant in 1 Samuel 2:30, fitting this domain's core sense.

Revile002004001009012

בָּזָה denotes despising or holding in contempt, as at 1 Samuel 17:42 — "he was contemptuous of him" — and 2 Samuel 12:9 — "Why have you despised the word of the LORD."

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.