מֵצַר
mêtsar · H4712 · Hebrew · 3 occurrences
Meanings
-
distress
A state in which humans experience extreme anxiety, as a result of difficult circumstances, as if one were confined to a narrow and cramped space from which there is no escape
ExamplesPsalm 116:3 The snares of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.
Psalm 118:5 From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and put me in an open space.
Lamentations 1:3 Judah has gone into exile out of affliction And harsh servitude; She lives among the nations, But she has not found a resting place; All those who pursued her have overtaken her In the midst of distress.
How it’s used In 3 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- שְׁאוֹלworld of the dead 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מָצָאto find 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- מִןfrom 2
- בֵּיןbetween, among 2
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.
Contrasting words 2 words
- רֶוַח revach · H7305 · space, distance, relief
- רְוָחָה denotes relief, respite, and a sense of spaciousness or enlargement, the direct lexical opposite of מֵצַר which denotes constriction, narrowness, and distress. The contrast is between being hemmed in (מֵצַר) and having room/relief (רְוָחָה).
- מֶרְחָב merchâb · H4800 · broad, at ease
- מֶרְחָב denotes a broad or spacious place, representing freedom and relief from constriction, the direct spatial and metaphorical opposite of מֵצַר which denotes narrowness and being in straits.
In the other Testament 2 words
- θλῖψις thlîpsis · G2347 · trouble and suffering, suffering, persecution
- θλῖψις is the standard Greek translation equivalent for Hebrew words denoting distress, affliction, and tribulation, regularly used in LXX to render מֵצַר and its cognate family, representing the same semantic field of external pressure and internal anguish.
- στενοχωρία stenochōría · G4730 · distress, difficulty
- στενοχωρία literally means 'narrow space' and refers to being in straits or distress, closely matching the semantic range of מֵצַר which can denote both literal narrowness and metaphorical distress. Used in LXX for similar Hebrew distress terminology.
Semantic domains 1 entry
- Afraid002001002001
- The word denotes distress or dire straits closely tied to terror, as in the psalmist's cry that the snares of death and the terrors of Sheol had come upon him along with distress and sorrow.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4712. metsar מֵצַר noun [masculine] straits, distress; — absolute קָרָאתִי הַמֵּצַר מִןֿ…
מֵצַר noun [masculine] straits, distress; — absolute קָרָאתִי הַמֵּצַר מִןֿ Psa 118:5; plural הַמְּצָרִים Lam 1:3 the distresses, of conquered Judah; construct שְׁאוֺל מְצָרֵי Psa 116:3 the straits of Sheol, i.e. the worst possible (|| חֶבְלֵימָֿוֶת).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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
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