Strong’s Dictionary
אִישׁ
ish
contraction of H582 ; man as masculine individual or person; which is often used as an adjunct to a more def term. (and in such cases it is often not expressed in the translations): some, corpse, married, worthy, foreigner, stranger, man, human, Ishi, farmer, male, husband, sailor, paladin, person, soldier, male. Compare with H802.
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Chavez Dictionary
(I) אִישׁ
1) Man, both generic and in contrast to “woman” (Gen 1:26; Gen 2:24).
2) Male child (Gen 4:1).
3) Husband (Gen 3:6; Comp. Hos. 2:18/Hos 2:16).
4) Person (Ps. 62:10/Ps. 62:9; Job 38:26).
5) Remarkable people (Ps. 49:3/Ps. 49:2).
6) Denotes dedication to something or someone:
a) ish naví = prophet man (Jdg 6:8). b) ish adamáh = man of the land, that is, a man dedicated to cultivating the land, a farmer (Gen 9:20). c) ish Elohim = man of God (1Sa 9:7).
7) Denotes belonging to a group:
a) anshei ha-báyit = the men of the house, that is, the slaves (Gen 39:11). b) anshei David = David’s men (1Sa 23:3).
8) Denotes gentile:
a) anshei Ninveh = the men of Nineveh = the Ninevites (Jon 3:5). b) ish Yehudáh = man of Judah (Collect.:
men of Judah; Isaiah 5:3).
9) Denotes reciprocity:
ish et ajiv = a man to his brother = each one to his neighbor (Ex 32:27).
10) Indefinite use:
a) Someone (Gen 13:16). b) None (Gen 23:6; Exo 16:19).
11) Distributive use:
Each one, as in ish halomó = each one his own dream (Gen 40:5; Comp. Jer 23:36; Es 1:8).
12) Male of the animals:
ish ve-ishtó = male and female (Gen 7:2). — Suf. אִישִׁי; Pl. אֲנָשִׁים (אִישִׁים in Isa 53:3); Const. אַנְשֵׁי; Suf. אֲנָשָׁיו, אַנְשֵׁיכֶם.
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Vine AT Dictionary
îsh (אִישׁ, H376), «man; husband; partner; human being; human; someone; each; everybody”. There are cognates of this word in Phoenician, Punic, Old Aramaic, and Old Southern Arabic. The name appears some 2,183 times and in all periods of Biblical Hebrew. The plural of this name is usually îm, although 3 times it is îshîm (Ps 53:3).
Basically the term means the “man” in his relationship with the woman; that is, “man” is a creature distinguished by his virility. This is the emphasis in Gen 2:24 (first case): “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife.” Sometimes the phrase “man and woman” can mean individuals of any age, including children: “When an ox gores a man or a woman, and they die, the ox will be stoned to death” (Ex 21:28 KJV). It can also express an inclusive group, with children: «They destroyed everything in the city with the edge of the sword; men and women, young and old, even oxen, sheep, and donkeys” (Joshua 6:21). Sometimes this same idea is expressed more explicitly by the series of words “men, women and children”: “You shall gather the people, men, women, children and foreigners who are in your cities” (Deu 31:12 RGB).
Îsh is often used in conjugal contexts (cf. Gen 2:24) in the sense of “husband” or “fellow”: “Take wives and beget sons and daughters, take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands so that they give birth to sons and daughters” (Jer 29:6 LBA). A virgin is described as a young woman who has not known a “man” (“husband”): “And she went with her companions, and she wept for her virginity on the mountains. After two months she returned to her father, who made her according to the vow he had made of her. And she never knew man” (Judges 11:38-39). The meaning “couple” appears in Gen 7: 2, where the word refers to male animals: “From every clean animal you shall take seven partners, a male and his female.”
A special nuance of ‘îsh appears in passages such as Gen 3:6, where “husband” means a “man” who bears the responsibility of a wife or woman and is revered by her: “And she also gave to her husband, who ate as well as she”. This emphasis is also found in Hos 2:16 where it refers to God (cf. the Hebrew word ba’al).
Sometimes the term indicates that some particular person is a “real man.” As such, he is strong, influential, and skillful in battle: “Be strong, O Philistines, and be men, lest you serve the Hebrews as they have served you. Be men and fight!” (1Sa 4:9 KJV).
In a few cases ‘îsh is used as a synonym for “father”: “We are all sons of one man” (Gen 42:11 KJV). In other passages, the term means “son” (cf. Gen 2:24).
In the plural the word can refer to groups of men who serve or obey a superior. Pharaoh’s men escorted Abram: “And Pharaoh ordered his people to escort Abram and his wife, with all that he had” (Gen 12:20 RV-95). In a similar but more general sense, the word can refer to people who belong to someone else or to something: “For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land has been defiled” (Lev 18: 27).
In very few cases (and in late historical literature), this word is used as a collective noun referring to an entire group: “And his servant answered: How shall I put this before a hundred men?” (2Ki 4:43).
Many passages use ‘îsh in the more general generic sense of “man” (‘adam), a human being: “Whoever strikes any man, thus causing him to die, he shall die” (Ex 21:12). Even if someone beat or killed a woman or a child, the guilty party must die. See Deu 27:15 : “Cursed is the man who makes a graven image or a cast image.” The term is used when you want to establish a contrast between people and animals: «But among all the children of Israel, not a dog will bark at them, neither at men nor at animals» (Exo 11:7 NIV). The same nuance serves to contrast between God and the human being: “God is not a man, that he should lie” (Num 23:19).
Sometimes ‘îsh is indefinite, meaning “someone” or “someone” (“they”): “I will cause your offspring to be like the dust of the earth. If someone can count the dust of the earth, your offspring can also be counted” (Gen 13:16 KJV; “some” KJV). In other passages the term has the meaning of “every one” (Gen 40:5) or “every one” (Jer 23:35).
The word ‘ishôn means “little man”. This diminutive of the name, which appears 3 times, has a cognate in Arabic. Although literally meaning “little man,” it refers to the pupil of the eye and is thus translated (cf. Deu 32:10; “the apple of his eye”).
Source: Various Authors