עָצַר (a.tsar)
a.tsar
to restrain
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 40 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb atsar conveys the act of holding back, closing off, or restraining something from moving forward. Its core image involves enclosure or containment, suggesting a boundary that prevents passage or flow. This meaning appears in diverse contexts, ranging from physical barriers to divine interventions.
In Scripture, the word describes God shutting up the heavens to withhold rain, as seen in Deuteronomy 11:17 and 2 Chronicles 7:13. It also refers to keeping people confined, such as Jeremiah being detained in prison (Jeremiah 36:5) or kings restricting their enemies (2 Kings 14:26). The term captures both the physical act of shutting a door and the spiritual reality of divine restraint.
The word’s range includes stopping natural processes, like preventing childbirth in Genesis 20:18, and halting human actions. Translators often render it as "restrain," "shut up," or "withhold," depending on whether the subject is a person, a nation, or a natural force. This versatility highlights its fundamental sense of imposing limits.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When life feels like it is closing in, with doors locked and options narrowing, this Hebrew word reminds us that boundaries are not always barriers to our freedom but often acts of divine protection. The verb atsar describes God shutting up the sky to withhold rain or closing wombs to preserve a specific lineage. These moments of restraint can feel like loss, yet they frequently serve to keep us safe from harm or to align our paths with a larger purpose we cannot yet see.
Even when circumstances seem stagnant, this word invites trust in God’s sovereignty over every limit He places. Whether it is the confinement of Jeremiah or the stopping of a plague through sacrifice, Scripture shows that God uses restraint to redirect history and protect His people. Instead of viewing closed doors as final rejections, we can look for the hidden care behind them, knowing that our Creator holds the keys to both opening and closing.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 40 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- shut up3×
- and/ it was restrained3×
- [was] shut up3×
- when/ are shut up2×
- so/ it may be restrained2×
- she will retain2×
- and/ shut up2×
- you will detain/ me1×
- you hold back1×
- we will retain1×
- to/ retain1×
- they retained1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עָצ֔וּר4×
- עָצַ֖רְתִּי2×
- עָצ֥וּר2×
- וְ/תֵעָצַ֥ר2×
- וְ/עָצ֥וּר2×
- תַּעֲצָר\־1×
- תַּעְצְרֵ֙/נִי֙1×
- תַעְצֹר1×
- תַעְצֹ֞ר1×
- עָצוּר֙1×
- עָצֻ֖ר1×
- עָצֹ֤ר1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 16:2
Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
This verse highlights how divine restraint in Sarai’s life led to a complex human solution, showing that God’s withholding of a blessing can create difficult but pivotal moments in biblical history.
-
Deuteronomy 11:17
and Yahweh’s anger be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky so that there is no rain, and the land doesn’t yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which Yahweh gives you.
Here the word describes God shutting up the sky, illustrating how He uses natural restraint as a consequence for covenant unfaithfulness to call His people back to Himself.
-
II Kings 4:24
Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward! Don’t slow down for me, unless I ask you to.”
The command not to slow down demonstrates a practical application of restraint in daily conduct, urging urgency and focus rather than hesitation when pursuing a holy mission.
-
II Chronicles 7:13
“If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people,
God explicitly claims the authority to shut up the sky or send locusts, establishing that He alone controls the natural limits that affect His people’s survival and prosperity.