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Hebrew

Flesh

בָּשָׂרStrong’s H1320

basar (ba-sar)

Appears in 241 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Basar is the Hebrew word usually translated “flesh”, “flesh of” and “meat”. It appears in 241 verses of the Old Testament.

“And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.”
Daniel 1:15 KJV
Meaning
  1. Fleshof the body · the body itself · male organ of generation (euphemism) · kindred, blood-relations · flesh as frail or erring (man against God) · all living things · animals · mankind
How it's translated
  • flesh 71
  • flesh of 27
  • meat 23
  • flesh his 18
  • the meat 15
  • body his 12
  • flesh my 10
  • the flesh 8

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Leviticus 51
  • Genesis 31
  • Ezekiel 21
  • Job 18
  • Psalms 16
  • Isaiah 16

27 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 241 verses, by book
1 Samuel 3
2:132:1517:44
2 Samuel 3
5:119:1219:13
1 Chronicles 1
11:1
2 Chronicles 1
32:8
Nehemiah 1
5:5
Ecclesiastes 5
2:34:55:611:1012:12
Lamentations 1
3:4
Daniel 2
1:1510:3
Hosea 1
8:13
Joel 1
2:28
Micah 1
3:3
Haggai 1
2:12
Hebrew dictionary

בָּשָׂר basar · flesh

1) flesh 1a) of the body 1a1) of humans 1a2) of animals 1b) the body itself 1c) male organ of generation (euphemism) 1d) kindred, blood-relations 1e) flesh as frail or erring (man against God) 1f) all living things 1g) animals 1h) mankind Aramaic equivalent: be.shar (בְּשַׁר "flesh" H1321)

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “flesh” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

FLESH, noun

[I know not the primary sense; it may be soft.]

  1. A compound substance forming a large part of an animal, consisting of the softer solids, as distinguished from the bones and the fluids.
  2. Animal food, in distinction from vegetable.
  3. The body of beasts and fowls used as food, distinct from fish.
  4. The body, as distinguished from the soul.
All definitions and other forms of “flesh”
  1. Animal nature; animals of all kinds.“The end of all flesh is come before me” Genesis 6:13
  2. Men in general; mankind.“My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh” Genesis 6:3
  3. Human nature.“The word was made flesh and dwelt among us” John 1:14
  4. Carnality; corporeal appetites.“The flesh lusteth against the spirit” Galatians 5:17
  5. A carnal state; a state of unrenewed nature.“They that are in the flesh cannot please God” Romans 8:8
  6. The corruptible body of man, or corrupt nature.“FLESH and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” 1 Corinthians 15:50
  7. The present life; the state of existence in this world.“To abide in the flesh is more needful for you” Philippians 1:24
  8. Legal righteousness, and ceremonial services.“What shall we then say that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the flesh hath found?” Romans 4:1
  9. Kindred; stock; family.“He is our brother, and our flesh” Genesis 37:27
  10. In botany, the soft pulpy substance of fruit; also, that part of a root, fruit, etc., which is fit to be eaten.

FLESH, verb transitive

  1. To initiate; a sportsman's use of the word, from the practice of training hawks and dogs by feeding them with the first game they take or other flesh
  2. To harden; to accustom; to establish in any practice, as dogs by often feeding on any thing.
  3. To glut; to satiate.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.