8366. shathan
Lexical Summary
shathan: To urinate

Original Word: שָׁתַן
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shathan
Pronunciation: shah-than'
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-than')
KJV: piss
NASB: every
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (causatively) to make water, i.e. urinate

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
piss

A primitive root; (causatively) to make water, i.e. Urinate -- piss.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
denominative verb from shayin
Definition
to urinate
NASB Translation
every (3), male* (6).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[שָׁתַן] verb Hiph`il urinate (secondary √ from above); — Participle מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר (i.e. a male person) 1 Samuel 25:22,34; 1 Kings 14:10; 1 Kings 16:11; 1 Kings 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8 (all of exterminating a family).

שׁיר (√ of following, compare NöZMG xxxvii (1883), 537).

Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Idiomatic Force

שָׁתַן appears only in the stereotyped phrase “one who urinates against the wall,” an earthy idiom that marks out a male. Far from casual vulgarity, the expression functions as a vivid forensic marker: the entire male line of a household is placed under sentence of elimination. The image of a male relieving himself while standing is concrete, memorable, and unmistakably gender-specific; its rhetorical power lies in evoking the total extinction of a family’s future and its name within Israel.

Occurrences and Narrative Settings

1 Samuel 25:22, 34 – David, enraged by Nabal’s insult, vows to annihilate every male of Nabal’s household before Abigail’s intercession averts bloodshed.

1 Kings 14:10 – Ahijah prophesies that the house of Jeroboam will lose “every male in Israel, both slave and free.”

1 Kings 16:11 – Zimri, after assassinating Elah, “struck down all the household of Baasha,” fulfilling the earlier prophetic word.

1 Kings 21:21 – Elijah pronounces the same formula against Ahab after Naboth’s vineyard is seized.

2 Kings 9:8 – Jehu receives an identical promise concerning the house of Ahab.

In every scene the phrase rises during watershed moments of covenant judgment, underscoring Yahweh’s resolve to excise rebellious leadership from His people.

Historical and Covenant Context

Ancient Near Eastern dynasties stood or fell with the production of male heirs. By targeting “every male,” the Lord declares not merely the death of individuals but the assured collapse of dynastic continuity. For Israel, whose tribal allotments and royal legitimacy rested on patrilineal descent, such a verdict meant the erasure of a name from land, memory, and Messianic possibility (compare Deuteronomy 25:6). The repetition of the formula against Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab traces a theological arc: idolatry and injustice fracture covenant loyalty, and divine justice responds with decisive, lineage-level consequences.

Theological Significance of Male Line Judgment

1. Covenant Fidelity: The judgments make plain that kings who lead Israel into sin threaten the covenant community itself; God therefore severs their line to protect His redemptive purposes.
2. Prophetic Reliability: Each fulfillment demonstrates that the prophetic word never falls to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19). History records the exact outworking of the oracle—down to the gender and status (“slave and free”) of the victims.
3. Messianic Preservation: By pruning corrupt lines, the Lord preserves the Davidic promise and the genealogy that will culminate in Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16), highlighting sovereign governance over salvation history.

Translation Choices and Reverent Speech

Modern English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, render the idiom as “every male,” choosing clarity over literalism while retaining the full scope of judgment. This demonstrates responsible translation: capturing intent, guarding reverence, and avoiding unnecessary offense. Yet the starkness of the original phrase should not be lost on readers; it conveys a seriousness that more generic language might soften.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Divine Jealousy for Holiness: Leaders who despise God’s law endanger their followers and their descendants. Teaching on these texts confronts complacency in spiritual leadership today (James 3:1).
• The Peril of Rash Vows: David’s near-disaster in 1 Samuel 25 warns against ungoverned anger and the making of oaths outside God’s counsel (Ecclesiastes 5:2).
• God’s Patient Mercy: Although the phrase signals total ruin, the Lord often grants space for repentance before executing sentence (2 Kings 9:7-10 follows years of prophetic warning).
• Assurance of Ultimate Justice: Believers troubled by persistent evil can rest in God’s promise to judge decisively and uproot unrighteous powers (Revelation 19:1-2).

Conclusion

שָׁתַן serves as more than a colloquialism; it is a theological signpost. In six strategic passages the phrase brands covenant infidelity with a verdict of irreversible loss, validating the prophets, safeguarding redemptive history, and admonishing every generation to walk in humble obedience before the God who both forms and ends dynasties according to His righteous will.

Forms and Transliterations
מַשְׁתִּ֣ין מַשְׁתִּ֥ין משתין maš·tîn mashTin maštîn
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Englishman's Concordance
1 Samuel 25:22
HEB: עַד־ הַבֹּ֖קֶר מַשְׁתִּ֥ין בְּקִֽיר׃
NAS: I leave [as much as] one male of any
KJV: light any that pisseth against the wall.
INT: by morning pisseth the wall

1 Samuel 25:34
HEB: א֥וֹר הַבֹּ֖קֶר מַשְׁתִּ֥ין בְּקִֽיר׃
NAS: light [as much as] one male.
KJV: light any that pisseth against the wall.
INT: light the morning pisseth the wall

1 Kings 14:10
HEB: וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י לְיָֽרָבְעָם֙ מַשְׁתִּ֣ין בְּקִ֔יר עָצ֥וּר
NAS: from Jeroboam every male person, both bond
KJV: from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall,
INT: and will cut Jeroboam every the wall bond

1 Kings 16:11
HEB: הִשְׁאִ֥יר ל֖וֹ מַשְׁתִּ֣ין בְּקִ֑יר וְגֹאֲלָ֖יו
NAS: he did not leave a single male, neither of his relatives
KJV: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall,
INT: did not leave pisseth A wall of his relatives

1 Kings 21:21
HEB: וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י לְאַחְאָב֙ מַשְׁתִּ֣ין בְּקִ֔יר וְעָצ֥וּר
NAS: from Ahab every male, both bond
KJV: from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall,
INT: and will cut Ahab every the wall bond

2 Kings 9:8
HEB: וְהִכְרַתִּ֤י לְאַחְאָב֙ מַשְׁתִּ֣ין בְּקִ֔יר וְעָצ֥וּר
NAS: from Ahab every male person both bond
KJV: from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall,
INT: will cut Ahab every the wall bond

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8366
6 Occurrences


maš·tîn — 6 Occ.

8365b
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