Word

יָצַר

yâtsar · H3335 · Hebrew · 62 occurrences

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Meanings

to form or fashion

Action by which humans or deities create an object, described as an artisan shaping clay into an artifact

Examples
Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person.
Genesis 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
to form or frame

Literally to form, hence action by which humans or deities cause a certain pattern of events to take place, described as an artisan shaping clay

Examples
Psalm 74:17 You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have created summer and winter.
Psalm 94:20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which devises mischief by decree?
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
to plan or design

Action by which deities conceive events in their minds, described as an artisan shaping clay into an artifact

Examples
2 Kings 19:25 ‘Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it about, That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.
Isaiah 22:11 And you made a reservoir between the two walls For the waters of the old pool. But you did not depend on Him who made it, Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.
Isaiah 37:26 “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it, From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it about That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.

How it’s used In 11 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

33 occurrences in 11 groups

Not stated (participle) 13
Not stated: I 7
Not stated: he, she or it 4
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

27 occurrences in 20 groups

הָher 5
ךָּyou 4
Other words · 18 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

16 occurrences in 17 groups

מִןfrom+ בֶּטֶןwomb, belly 3
Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16

With adverbsAdverbs

2 occurrences in 2 groups

יַחַדtogether 1
לֹאnot 1

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

13 occurrences in 7 groups

וֹhim 6
כֹּלall, every, whole 2
חֶרֶשׂearthenware vessel 1
עַיִןeye, sight 1
פֶּסֶלgraven image 1
ךָּyou 1

Named alongside itApposition

8 occurrences in 2 groups

יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 7
כִּסֵּאthrone, seat 1

What it doesIt is the subject

4 occurrences in 4 groups

חָנַןto be gracious, to have mercy 1
חָשַׁבto think about 1
פָּסַלto cut 1
בָּטַחto trust, to rely on 1

What is done to itIt is the object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

רָאָהto see 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

4 occurrences in 3 groups

הוּאhe, she, it 2
הֵםthey, them 1
אַתָּהyou 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

6 occurrences in 4 groups

אֵלto, toward 4
לto/for 4
אֵתwith 2
כְּמוֹas, like 1

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

11 occurrences in 6 groups

יָדhand, power 3
כְּלִיvessel, utensil, weapon 3
בַּיִתhouse, household 2
בַּקְבֻּקjug 1
נֶבֶלharp, jar 1
עַיִןeye, sight 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

In the other Testament 1 word

κεραμεύς kerameús · G2763 · potter: Greek κεραμεύς specifically denotes the agent noun 'potter' (one who forms pottery), corresponding to the agent/occupational sense within Hebrew יָצַר's broader semantic range that includes both the action of forming/fashioning and the artisan who performs it.

Semantic domains 5 entries

Professions001001003009: יָצַר names the potter's craft, the professional role of one who shapes clay, as seen in the pottery listed among goods brought to David (2 Samuel 17:28).
Dust001002005005: יָצַר describes forming something from the ground's dust, as the LORD 'formed the man of dust from the ground' (Genesis 2:7).
Exist002002002005: יָצַר marks the point at which something comes into being through shaping, as every animal and bird was formed and brought into existence (Genesis 2:19).
Happen002002003003: יָצַר describes a purpose or plan being brought about, illustrated at 2 Kings 19:25 ("from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it about") — a genuine sense of an outcome shaped into being.
Think002004002013: The same verse, 2 Kings 19:25, also illustrates the verb's sense of forming a plan or purpose in the mind ("long ago I did it; from ancient times I planned it") — a genuine sense of shaping intention before its outcome.

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

יָצַרyâtsar · H3335יֵצֶר yêtser · H3336 · what is formed, thought, tendency · 9×יָצֻר yâtsur · H3338 · members, limbs · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3335. yatsar יָצַר verb form, fashion (Late Hebrew in participle יוֺצֵר potter, creator,…

H3335. yatsar
יָצַר verb form, fashion (Late Hebrew in participle יוֺצֵר potter, creator, and derivatives; Phoenician יצר potter; יצר ᵑ7 Syriac = יֵצֶר etc.; Arabic covenant, contract; Assyrian êƒêru, as Hebrew, DlHWB 309) —
Qal Perfect ׳י Isa 44:10; יָצָ֑ר Gen 2:8; suffix יְצָרָהּ Isa 45:18; Isa 45:2masculine יָצַרְתָּ Psa 104:26 Psa 104:8t. Perfect; Imperfect3masculine וַיִּ֫יצֶר Gen 2:7; וַיִּ֫צֶר Gen 2:19; suffix יִצְּרֵהוּ Isa 44:12; Isa 44:1singular suffix אֶצֳּו֯רְךָ Jer 1:5; Participle יוֺצֵר Isa 41:25 Isa 41:20t.; יֹצֵר Isa 45:18 Isa 45:6t.; suffix יֹצְרִי Isa 49:5 Isa 49:11t. suffix; plural יוֺצְרִים Isa 30:14; 1Ch 4:23; construct יֹצְרֵי Isa 44:9; —
1 of human activity:
a. of a potter who forms out of clay a vessel Isa 29:16; Isa 41:25; Jer 18:4 (twice in verse); Jer 18:6 (twice in verse); 1Ch 4:23; Lam 4:2; Zec 11:13 (twice in verse) (these last two according to Thes SS et al. error for אוֺצָר); (ה)י ׳כְּלִי potter's vessel 2Sa 17:28; Psa 2:9; Jer 19:11; הי ׳חֹמֶר potter's clay Isa 29:16; י ׳נֵבֶל Isa 30:14; י ׳בַּקְבֻּק Jer 19:1 הי ׳בית Jer 18:2-3,.
b. of a carver of wood, graven images Isa 44:9-10, Isa 44:12; Hab 2:18 (twice in verse).
c. frame, devise in the mind ׳י עָמָל Psa 94:20.
2 of divine activity:
a. (as a potter) forming Adam out of עפר from אדמה Gen 2:7-8, (J), beasts and birds, also from אדמה Gen 2:19 (J); Israel as a people Isa 27:11; Isa 43:1, Isa 43:21; Isa 44:21; Isa 45:9 (twice in verse); Isa 45:11; Isa 64:7, even from the womb Isa 44:2, Isa 44:24; the servant of Yahweh from the womb Isa 49:5; of the formation of the individual man Isa 43:7; Jeremiah in the womb Jer 1:5; the eye of man Psa 94:9; the locust Amo 7:1; Leviathan Psa 104:26; the dry land Psa 95:5; the earth Isa 45:18 (twice in verse); the mountains Amo 4:13; הַכֹּל Jer 10:16 = Jer 51:19. Figurative perhaps lost sight of in some of the above, and quite certainly in the forming of light Isa 45:7, of summer and winter Psa 74:17, the רוּחַ of man Zec 12:1, and the לב of men Psa 33:15.
b. figurative for frame, pre-ordain, plan (in divine purpose), of a situation מֵרָחוֺק Isa 22:11; of an occurrence קֶדֶם מִימֵי Isa 37:26 = 2Ki 19:25; אֶעֱשֶׂנָּה אַף יָצַרְתִּי I have planned, I will also do it 2Ki 46:11; ׳י על רעה Jer 18:11; ׳י לַהֲכִינָהּ devised it to establish it Jer 33:2.
Niph`al Perfect אֵל לֹאנֿוֺצַר לְפָנַי Isa 43:10 before me a god was not formed (created).
Pu`al Perfect יצָֻּ֑רוּ יָמִים days (that) were pre-ordained (in the divine purpose) Psa 139:16 (compare Qal, 2 b).
Hoph`al Imperfect יִצְלָ֑ח לֹא עָלַיִךְ יוּצַר כָּלכְּֿלִי Isa 54:17 any weapon that is formed against thee will not prosper.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Professions12 occurrences Dust5 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0