2808. cheshbon
Lexical Summary
cheshbon: Account, plan, thought, reasoning

Original Word: חֶשְׁבּוֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: cheshbown
Pronunciation: khesh-bone'
Phonetic Spelling: (khesh-bone')
KJV: account, device, reason
NASB: explanation
Word Origin: [from H2803 (חָשַׁב - considered)]

1. (properly) contrivance
2. (by implication) intelligence

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
account, device, reason

From chashab; properly, contrivance; by implication, intelligence -- account, device, reason.

see HEBREW chashab

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from chashab
Definition
a reckoning, account
NASB Translation
explanation (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. חֶשְׁבּוֺן noun masculine reckoning, account (Late Hebrew Aramaic id.) Ecclesiastes 9:10, ׳בקּשׁ ח Ecclesiastes 7:25, ׳מצא ח Ecclesiastes 7:27.

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Concept

חֶשְׁבּוֹן conveys the idea of mental calculation—deliberation, accounting, or thoughtful planning. It is not a cold mathematics of the mind only, but an intentional weighing of life’s realities before God. The word belongs to the vocabulary of wisdom, calling people to reflect with clarity, integrity, and purpose.

Occurrences in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 7:25

“I turned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness”.

Qoheleth demonstrates that true wisdom demands diligent “explanation” (חֶשְׁבּוֹן). Spiritual and moral discernment arises from careful thought, not impulsive opinion.

Ecclesiastes 7:27

“‘Behold, I have discovered this,’ says the Teacher. ‘Adding one thing to another to find an explanation’”.

Here חֶשְׁבּוֹן becomes the product of cumulative investigation—line upon line, “adding one thing to another.” Wisdom grows through persistent, orderly evaluation of evidence under the fear of the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for there is no work or planning, knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going”.

חֶשְׁבּוֹן (“planning”) is contrasted with the finality of death. While breath remains, thoughtful planning enables wholehearted service; once Sheol is reached, the opportunity to plan for God’s glory is gone.

Literary Setting within Wisdom Literature

Ecclesiastes presses its readers to wrestle with life “under the sun.” חֶשְׁבּוֹן supplies the intellectual framework for that wrestling. The Teacher’s use of the term underscores a recurrent wisdom motif: the righteous person constantly re-examines motives and outcomes in the light of divine reality (compare Proverbs 4:26; 5:6).

Theological Themes

1. Human accountability. Deliberation is necessary because actions will be weighed by God (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
2. The limits of human reasoning. Even diligent חֶשְׁבּוֹן cannot exhaust God’s purposes (Ecclesiastes 8:17). Wisdom is prized, yet humbly held.
3. Stewardship of life. Planning is portrayed as a gift bound to earthly existence; its absence beyond the grave highlights the urgency of present obedience.

Practical Implications for Discipleship and Ministry

• Encourage believers to cultivate disciplined reflection before decisions, budgets, ministry strategies, or doctrinal conclusions.
• Model accountability structures in church life that invite collective חֶשְׁבּוֹן—prayerful evaluation of motives and outcomes.
• Teach the brevity of life (Psalm 90:12) alongside Ecclesiastes 9:10, motivating fervent, well-thought service now.
• Equip the next generation to integrate faith and intellect, showing that biblical faith never bypasses reason but redeems it.

Connections with the Wider Canon

The root concept appears when faith is “credited” to Abraham as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), when iniquity is “counted” (Psalm 32:2), and when craftsmen “devise” artistic designs for the sanctuary (Exodus 35:32). Across these contexts, thoughtful calculation serves covenant purposes—justification, forgiveness, worship, and artistry. In the New Testament, the call to “consider” (Romans 6:11) and to “reckon” God faithful (Hebrews 11:19) echoes the same impulse: believers are to exercise sanctified reasoning grounded in revelation.

Summary

חֶשְׁבּוֹן stands at the intersection of thought and faith, urging God’s people to measure life carefully, pursue wisdom diligently, and act decisively while time remains.

Forms and Transliterations
וְחֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן֙ וחשבון חֶשְׁבּֽוֹן׃ חשבון׃ cheshBon ḥeš·bō·wn ḥešbōwn vecheshBon wə·ḥeš·bō·wn wəḥešbōwn
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Englishman's Concordance
Ecclesiastes 7:25
HEB: וּבַקֵּ֥שׁ חָכְמָ֖ה וְחֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן וְלָדַ֙עַת֙ רֶ֣שַׁע
NAS: wisdom and an explanation, and to know
KJV: wisdom, and the reason [of things], and to know
INT: seek wisdom and an explanation cunning the evil

Ecclesiastes 7:27
HEB: לְאַחַ֖ת לִמְצֹ֥א חֶשְׁבּֽוֹן׃
NAS: to find an explanation,
KJV: by one, to find out the account:
INT: thing to find an explanation

Ecclesiastes 9:10
HEB: אֵ֨ין מַעֲשֶׂ֤ה וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן֙ וְדַ֣עַת וְחָכְמָ֔ה
KJV: for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
INT: there activity device knowledge wisdom

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2808
3 Occurrences


ḥeš·bō·wn — 1 Occ.
wə·ḥeš·bō·wn — 2 Occ.

2807
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