צַר
tsar · H6862 · Hebrew · 102 occurrences
Meanings
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narrow
State in which an object is relatively small in size, with the connotation of being too small to be able to do what it is intended for, and with trouble
ExamplesNumbers 22:26 Then the angel of the LORD went farther, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.
Job 41:15 “His strong scales are his pride, Locked as with a tight seal.
Proverbs 23:27 For a prostitute is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.
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small
State in which a certain quality is small in intensity
ExamplesProverbs 24:10 If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress, Your strength is meager.
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distress
A process by which humans go through extremely difficult circumstances, resulting in severe anxiety, as if one were confined to a narrow and cramped space from which there is no escape
ExamplesDeuteronomy 4:30 “When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
1 Samuel 2:32 ‘And you will look at the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and there will never be an old man in your house.
2 Samuel 22:7 “In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I called out to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears.
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adversary
Primarily used in poetry: person that opposes other people and so is a cause of distress to others
ExamplesGenesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.” And he gave him a tenth of everything.
Deuteronomy 32:27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy, That their adversaries would misjudge, That they would say, “Our hand is triumphant, And the LORD has not performed all this.”’
Deuteronomy 32:41 If I have sharpened My flashing sword, And My hand has taken hold of justice, I will return vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me.
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flint
An extremely hard type of stone that leaves sharp edges when fractured, can be used as a knife, and is associated with an inflexible attitude
ExamplesIsaiah 5:28 Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint, and its chariot wheels like a storm wind.
How it’s used In 9 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
54 occurrences in 14 groups
- הוּhis 14
- יmy 10
- נוּour 8
- הֶםtheir 7
- ךָyour 6
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- צָרַרto distress, to be hostile, to bind up 1
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- גּוֹיnation, people 1
- אִישׁman, person, each 1
- לֶחֶםbread, food 1
What it doesIt is the subject
17 occurrences in 16 groups
- Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17
What is done to itIt is the object
11 occurrences in 10 groups
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- רַבmany, great 1
- נִיme 1
- וֹhim 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- כֹּחַstrength 1
- נֹףMemphis 1
- סָבִיבround about, around, on every side 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
43 occurrences in 5 groups
- בin/on/with 33
- מִןfrom 21
- לto/for 12
- עַלon, upon, over, against 6
- כlike/as 6
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
16 occurrences in 8 groups
- יָדhand, power 7
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 3
- יָמִיןright side 1
- נֶפֶשׁsoul, life 1
- עֵתtime, moment, period 1
- פֶּהmouth 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 1 word
- דַּךְ dak · H1790 · crushed, oppressed, downtrodden
- Both words denote states of affliction and oppression and could substitute for each other in contexts describing suffering or distress. צַר (tsar, H6862) has a much broader range (adversary, narrow, enemy, and others), but overlaps with the other word in the sense of "afflicted."
In the other Testament 2 words
- ἐχθρός echthrós · G2190 · being an enemy, in opposition to
- Greek ἐχθρός (‘hateful; as a noun, an adversary’) renders the hostile, personal-enemy sense of Hebrew צַר specifically when that word denotes a personal foe or opponent, as distinct from צַר’s broader range of senses covering distress, affliction, and narrow straits.
- θλῖψις thlîpsis · G2347 · trouble and suffering, suffering, persecution
- Hebrew צַר spans concrete spatial narrowness and metaphorical distress/adversity; Greek θλῖψις specializes in the metaphorical pressure/affliction sense, making it the standard LXX rendering when צַר denotes tribulation rather than physical narrowness or personal enemies.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Little002001001038
- צַר can describe something narrow, as of the narrow place with no way to turn where the angel of the LORD stands before Balaam's donkey in Numbers 22:26.
- Lax002001003012
- This domain's connection to צַר is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which show the word's senses of narrowness, distress, and enmity rather than laxness.
- Unsafe002003003022
- The word also means distress, as of the distress from which Israel is promised return to the LORD in the latter days in Deuteronomy 4:30.
- Enemies001001003002
- The word most often denotes an adversary or foe, as of the enemies God hands over to Abram in Genesis 14:20, the enemy Israel is saved from in Numbers 10:9, and the adversaries whose bones are crushed in Balaam's oracle in Numbers 24:8.
- Stone001002005016
- This domain is shared from the homographic noun צֹר, meaning flint or sharp stone, and is not directly illustrated by this entry's own sampled citations.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6862. tsar I. צַר adjective narrow, tight; — absolute ׳צ 2Ki 6:1 +; צָ֑ר Num 22:26 +;…
I. צַר adjective narrow, tight; — absolute ׳צ 2Ki 6:1 +; צָ֑ר Num 22:26 +; feminine צָרָה Pro 23:27; — narrow, צָ֑ר מָקוֺם Num 22:26, מִמֶּנּוּ צַר 2Ki 6:1 too narrow for us, compare הַמָּקוֺם צַרלִֿי Isa 49:20 (of land of Judah after exile); צָרָה בְּאֵר Pro 23:27 (figurative of harlot; i.e. rescue difficult; || עֲמֻקָּה שׁוּחָה); צָר כַּנָּהָר Isa 59:19 like a contracted (and hence swift, powerful) river (simile of ׳י; Klo מָצוֺר נְהַר, CheHpt ׳נ מִצֹּר, both 'of Egypt'); צָ֑ר חוֺתָם סָגוּר Job 41:7 (of scaly back of crocodile), usually closely joined (as) with tight seal (ᵐ5 Me Bi Hoffm Bu Du צֹר חוֺתַם with seal of flint, but why specify material?); כֹּחֶ֑כָה צַר צָרָה בְּיוֺם Pro 24:10 thy strength will be narrow, limited (si vera lectio, compare Toy).
II. צַר noun [masculine] straits, distress; — absolute ׳צ Job 15:24 +, also with article בַּצַּר Hos 5:15 +, צָ֑ר Psa 4:2 +; — straits, distress Isa 5:30; Job 15:24; Psa 32:7; Psalm 60:13; Psa 108:13 צַראוּמָצוֺק Psa 119:143; ׳עֵתצֿ Job 38:23, compare בַּצַּר Isa 26:16, בַּצָּ֑ר Psa 4:2; רֿוּחִי׳צ Job 7:11 distress of my spirit; צַר לֶחֶם Isa 30:20; צָֹר לֹא Isa 63:9 usually he (׳י) had distress (reading לוֺ Qr), but ᵐ5 οὐ πρέσβυς, Du CheHpt and others צִר לֹא, no messenger and (or) angel, (but) his own face, etc. Instead of suffix directly appended, ל suffix is used (only after ב): בַּצַּרלִֿי in my distress Psa 18:7 = 2Sa 22:7; Psa 66:14, so צַר(ֿ)לִי בְּיוֺם Psa 59:17; Psa 102:3; לְךָ בַּצַּר Deu 4:30 (probably originally meant as בְּצַר, or בְּצֹר [infinitive], Dr; so) בַּצַּרלֿוֺ Isa 25:4; 2Ch 15:4, לָהֶם בַּצַּר Hos 5:15; Psa 107:6; Psa 107:13; Psa 107:19; Psa 107:28, also (after רָאָה) Psa 106:44 — צַר 1Sa 2:32 is corrupt, compare Dr; **Job 36:19.
III. צַר68 noun masculineNum 10:9 adversary, foe; — absolute צַר Amo 3:11 +, even with article הַצַּר Num 10:9, but also הַצָּר Est 7:4; צָ֑ר Zec 8:10 +; plural צָרִים Lam 1:7; construct צָרֵי Ezr 4:1 + Isa 9:10 (but read probably צָרוֺ or צָרָיו, compare Di-Kit CheHpt; al. שָׂרֵי), Jer 48:5 (strike out ᵐ5 Hi Gie), Eze 30:16 (but ᵐ5 Sm וְנָפֹצוּ, so Berthol; Co וְנִפְרְצוּ, so Toy; Krae יָעוּף); suffix צָרַי Psa 3:2, צָרֵיהֶם Eze 39:23, צָרֵימוֺ Deu 32:27, etc.; — adversary, foe, Amo 3:11; Gen 14:20; Num 10:9 (P), Num 24:8 (JE) Deu 32:27; Deu 33:7; Jos 5:13 (JE), 2Sa 24:13; Isa 9:10 (see above), Zec 8:10; Ezr 4:1; Neh 4:5; Est 7:6 (וְאוֺיֵב צַר אִישׁ), + 21 t., + Psa 3:2; Psa 13:5; Psa 27:2; Psa 78:42, + 13 t. Psalms, + (of ׳יs foes) Psa 78:66; Psa 97:3; + (of ׳י's foes) also Isa 1:24; Isa 26:11; Isa 59:18; Isa 64:1; Jer 46:10; Nah 1:2; Deu 32:41, Deu 32:43; Job 19:11. — Jer 48:5; Eze 30:16 see above
IV. צַר noun [masculine] hard pebble, flint; — כַּצַר Isa 5:28 (simile of horses' hoofs; read perhaps צֹר).
ערר (√of following, compare Biblical Hebrew II. צָרַר, III. צַר).
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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