עַז
ʻaz · H5794 · Hebrew · 23 occurrences
Meanings
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strong, fierce, powerful, mighty
State in which a person, animal, substance, or force has the ability to exert great force
ExamplesGenesis 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
Exodus 14:21 Then Moses reached out with his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
Numbers 13:28 “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And indeed, we saw the descendants of Anak there!
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fortified
State in which an area is well defended and able to resist attacks
ExamplesNumbers 21:24 Then Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the border of the sons of Ammon was Jazer.
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harsh
State in which words are spoken without a hint of friendliness or compassion
ExamplesProverbs 18:23 A poor person utters pleadings, But a rich person answers defiantly.
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grim-faced, merciless
Literally: strong faced; hence: state in which humans are without compassion which shows in their facial expression
ExamplesDeuteronomy 28:50 a nation with a defiant attitude, who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.
Daniel 8:23 “And in the latter period of their dominion, When the wrongdoers have run their course, A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
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strong, fierce, intense
State in which a state is very intense
ExamplesGenesis 49:7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.
Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.
Song of Solomon 8:6 “Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flames are flames of fire, The flame of the LORD.
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stronghold
A construction that is strong and able to resist attacks
ExamplesAmos 5:9 It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress.
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- גּוּרto sojourn 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- עָנָהto answer 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
5 occurrences in 5 groups
- גְּבוּלborder, territory 1
- אַהֲבָהlove 1
- כֶּלֶבdog 1
- מָהwhat?, why? 1
- עַםpeople 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- מִןfrom 2
- עַלon, upon, over, against 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- גָּאוֹןpride, majesty 1
- יֶתֶרremainder 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.
Near synonyms 6 words
- עָצוּם ʻâtsûwm · H6099 · numerous
- Both words denote strength and might, and "mighty, strong" appears among the renderings of both.
- חָזָק châzâq · H2389 · strong, powerful, mighty
- Both words are adjectives of strength and intensity with overlapping sense ("strong," "mighty," "intense"), describing force, power and intensity.
- חָסֹן châçôn · H2634 · strong, powerful
- Both words denote strength. חָסֹן (châçôn, H2634) is a focused adjective meaning "strong," while עַז (ʻaz, H5794) has a broader range ("fierce, mighty, strong"), and they overlap in the core sense of strength.
- קָשֶׁה qâsheh · H7186 · hard, harsh, savage
- Both words convey harshness, cruelty and intensity, and could substitute in many contexts describing harsh treatment or a fierce character.
- אַמִּיץ ʼammîyts · H533 · strong, powerful, brave
- Both words denote qualities of strength and could describe might or intensity.
- אַכְזָר ʼakzâr · H393 · cruel, fierce
- אַכְזָר glosses as ‘cruel, fierce’; the target lexeme glosses more broadly as ‘fierce, greedy, mighty, strong,’ spanning strength, cruelty, and intensity. The two overlap genuinely in the shared ‘fierce/cruel’ sense, making them near-synonyms in contexts denoting harshness or cruelty, though the target lexeme carries additional senses of strength and intensity beyond that overlap.
In the other Testament 2 words
- ἰσχυρός ischyrós · G2478 · powerful, strong, vigorous
- Greek ἰσχυρός denotes forcible strength or might, serving as a direct functional equivalent to Hebrew עַז in contexts emphasizing physical or figurative power.
- ἰσχύς ischýs · G2479 · capability, strength
- Greek ἰσχύς (ischýs, G2479) renders Hebrew עַז (ʻaz, H5794) as a cross-linguistic equivalent denoting strength, force, or might, capturing the semantic core of power and forcefulness shared across both terms.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Strong002001001063
- עַז describes strength or might, as in Exodus 14:21's "strong east wind" and Numbers 13:28's people who "are strong."
- Cruel002001002004
- The word also carries a fierce, harsh connotation, as in Genesis 49:7's "cursed be their anger, for it is fierce... their wrath, for it is cruel."
- Intense002001003011
- This domain reflects the word's intensifying force ("exceedingly" strong or fierce), part of its broader range beyond the specific citations shown here.
- Fortifications001003002003
- This domain reflects the word's use describing fortified, well-defended structures or peoples, part of its broader range beyond the citations shown here.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5794. az עַז adjective strong, mighty, fierce; — ׳ע absolute Num 13:28 Num 13:2t., עָז…
עַז adjective strong, mighty, fierce; — ׳ע absolute Num 13:28 Num 13:2t., עָז Jdg 14:18, עָ֑ז Amo 5:9 Amo 5:4t.; עַז construct Deu 28:50; Dan 8:23; feminine עַזָּה Exo 14:21 Exo 14:2t.; plural עַזִּים Eze 7:24 Eze 7:3t.; feminine עַזּוֺת Pro 18:23; construct עַזֵּי Isa 56:11; — strong, mighty, wind Exo 14:21 (J); border Num 21:24 (JE), but read probably יַעְזֵר (ᵐ5 Di and others) Ya`zer was t. border; of people Pro 30:25 (figurative of ants), עַזִּים מַיִם Isa 43:16 (|| הַיָּם), Neh 9:11; of love Son 8:6; = substantive the mighty Amo 5:9; Eze 7:24 + Pro 24:5 (of physical force; reading מֵעַז טוֺב or the like ᵑ7 ᵑ6 ᵐ5 KmpKau Wild Toy); formidable, fierce, of lion Jdg 14:18, so (= substantive) Jdg 14:14, of king Isa 19:4 (|| קָשֶׁה אֲדֹנִים, of people Num 13:28 (JE), Isa 25:3 (|| עָרִיצִים); of enemy 2Sa 22:18 = Psa 18:18, so as substantive Psa 59:4; מָּנִים עַז Deu 28:50 fierce of countenance, Dan 8:23, so perhaps = impudent Ecc 8:1 (reading עַז for עֹז q. v. ); of anger (אַף) Gen 49:7 (poem in J), wrath (חֵמָה) Pro 21:14; עַזֵּינֶֿפֶשׁ הַכְּלָבִים Isa 56:11 dogs fierce of appetite (|| שָׂבְעָה יָָֽדְעוּ לֹא); feminine plural as adverb accusative עַזּוֺת יַעֲנֶה Pro 18:23 the rich answereth fiercely.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
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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