### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **pâshach**, represented by `{{H6582}}`, is a primitive root that means **to tear in pieces** or **pull in pieces**. This specific and forceful term appears only **1 time** in the entire Bible, making its single usage particularly significant.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
The sole appearance of `{{H6582}}` is in [[Lamentations 3:11]], a passage describing intense personal suffering at the hand of God. The verse reads, "He hath turned aside my ways, and **pulled me in pieces**: he hath made me desolate." Here, the word portrays a violent and complete dismantling of the individual. It is not just a deviation from a path, but a total destruction of the person, which directly leads to a state of desolation `{{H8074}}`.
### Related Words & Concepts
The context in [[Lamentations 3:11]] links `{{H6582}}` to several other key actions and concepts:
* `{{H5493}}` **çûwr**: A primitive root meaning **to turn off**. In its context, it describes a deliberate deviation or departure, as when God promises to take away the "stony heart" [[Ezekiel 36:26]] or when a person is warned not to depart from God's instruction [[Proverbs 22:6]].
* `{{H1870}}` **derek**: This word signifies **a road** or, figuratively, **a course of life or mode of action**. Scripture repeatedly uses it to describe a person's moral and spiritual path, such as when the wicked is called to forsake his "way" [[Isaiah 55:7]] or when one is instructed to acknowledge God in all their "ways" [[Proverbs 3:6]].
* `{{H7760}}` **sûwm**: A primitive root that means **to put** or **appoint**. It is used in a wide variety of applications, from God putting His words in someone's mouth [[Isaiah 59:21]] to appointing beauty for ashes [[Isaiah 61:3]].
* `{{H8074}}` **shâmêm**: A primitive root meaning **to stun, devastate, or be desolate**. This word captures the result of judgment or tragedy, such as when the land lay "desolate" to fulfill its sabbaths [[2 Chronicles 36:21]] or when many were "astonied" at the marred visage of the suffering servant [[Isaiah 52:14]].
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H6582}}` is concentrated in its singular, potent application.
* **The Severity of Divine Judgment:** The word is used to express the extremity of God's judgment. The experience is not a gentle correction but a violent tearing apart, illustrating the profound consequences of sin or a period of divine testing.
* **Complete Personal Ruin:** To be "pulled in pieces" signifies a holistic destruction. It follows the turning aside of one's "ways" `{{H1870}}`, suggesting that once a life's course is corrupted, the person themselves is subject to being dismantled.
* **The Foundation of Desolation:** The act of being pulled in pieces is the direct cause of being made "desolate" `{{H8074}}` in [[Lamentations 3:11]]. It graphically depicts how judgment leads to a state of utter ruin and emptiness.
### Summary
In summary, while extremely rare, `{{H6582}}` **pâshach** provides a uniquely graphic and powerful image within scripture. Its single use in [[Lamentations 3:11]] defines an experience of being violently torn apart as a direct act of God. It functions as a crucial middle point in a process of judgment, sitting between the turning of one's path and the resulting state of complete desolation.
TRV