the Berasit Hebrew Dictionary

בראשית

The opening sentence of the Hebrew scriptures reads “The established division(berasit) divided(bera) between The Elohim(alehim) and The Shemim(semim) and Earth(Arex).”

In this article, we examine the very first and very important opening word, 'berasit'. What does this ancient word mean?

Berasit is a conjunction made by joining the root words bera and sit.

• The general meaning of the bera is that of division/dividing/divided.
• The meaning of 'sit' is establishment.

Thus in its simplest form, we can read 'berasit' as “established division”.

Additional insight may be gained by examining the suffix in itself. A further nuance is gained by the placement of the word 'sit' as a suffix. When used as a suffix, 'sit' generally means “portion”.

For example selisit (Strongnumber 7992) means “a third” as seen in Job 42:14, 1 Kings 18:1, 2 Chronicles 23:5, Zechariah 6:3, Zechariah 13:8. Likewise misit (strongnumber 2549) meaning a fifth as seen in Genesis 47:24, 1 Kings 14:25, Nehemiah 6:5.

This is discussed further in the page for the suffix sit, but it is worth noting here that this nuance furthers the implied meaning of berasit by establishing a portion within the division.

Berasit appears 49 times in the Hebrew scriptures.

Genesis 1:1 not withstanding, berasit does not mean “in the beginning”, despite the unanimous mistranslation by essentially every Bible translation since the Greco-Roman classical period.

The phrase “in the beginning” is a temporal description. That is to say it is primarily concerned with time. In reality, berasit has very little to do with time, although it is tangentially related in some use-cases. I mention use-cases because the word berasit appears in several different types of scenarios. Only by examining each different scenario can we gain a full understanding of the nuanced meaning(s) of the word berasit.

The first type of scenario we will consider is the one with the most relevance to the suggestion of temporality. There are several specific instances in the text referring to specific events. These events mark a beginning, and thus, they are the closest we can reasonably come to the traditional “in the beginning” interpretation. However, an examination of the context reveals that there is a much richer implicit meaning within the word.

Jeremiah 26:1 opens with the word 'berasit' referring to the start of the reign of King Jehoiakim, son of Josiah king of Judah. The exact same phrase recurs in Jeremiah 27:1. Again in Jeremiah 28:1, a different king is referred to with the same phrasing, referring to the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. This same phrase is repeated in Jeremiah 49:34. The prophet Jeremiah uses the word berasit exclusively to refer to the beginning of the reign of a king. In terms of an event, this is coincident with a coronation. Keep the word “coronation” in mind, as we examine the other uses. As mentioned above regarding whether 'berasit' implies temporality, in these cases it does by explicitly referring to a specific event; a king's coronation. There is one other instance with strong temporal implications; Deuteronomy 11:12 uses 'berasit' to refer to the start of the year. While a coronation is an event that establishes a separation between kings, the new year is also an event separating this year from last year. If that doesn't seem important to you, check with your accountant. The new year is widely regarded as a time for establishing new rules and boundaries.

With this understanding, examine Genesis 10:10 - “we are establishing division a kingdom in Mesopotamia on Earth Akkadian the capital city Earth the land of Shinar”. Here the usage indicates a political and legal establishment within a clearly defined location. This brings us closer to the truth by moving away from a temporal event, to a long-lasting definition of a corporate body, specifically a political unit. This dual-meaning is still inherent in the English word “establishment” of both the company/corporation, and the action of it's being set up. For example, a shop owner may say “Welcome to my establishment. It was established in 1985”.

Thus we have both an action and an entity formed by that action. Keep this in mind as we examine the next fascinating facet of the usage of the word 'berasit'. Even within this framework of temporal implications it is already clear that the usual interpretation of 'berasit' in Genesis 1:1 as meaning “in the beginning” is highly misleading.

Before moving on, simply for the sake of thoroughness we must mention Job 40:19 which refers to “the Behemoth” establishing a division of trade routes into the mountains. This is an interesting case simply because the one performing the action of division. This will be examined further under the entry behemah.

In Genesis 49 we read of the patriarch Jacob upon his deathbed who calls his sons together in order to “bless them”.

Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. – Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

Jacob's use of the term 'berasit' here indicates that his becoming a father was critical to his establishment as a patriarch. Obviously, a patriarch is nothing without a family and household. It doesn't really make sense to interpret 'berasit' here as “the beginning of Jacob's strength”, for that would imply that Jacob had no strength before the birth of his son. Clearly a more metaphorical meaning is intended, but the text itself is not metaphorical. It literally speaks of the establishment of Jacob's power in terms of becoming “an establishment”.

It is worth noting that Jacob previously told his sons (in Genesis 48) about how the Elohim had “blessed” him. The word he uses here is 'berak', a word closely related to 'berasit', both being built on the root word 'bera'. We may observe that the blessing did not come to fruition until the establishment of Jacob's household by the birth of his first child.

Similar usage occurs in Job 8:7 we read that “Job's establishment (berasit) was small” but later increased abundantly because Jehovah “blessed” (berak) his later years more than his establishment (berasit).

In these two verses a link is made between a patriarch's establishment, and the action of blessing or being blessed. The two concepts are related (but not equivalent) both being based on the same root word, bera.

Lest we put too much weight on this, keep in mind that blessings and curses are not clearly differentiated in Hebrew. On the other side of the coin, the prophet Amos curses a group of leaders who appear to disdain a historically established border (or perhaps an established bloodline), as found in Amos6:1 - woe to the inert ones of Zion, the trusted ones on the mountain of Samaria stabbing the established division of nations (that) arrived their household Israel

The earliest uses in Genesis and Job are clear. The meaning in each case aligns with the concepts discussed above. However, the meaning does appear to shift somewhat after the Exodus. 'Berasit' now becomes used almost exclusively (aside from the later coronation events discussed above) in terms of choosing the best portion of a thing, to be dedicated for a special purpose.

This usage is most clear in Ezekiel 48:14 referring to the best part of the lands, and in Amos 6:6 referring to the highest quality skin care products. Additional examples can be found in Jeremiah 49:35 referring to the best soldiers in Elam, the elite sons of Ammon mentioned in Daniel 11:41, and the supposedly “best of the nations” mentioned in Numbers 24:20.

The mistranslating of 'berasit' as a beginning in time (due primarily to misreading Genesis 1:1), has led to a faulty correlation with time, which in turn led to a major doctrinal concept of its own. That is, the idea of “first fruits”. According to this teaching, the devout ought to offer the first results of any endeavor as dedicated or sometime literally given to Jehovah. In this context, 'berasit' is thought to indicate “the first and best”, despite some obvious flaws in the logic of equating first with best.

In terms of craftsmanship, the adage “practice makes perfect” indicates quite the opposite. That is, the better quality work will be performed not first but later, once the craftsman has honed his skills. In agriculture (the general context in which much of the ancient Hebrew texts are set) there are certain crops for which the correspondence may hold true, it is certainly not a tautology that first equals best. Granted, the farmer may be selective in some types of harvest. In one walks through an orchard at the beginning of harvest time there may only be a few ripe fruits which he may choose to hand select. The high quality of this harvest is therefore derived more from the investment of the farmers attention on each selecting each piece rather than from the actual time of year it was picked. The entire concept of first fruits is fundamentally flawed.

Etymologically, there is no word that supports the first fruits idea, other than a misapplication of 'berasit'. But berasit does not, and never did mean “first”. It can certainly be argued that is might mean “best”. This idea strays quite a bit from the literal meaning of “Established division” but in a metaphorical way it does make sense.

The texts themselves do not suffer from lack of meaning if one substitutes the more likely meaning of “best” instead of the flawed translation “first fruits”. In fact, the general meaning is only strengthened as we shall soon see:

• Exodus 23:19 - The best of your land you shall bring into the house of Yahweh
• Exodus 34:26 - The best products of your land you shall bring to the house of Yahweh
• Leviticus 2:12 - As for the offering of the best you shall offer them to Yahweh
• Leviticus 23:10 - bring a sheaf of the best of your harvest to the priest
• Numbers 15:20 - The best of your flour a cake of You shall offer up
• Numbers 18:12 - All the best of the oil and all the best of the new wine and the grain their best which they offer to Yahweh
• Deuteronomy 18:4 - The best of your grain and your wine and your oil and the best of the fleece of your sheep you shall give
• Deuteronomy 26:2 - That you shall take some of the best of all the produce of the ground which you shall bring from your land
• Deuteronomy 26:10 - Now behold I have brought - the best of the land
• Deuteronomy 33:21 - And He provided the best because there a portion for the lawgiver was reserved
• 1 Samuel 2:29 - why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded [in My] dwelling place and honor - your sons more than Me to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people
• 1 Samuel 15:21 - But took the people of the plunder sheep and oxen the best of the things
• 2 Chronicles 31:5 - the sons of Israel brought in abundance the best of grain and wine and oil and honey and all of the produce of the field
• Nehemiah 10:37 - And the best of our dough and our offerings and the fruit from all kinds of trees
• Nehemiah 12:44 - And were appointed at time that some over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings the best and the tithes to gather from the fields
• Proverbs 3:9 - Honor Yahweh with your possessions and with the best of all your increase
• Jeremiah 2:3 - Israel [was] to Yahweh the best of His increase
• Ezekiel 20:40 - I will accept them and there I will require your offerings and the best of your sacrifices
• Ezekiel 44:30 - And the best of your flour you shall give to the priest
• Hosea 9:10 - Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel as the best on the fig tree

It is self evident that the replacing of the word best instead of first fruits actually makes more sense in most of these instances.

However, since we are trying to find the real meaning of the word 'berasit', wouldn't it be nice if it had a single meaning instead of two? What would happen if instead of “best”, we replaced the already established meaning: “established division”? Could this make any sense within the textual context?

• Exodus 23:19 - The established division of your land you shall bring into the house of Yahweh
• Exodus 34:26 - The established division products of your land you shall bring to the house of Yahweh
• Leviticus 2:12 - As for the offering of the established division you shall offer them to Yahweh
• Leviticus 23:10 - bring a sheaf of the established division of your harvest to the priest
• Numbers 15:20 - The established division of your flour a cake of You shall offer up
• Numbers 18:12 - All the best of the oil and all the best of the new wine and the grain their established division which they offer to Yahweh
• Deuteronomy 18:4 - The established division of your grain and your wine and your oil and the established division of the fleece of your sheep you shall give
• Deuteronomy 26:2 - That you shall take some of the established division of all the produce of the ground which you shall bring from your land
• Deuteronomy 26:10 - Now behold I have brought - the established division of the land
• Deuteronomy 33:21 - And He provided the established division because there a portion for the lawgiver was reserved
• 1 Samuel 2:29 - why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded [in My] dwelling place and honor - your sons more than Me to make yourselves fat with the established division of all the offerings of Israel My people
• 1 Samuel 15:21 - But took the people of the plunder sheep and oxen the established division of the things
• 2 Chronicles 31:5 - the sons of Israel brought in abundance the established division of grain and wine and oil and honey and all of the produce of the field
• Nehemiah 10:37 - And the established division of our dough and our offerings and the fruit from all kinds of trees
• Nehemiah 12:44 - And were appointed at time that some over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings the established division and the tithes to gather from the fields
• Proverbs 3:9 - Honor Yahweh with your possessions and with the established division of all your increase
• Jeremiah 2:3 - Israel [was] to Yahweh the established division of His increase
• Ezekiel 20:40 - I will accept them and there I will require your offerings and the established division of your sacrifices
• Ezekiel 44:30 - And the established division of your flour you shall give to the priest
• Hosea 9:10 - Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel as the established division on the fig tree

This substitution does indeed work. Arguably, it makes even more sense in a few instances, particularly a few where the “best” would be difficult to qualify. For example, in the case of flour it is unlikely that a seminomadic ancient bronze age society would keep different “quality grades” of flour in an average household. The concept of a certain predetermined percentage as a tax is more feasible. This is also borne out in the legal terms used in some of these verses. Deuteronomy 33:21 speaks of the “reserved portion for the lawgiver”, and 1 Samuel 2:29 and 1 Samuel 15:21 scorn those who have resisted the tax. Nehemiah 12:44 even mentions a specific storage room where the tax will be kept. We are not talking about religious offerings here, but rather economic segmentation. It just so happens that the officials in charge of income tax are called priest, as indicated in Ezekiel 44:30.

We now see that the concept of first fruit is not only absent from the lexiconography of the original text, but it caused an unnecessary division in translating the word 'barashit' where the single meaning is actually quite sufficient.

There is a further advantage to sticking with the concept of the established division as a specific portion. That is, it more closely fits the inherent range of meaning within the suffix 'sit' - that of a mathematical division, as discussed further in its own dictionary entry.

However, we left a couple of entries out of the above list. These ones are seen to refer to a firstborn child, and thus the context is somewhat different:

• Psalms78:51 - And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt 
• Psalms105:36 - And He destroyed all the firstborn in their land
• Deuteronomy 21:17 - But the firstborn son of the unloved wife he shall acknowledge by giving a double portion

Even here though, it harkens back to the previously discussed meanings as we already saw in the case of Jacob's first-born being the establishing even of his household. These verses may indicate the destruction of established households by way of the death of the sons.

There is still one further group of instances to consider. In these, although the word “beginning” may appear, the typical understanding is that of a foundation, and this is not far off from the concept of establishment of a division.

• Psalms 111:10 - the beginning of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh
• Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of Yahweh [is] the beginning of knowledge
• Proverbs 4:7 - The principal thing Wisdom [is] [Therefore] get wisdom and in all your getting get understanding
• Proverbs 8:22 - Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of His way Before His works from then
• Proverbs 17:14 - [is like] releasing water the beginning of strife therefore before a quarrel starts Contention stop
• Ecclesiastes 7:8 - better the end of a thing than its beginning [is] better the slow in spirit than the high in spirit
• Isaiah 46:10 - Declaring from the beginning the end and from ancient times [things] that not are [yet] done Saying My counsel shall stand and all My pleasure I will do
• Micah1:13 - the beginning of sin she [was] to the daughter of Zion

Granted, most of these are a bit difficult to parse as it is, but what happens if we substitute

• Psalms 111:10 - the established division of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh
• Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of Yahweh [is] the established division of knowledge
• Proverbs 4:7 - The established division Wisdom [is] [Therefore] get wisdom and in all your getting get understanding
• Proverbs 8:22 - Yahweh possessed me at the established division of His way Before His works from then
• Proverbs 17:14 - [is like] releasing water the established division of strife therefore before a quarrel starts Contention stop
• Ecclesiastes 7:8 - better the end of a thing than its established division, better the slow in spirit than the high in spirit (bearing in mind the depressingly morose nature of the book of Ecclesiastes)
• Isaiah 46:10 - Declaring from the established division the end and from ancient times [things] that not are [yet] done Saying My counsel shall stand and all My pleasure I will do
• Micah1:13 - the established division of sin she [was] to the daughter of Zion

These proverbs may require some mulling over, but there does seem to be some wisdom within this particular interpretation.

At the outset of this article we proposed that in its simplest form, we can read 'berasit' as “established division”. We then performed an exhaustive literary review, examined every instance of the word, and found that even in some cases where perhaps another interpretation might be justifiable, in no case was it truly necessary.

Although it is always highly recommended to be informed and cognizant of possible semantic subtleties, in every instance 'berasit' quite simply can be translated to means “established division”.