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Hebrew verb · H6113

עָצָר

atsaraw-tsar'

to restrain

47 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: ʻâtsâr

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H6113is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 16 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 39
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H6113

to inclose; by analogy, to hold back; also to maintain, rule, assemble

The King James renders it: [idiom] be able, close up, detain, fast, keep (self close, still), prevail, recover, refrain, [idiom] reign, restrain, retain, shut (up), slack, stay, stop, withhold (self).

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

atsar is rendered "to restrain". It stands 47 times in the Hebrew text, across sixteen books.

  • Seven of the uses stand in 2 Chronicles, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 16:2So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
  • The Greek text spells it thirty-nine different ways.

The first use

So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:2עֲצָרַ֤נִי

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in sixteen of the 39 Old Testament books.

The other 23 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • shut up8
  • and it was restrained4
  • and shut up2
  • she will retain2
  • so it may be restrained2
  • when are shut up2
  • and do I restrain1
  • and he arrested him1
  • and he will shut up1
  • and to restrain1
  • certainly to shut up1
  • detained1

and 21 more, 47 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

עָצָבatsabidolUses17
עָצָהatsahto shutUses1

All 47, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

39 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • עָצ֔וּר4
  • וְעָצ֥וּר2
  • וְתֵעָצַ֥ר2
  • יַעְצֹ֥ר2
  • עָצ֥וּר2
  • עָצַ֖רְתִּי2
  • אֶֽעֱצֹ֤ר1
  • בְּהֵעָצֵ֥ר1
  • בְּהֵעָצֵ֧ר1
  • וַֽיַּעַצְרֵ֙הוּ֙1
  • וְעָצַ֤ר1
  • וַעְצֹ֥ר1

and 27 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singular9HVqsmsa
  • Hc/VNw3fs4Hc/VNw3fs
  • verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singular3HVqi3ms
  • HC/VNu3fs2HC/VNu3fs
  • conjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singular2HC/Vqsmsa
  • preposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)2HR/VNcc
  • verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person feminine singular2HVqi3fs
  • verb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 1st person common singular2HVqp1cs
  • verb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common plural2HVqp3cp
  • verb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singular2HVqp3ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”)1HC/Vqcc
  • Hc/Vqq1cs1Hc/Vqq1cs

Genesis

three uses
  • So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

    Genesis 16:2

    • עֲצָרַ֤נִיʾatzaraniverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singular + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: he has restrained me
  • for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

    Genesis 20:18

    • עָצֹ֤רʾatzorverb · simple (qal), infinitive absolutetagged: certainly to shut up
    • עָצַר֙ʾatzarverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he had shut up

Numbers

three uses
  • He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.

    Numbers 16:48

    • וַתֵּעָצַ֖רvateatzarHc/VNw3fstagged: and it was restrained
  • Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.

    Numbers 16:50

    • נֶעֱצָֽרָה׃ פneetzarahverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: it had been restrained
  • followed the Israelite into his tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted,

    Numbers 25:8

    • וַתֵּֽעָצַר֙vateatzarHc/VNw3fstagged: and it was restrained

Deuteronomy

two uses
  • or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.

    Deuteronomy 11:17

    • וְעָצַ֤רveatzarHc/Vqq3mstagged: and he will shut up
  • For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.

    Deuteronomy 32:36

    • עָצ֥וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up

Judges

two uses
  • “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”

    Judges 13:15

    • נַעְצְרָה־na'tzerah-verb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”) · 1st person common pluraltagged: let us detain
  • And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.

    Judges 13:16

    • תַּעְצְרֵ֙נִי֙ta'tzereniverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 2nd person masculine singular + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: you will detain me

1 Samuel

four uses
  • When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”

    1 Samuel 9:17

    • יַעְצֹ֥רya'tzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he will rule
  • Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

    1 Samuel 10:1

    • תַעְצֹרta'tzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: she will retain
  • David answered, “Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out. And the equipment of the young men is holy, as it is even on common missions, and all the more at this time.”

    1 Samuel 21:5

    • עֲצֻֽרָה־ʾatzurah-verb · simple (qal), passive participle · feminine singulartagged: withheld
  • Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

    1 Samuel 21:7

    • נֶעְצָר֙ne'tzarverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), participle · masculine singulartagged: detained

2 Samuel

two uses
  • “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

    2 Samuel 24:21

    • וְתֵעָצַ֥רveteatzarHC/VNu3fstagged: so it may be restrained
  • And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

    2 Samuel 24:25

    • וַתֵּעָצַ֥רvateatzarHc/VNw3fstagged: and it was restrained

1 Kings

four uses
  • When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,

    1 Kings 8:35

    • בְּהֵעָצֵ֥רbeheatzerpreposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: when are shut up
  • Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!

    1 Kings 14:10

    • עָצ֥וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up
  • On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

    1 Kings 18:44

    • יַעַצָרְכָ֖הyaatzarekhahverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singular + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: it will hold back you
  • This is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free.

    1 Kings 21:21

    • וְעָצ֥וּרveatzurconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: and shut up

2 Kings

four uses
  • Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

    2 Kings 4:24

    • תַּעֲצָר־taatzor-verb · simple (qal), jussive (“let him”) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: you hold back
  • The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.

    2 Kings 9:8

    • וְעָצ֥וּרveatzurconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: and shut up
  • For the LORD saw that the affliction of the Israelites, both slave and free, was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel,

    2 Kings 14:26

    • עָצוּר֙ʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up
  • But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.

    2 Kings 17:4

    • וַֽיַּעַצְרֵ֙הוּ֙vaiyaatzrehuHc/Vqw3ms/Sp3mstagged: and he arrested him

1 Chronicles

three uses
  • Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle;

    1 Chronicles 12:1

    • עָצ֔וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: kept back
  • Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

    1 Chronicles 21:22

    • וְתֵעָצַ֥רveteatzarHC/VNu3fstagged: so it may be restrained
  • But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

    1 Chronicles 29:14

    • נַעְצֹ֣רna'tzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 1st person common pluraltagged: we will retain

2 Chronicles

seven uses
  • But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?

    2 Chronicles 2:6

    • יַעֲצָר־yaatzor-verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: will he retain
  • When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,

    2 Chronicles 6:26

    • בְּהֵעָצֵ֧רbeheatzerpreposition + verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: when are shut up
  • If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people,

    2 Chronicles 7:13

    • אֶֽעֱצֹ֤רʾeetzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 1st person common singulartagged: I will shut up
  • Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died.

    2 Chronicles 13:20

    • עָצַ֧רʾatzarverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he retained
  • Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

    2 Chronicles 14:11

    • יַעְצֹ֥רya'tzorverb · simple (qal), jussive (“let him”) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he retain
  • Then Eliezer 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 were unable to sail to Tarshish.

    2 Chronicles 20:37

    • עָצְר֖וּʾatzeruverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they retained
  • Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehu’s soldiers captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. So Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So no one was left from the house of Ahaziah with the strength to rule the kingdom.

    2 Chronicles 22:9

    • לַעְצֹ֥רla'tzorpreposition + verb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to retain

Nehemiah

one use
  • Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said: “Let us meet at the house of God inside the temple. Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you!”

    Nehemiah 6:10

    • עָצ֑וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up

Job

three uses
  • “If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?

    Job 4:2

    • וַעְצֹ֥רva'tzorconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: and to restrain
  • If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

    Job 12:15

    • יַעְצֹ֣רya'tzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he holds back
  • The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.

    Job 29:9

    • עָצְר֣וּʾatzeruverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person common pluraltagged: they restrained

Psalms

one use
  • But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained.

    Psalms 106:30

    • וַ֝תֵּעָצַ֗רvateatzarHc/VNw3fstagged: and it was restrained

Isaiah

one use
  • Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.

    Isaiah 66:9

    • וְעָצַ֖רְתִּיveatzartiHc/Vqq1cstagged: and do I restrain

Jeremiah

four uses
  • If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

    Jeremiah 20:9

    • עָצֻ֖רʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up
  • While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:

    Jeremiah 33:1

    • עָצ֔וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up
  • Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD;

    Jeremiah 36:5

    • עָצ֔וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up
  • And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him:

    Jeremiah 39:15

    • עָצ֔וּרʾatzurverb · simple (qal), passive participle · masculine singulartagged: shut up

Daniel

three uses
  • So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.

    Daniel 10:8

    • עָצַ֖רְתִּיʾatzartiverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 1st person common singulartagged: I retained
  • And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

    Daniel 10:16

    • עָצַ֖רְתִּיʾatzartiverb · simple (qal), qatal (perfect) · 1st person common singulartagged: I have retained
  • After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

    Daniel 11:6

    • תַעְצֹ֞רta'tzorverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: she will retain

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →