Lexical Summary chadar: To surround, enclose, penetrate Original Word: חָדַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance enter a privy chamber A primitive root; properly, to inclose (as a room), i.e. (by analogy,) to beset (as in a siege) -- enter a privy chamber. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to surround, enclose NASB Translation surrounds (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חָדַר] verb surround, enclose (Phoenician in derivatives; Arabic  II. conceal,  curtain concealing a person, chamber, house, or tent as concealing some one; Ethiopic  dwell; see also following) **Phoenician is only חדר, חדרת (temple or sepulchral) chamber (Lzb271 Cooke126); Ezekiel 21:19 is best explained from Syriac  go about, surround, Syriac around. It seems uncertain whether חֶדֶר, Phoenician חדר chamber, Arabic  curtain, chamber, tent, etc., are (ultimately) from this √ (as something surrounding); or (Buhl) from II. חדר =  II. conceal behind curtain, conceal, confine, IV. conceal oneself, also abide, stay, remain behind (Land707f.), Ethiopic  abide, dwell (Driver, privately, Nov. 1905). — only Qal Participle feminine singular הַחֹדֶ֫רֶת לָהֶם Ezekiel 21:19 that which surroundeth them (of the sword), — so ᵑ6 Thes Sm Co Da VB. Topical Lexicon Scriptural Occurrence חָדַר appears once, Ezekiel 21:14: “So prophesy, son of man, and strike your hands together; let the sword come down twice, even thrice. It is a sword for slaughter—a sword for great slaughter, closing them in on every side”. The verb paints the sword of judgment as hemming Judah in, leaving no avenue of escape. Prophetic Context Ezekiel’s oracle (chapters 20–24) announces Babylon’s advance against Jerusalem. In chapter 21, the prophet hears a clapping summoning the sword of Yahweh. חָדַר underscores the siege’s inevitability: the judgment will “close in” until it pierces even the most private recesses of life. The picture answers Judah’s false confidence that city walls, temple rituals, or political alliances could shield them from covenant curses (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). Imagery and Theological Implications 1. Total Exposure. From the same root comes חֶדֶר (“inner chamber”). What the people thought was concealed will be penetrated; no “inner room” is beyond the divine sword. Comparative Scriptural Themes • Deuteronomy 28:52 foretells an enemy that “besieges” every gate. חָדַר realizes that threat. Practical and Pastoral Applications • Call to Repentance. Because judgment closes in on every side, the only safe refuge is early, wholehearted repentance (Isaiah 55:6–7). Christological Perspective At Calvary, divine judgment “closed in” on the sinless Substitute (Isaiah 53:5–6). The sword that should have penetrated the guilty fell upon Christ, making Him the true sanctuary for all who trust Him. Yet the risen Lord still bears a “sharp sword” (Revelation 2:16); those who reject His grace will meet the full force of a judgment that reaches every hiding place. Worship and Homiletical Insights • The text invites awe: the God who searches chambers deserves reverent fear (Hebrews 12:28–29). Forms and Transliterations הַחֹדֶ֖רֶת החדרת ha·ḥō·ḏe·reṯ hachoDeret haḥōḏereṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ezekiel 21:14 HEB: חָלָ֣ל הַגָּד֔וֹל הַחֹדֶ֖רֶת לָהֶֽם׃ NAS: slain, which surrounds them, KJV: [men that are] slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. INT: slain the great surrounds 1 Occurrence |
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