אַל תַּשְׁחֵת ʼAl tashchêth — 'Thou must not destroy'

pronounced al tash-kayth' · Strong's H516 · 4 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 1 stem: Hiph'il

Translated in the KJV as Al-taschith.

from H408 and H7843; 'Thou must not destroy'; probably the opening words to a popular song.

ʼAl tashchêth in each stem

Hiph'il 4×

Causative · active — causing someone or something to do the action; the subject does it

Imperfect (yiqtol) 3Jussive 1

תַּ֭שְׁחֵת Ps 57:1 Jussive, 2nd person masculine singular

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. (KJV)

תַּשְׁחֵ֗ת Ps 58:1 Imperfect (yiqtol), 2nd person masculine singular

Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? (KJV)

תַּשְׁחֵת֮ Ps 59:1 Imperfect (yiqtol), 2nd person masculine singular

Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

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In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. ʼAl tashchêth in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

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