עָצָר
ʻâtsâr · H6113 · Hebrew · 46 occurrences
Meanings
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to slow down, to stop
Action by which someone slows down or stops moving forward entirely
Examples2 Kings 4:24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you.”
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to detain
Causative action by which humans keep other humans from continuing their journey
ExamplesJudges 13:15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.”
Judges 13:16 But the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.
1 Kings 18:44 And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’”
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to rule, to govern
Action by which humans provide leadership for a group of people
Examples1 Samuel 9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.”
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to arrest, to detain, to confine
Causative action by which humans put other humans in a position by which they can no longer move at will
ExamplesDeuteronomy 32:36 “For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free.
1 Samuel 21:7 Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
1 Kings 14:10 therefore behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and I will eliminate from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.
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to withhold, to prevent, to keep from, to stop from, to close
Causative action by which humans or deities keep people or objects from activities that they are normally involved in
ExamplesGenesis 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Genesis 20:18 For the LORD had completely closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Deuteronomy 11:17 “Otherwise, the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the sky so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then you will quickly perish from the good land which the LORD is giving you.
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to retain strength, to retain power
State in which humans have the strength or power they need to function well
Examples2 Chronicles 13:20 Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the LORD struck him and he died.
Daniel 10:8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my complexion turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.
Daniel 10:16 And behold, one who resembled a human was touching my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “My lord, due to the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.
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to have the ability, to be able
State in which humans or objects have the ability to engage in a certain activity
Examples2 Chronicles 2:6 “But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?
2 Chronicles 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.
2 Chronicles 22:9 He also searched for Ahaziah, and they caught him while he was hiding in Samaria; they brought him to Jehu, put him to death, and buried him. For they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom.
How it’s used In 7 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
40 occurrences in 21 groups
- מַגֵּפָהblow 7
- Not stated: I 4
- Not stated (participle) 4
- Not stated: he, she or it 3
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
13 occurrences in 5 groups
- כֹּחַstrength 6
- שָׁמַיִםheaven, sky 2
- נִיme 2
- ךָּyou 2
- וֹhim 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
19 occurrences in 22 groups
- Other words · 22 groups that occur once or twice (24) 24
With adverbsAdverbs
9 occurrences in 3 groups
- לֹאnot 6
- אַלnot, do not 2
- עוֹדstill, again, yet 2
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- שָׁתַןmale 1
What is done to itIt is the object
5 occurrences in 4 groups
- כָּרַתto cut off, to make (a covenant) 2
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
- יָכֹלto be able to 1
- רָאָהto see 1
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- אֶפֶסthere is not 2
- אַיִןthere is no, not 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 2 words
- חָזַק châzaq · H2388 · to be strong, to prevail, to overcome
- חָזַק (“be constant, constrain, continue, hold”) and עָצָר (ʻâtsâr, H6113) (“detain, keep, restrain, retain, shut up, stay”) both cover restricting movement or maintaining a state, in the sense of restraint and holding in place.
- דָּמַם dâmam · H1826 · to stand still, to be still, to wait
- Both words concern ceasing or restraining action: the other word means to be still, rest and be silent, while עָצָר (ʻâtsâr, H6113) means to detain, restrain, retain and shut up.
In the other Testament 1 word
- συνέχω synéchō · G4912 · to control, to restrain, to guard
- Greek συνέχω emphasizes the physical constraint or compression aspect ('hold together,' 'compress,' 'arrest') that overlaps with Hebrew עָצָר's 'restrain,' 'detain,' and 'shut up' senses, though Greek extends more readily into figurative affliction/perplexity where Hebrew focuses on physical closure and withholding.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Non-Move002002001013
- עָצָר describes a halting or stopping, as when the LORD completely closed the wombs of Abimelech's household and when the plague on the sons of Israel was brought to a halt.
- Control002003002007
- The word describes exercising restraint or holding something back, as when the LORD prevented Sarai from bearing children and when the plague was restrained through Phinehas's intervention.
- Non-Engage002003003012
- עָצָר can describe refraining or holding oneself back from acting, a sense bound up with its broader range of restraint, though not directly illustrated among the sampled citations.
- Strong002001001063
- The word's sense of prevailing or reigning links it to an association with power or might, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which emphasize restraint and closing rather than strength.
- Able002001001001
- The word's idiomatic use for being able to do something ties it to capacity or ability, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which focus on restraint and closure.
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6113. atsar עָצַר46 verb restrain, retain (Late Hebrew id.; compare probably Assyrian…
עָצַר46 verb restrain, retain (Late Hebrew id.; compare probably Assyrian eƒêru, retain, restrain, DlHWB 122 JägerBAS i. 483 Zehnpfib. 500; Ethiopic press, Arabic ; עֲצַר ᵑ7 Syriac id.); **compare Assyrian usƒurtu, taboo SACJA, 1904, 754. —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ע Gen 20:18 +, suffix עֲצָרַנִי Gen 16:2; Gen 16:1singular יָצַרְתִּי Dan 10:8, Dan 10:16; etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יַעְצֹר 1Sa 9:17 +, יַעְצָרֿ2Ch 2:5; suffix יַעֲצָרְכָה 1Ki 18:44, etc.; Infinitive absolute עָצֹר Gen 20:18, construct לַעִצֹר2Ch 22:9, וַעְצֹר Job 4:2 (Ges§ 28b); Passive participle עָצוּר Jer 33:1 +, etc.; —
1 restrain, with accusative of person Gen 16:2 (J; + מִן, i.e. prevent), כָּלרֶֿחֶם בְּעֵד עָצַר עָצֹר Gen 20:18 (E), compare absolute Isa 66:9 (opposed to מוֺלִיד); followed by infinitive 2Ki 4:24; with accusative of person alone 1Ki 18:44 hinder, stop; with accusative of sky (hindering rain) Deu 11:17; 2Ch 7:13; passive participle absolute shut up, or hindered (for reasons not given) Jer 36:5; Neh 6:10 (? by a vow, or by ceremonial uncleanness, compare RsSem i. 436 f., 2nd ed. 455 f.); = shut up (with ב, in prison) 2Ki 17:4, passive participle Jer 33:1; Jer 39:15, figurative Jer 20:9; on וְעָזוּב עָצוּר (5 t.) see I. עזב; לָנוּ עֲצֻרָה 1Sa 21:6 women have been kept away with reference to us (compare RSl.c.); מִמְּנֵי עָצוּר 1Ch 12:1 kept away from before Saul; = detain, with accusative Jdg 13:15-16, in Job with ׳ע בְּמִלִּין בְּ, Job 4:2, compare Job 29:9, so בַּמַּיִם Job 12:5; ׳ע בְּעַמִּי 1Sa 9:17 is rule over, etc. (si vera lectio); insert also (with other words) 1Sa 10:1 ᵐ5 We Dr and others
2 (late) retain, with accusative כֹּחַ2Ch 13:20; 2Ch 22:9; Dan 10:8, Dan 10:16; Dan 11:6; + infinitive = be able to 1Ch 29:14; 2Ch 2:5; omit כֹּחַ2Ch 14:10 (+ עִמְּךָ), 2Ch 20:37 (+ infinitive).
Niph`al be restrained, stayed, of plague: Perfect 3 feminine singular נֶעֱצָ֑רָה Numbers 17:15; Imperfect3feminine singular תֵּעָצַר 2 Samuel 24:27 = 1Ch 21:22, וַתֵּעָצַר Num 17:13; Num 25:8 (P) 2Sa 24:25; Psa 106:30; be shut up (of sky), Infinitive construct בְּהֵעָצֵר 1Ki 8:35 2Ch 6:26; be under restraint or detention Participle נֶעְצָר 1Sa 21:8 + י ׳לִפְחנֵי (? i.e. kept by a vow, compare HPS and Neh 6:10 above).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 5 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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