Lexical Summary yatsar: To form, fashion, shape, create Original Word: יָצַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance be distressed, be narrow, be straitened in straits, be vexed A primitive root; to press (intransitive), i.e. Be narrow; figuratively, be in distress -- be distressed, be narrow, be straitened (in straits), be vexed. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originthe same as tsarar, q.v. Brown-Driver-Briggs I. צָרַר verb bind, tie up, be restricted, narrow, scant, cramped (Late Hebrew id.; Arabic  bind, tie up; so Aramaic צְרַר,  ); — A. transitive: Qal Perfect3masculine singular צָרַר Hosea 4:19; Proverbs 30:4; Imperative צוֺר Isaiah 8:16; Infinitive construct צְרוֺר Proverbs 26:8 (?); Participle active צֹרֵר Job 26:8; passive צָרוּר Hosea 13:12, feminine צְרוּרָה 1 Samuel 25:29; feminine plural צְרֻרֹת Exodus 12:34; 2 Samuel 20:3; — bind or tie up, of kneading-troughs Exodus 12:34 (E); figurative of a life preserved by ׳י, נֶפֶשׁ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֺר הַחַיִּים 1 Samuel 25:29; of preserving prophetic teaching Isaiah 8:16; of retention of guilt Hosea 13:12; of ׳י's binding waters in (a garment of) cloud Proverbs 30:4; Job 26:8; = shut up 2 Samuel 20:3; — צָרַר רוּחַ אֹתָהּ בִּכְנָפֶיהָ Hosea 4:19 (si vera lectio) pregnantly, the wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, to carry her off; כִּצְרוֺר אֶבֶן Proverbs 26:8 like the tying up of a stone, but unintellig. in context (see Toy). Pu`al Participle plural מְצֹרָרִים Joshua 9:4 tied up (mended by tying), of old wine-skins. B. intransitive: Qal Perfect3feminine singular צָ֫רָה Isaiah 28:20; Imperfect3masculine singular יֵצַר Proverbs 4:12, יֵ֫צֶר לוֺ Job 20:22, וַ֫יֵּצֶד Genesis 32:8 +, etc.; — be scant, cramped, in straits; of scanty bed-covering Isaiah 28:20 (in figurative); of land too small for (מִן) its people Isaiah 49:19 + Joshua 19:47 (for וַיֵּצֵא) DrExpos. Jan. 1887, 59 Benn, compare ᵐ5; of steps = be cramped, or impeded, Proverbs 4:12; Job 18:7 (both in figure); especially impersonal with ל person, וַיֵּצֶר לוֺ Genesis 32:8 and it was narrow for him = he was in straits, distress, so Judges 2:15; 2 Samuel 13:2; Job 20:22, also 3feminine singular וַתֵּ֫צֶר לְ Judges 10:9; 1 Samuel 30:6 (see Dr). Hiph`il Perfect3masculine singular וְהֵצַר Deuteronomy 28:52 (twice in verse) consecutive; 1singular וַהֲצֵרֹתִי Jeremiah 10:18; Zephaniah 1:17; Imperfect3masculine singular יָצַרלֿוֺ 1 Kings 8:37 2Chronicles 6:28, וַיָּ֫צַד2Chronicles 28:20; 3 masculine plural וַיָּצֵרוּ Nehemiah 9:27; Infinitive construct הָצֵר2Chronicles 28:22; 33:12; — make narrow for, press hard upon, cause distress to, with ל person, Jeremiah 10:18 (subject ׳י), Zephaniah 1:17 (subject id.); Deuteronomy 28:52 (twice in verse); 1 Kings 8:37 2Chronicles 6:28; Nehemiah 9:27 (all subject foe), 2 Chronicles 28:20 (subject Tiglath-pileser); indefinite subject 2 Chronicles 28:22 (but read כִּי אִם לְצָרָה לוֺ, and join to 2 Chronicles 28:21, opposed to לְעֶזְרָה לוֺ, ᵐ5 Kit BuhlLex), 2 Chronicles 33:12. Topical Lexicon Root Imagery of Narrowness and Pressure יָצַר paints a picture of something being pressed into a tight space. Whether physical confinement, emotional anguish, or national oppression, the term conveys the squeeze that makes breathing hard and options few. The word classically moves from the literal “narrow” to the figurative “distress.” Personal Anguish • Genesis 32:7 introduces the theme: “Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.” The constriction Jacob feels between Esau ahead and Laban behind foreshadows Israel’s later dilemmas. National Oppression • Judges 2:15 and 10:9 employ יָצַר for periods when Israel “was in severe distress” under foreign powers. Distress is covenantal—an alert sounded by God’s hand when His people abandon Him. Retributive Tightening in Wisdom Literature Job 20:22 warns that the wicked “will be distressed” precisely “in the midst of his plenty.” Prosperity without fear of God turns spacious barns into suffocating chambers. Proverbs 4:12 promises the inverse: “When you walk, your steps will not be impeded.” Wisdom dismantles the squeeze; folly reinstates it. Prophetic Reversal Isaiah 49:19 looks beyond exile: “Your wasteland … will now be too small for your people.” The land once oppressed becomes too cramped in blessing—distress reversed, not removed. The same vocabulary that described pain now heralds promise, showing prophetic consistency in divine rhetoric. Theological Thread 1. Divine Sovereignty: Distress is never random; it is an instrument in the Redeemer’s hand, whether corrective (Judges), protective (Genesis 32), or judicial (Job 20). Ministry Significance Pastors, counselors, and missionaries can read יָצַר as a diagnostic word. When believers feel squeezed, Scripture urges examination: Is the pressure formative, corrective, or merely circumstantial? The consistent outcome sought is dependence on the Lord who “broadens the path beneath me, so my ankles do not give way” (adapted from 2 Samuel 22:37). Historical Echoes The Septuagint typically renders יָצַר with θλίβω (“to press, afflict”), a term later applied to tribulation in the New Testament. Early Jewish commentaries use the root to describe Israel’s “birth pangs” before Messiah, showing how the semantic field of pressure became eschatological. Summary יָצַר traces a movement from tight spaces to open pastures, from anguish to assurance. Whether read in the tents of Genesis, the battlefields of Judges, the court intrigues of Samuel, the laments of Job, the maxims of Proverbs, or the consolations of Isaiah, the word always invites God’s people to cry out, trust, and watch Him turn narrow straits into wide places. Forms and Transliterations וַיֵּ֣צֶר וַיֵּ֥צֶר וַיֵּ֨צֶר וַיָּצֵ֖רוּ וַתֵּ֥צֶר וַתֵּ֨צֶר ויצר ויצרו ותצר יֵ֣צֶר יֵֽ֭צְרוּ יֵצַ֣ר יצר יצרו תֵּצְרִ֣י תצרי tê·ṣə·rî têṣərî tetzeRi vaiyaTzeru vaiYetzer vatTetzer wat·tê·ṣer wattêṣer way·yā·ṣê·rū way·yê·ṣer wayyāṣêrū wayyêṣer yê·ṣar yê·ṣə·rū yê·ṣer yêṣar yêṣer yêṣərū yeTzar Yetzer YetzeruLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 32:7 HEB: יַעֲקֹ֛ב מְאֹ֖ד וַיֵּ֣צֶר ל֑וֹ וַיַּ֜חַץ KJV: afraid and distressed: and he divided INT: Jacob was greatly and distressed divided the people Judges 2:15 Judges 10:9 1 Samuel 30:6 2 Samuel 13:2 Nehemiah 9:27 Job 18:7 Job 20:22 Proverbs 4:12 Isaiah 49:19 10 Occurrences |
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