6671. tsahar

Lexical Summary

tsahar: To glisten, to shine, to be bright

Original Word: צָהַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tsahar
Pronunciation: tsaw-har'
Phonetic Spelling: (tsaw-har')
KJV: make oil
NASB: produce oil
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to glisten
2. used only as denominative from H3323, to press out oil

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

make oil

A primitive root; to glisten; used only as denominative from yitshar, to press out oil -- make oil.

see HEBREW yitshar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
denominative verb from yitshar
Definition
to press out oil
NASB Translation
produce oil (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[צָהַר] verb denominative from foregoing,

Hiph`il press out oil; — Imperfect3masculine plural יַצְהִ֑ירוּ Job 24:11.

Topical Lexicon

Root Idea and Sphere of Meaning

Strong’s Hebrew 6671, צָהַר, denotes the manual act of squeezing or pressing olives until the oil flows. The term therefore belongs to the agricultural world of ancient Israel and appears once, in Job 24:11, to illustrate both the process itself and the social conditions surrounding it.

Old-Testament Context (Job 24:11)

Job 24 records Job’s protest that the wicked prosper while the vulnerable suffer. In verse 11 he points to laborers forced to “crush olives within their walls” yet who themselves remain deprived. The verb צָהַר captures the grinding toil of these oppressed workers. Olive oil was a staple of daily life—food, medicine, lamp fuel, sacrifice, and anointing—so the image magnifies the injustice: those who produce blessing for others are denied its benefits.

Agricultural and Economic Background

1. Olive Cultivation: Trees were shaken or beaten (Deuteronomy 24:20); fruit was gathered and carried in baskets.
2. Pressing: Stones or wooden beams squeezed the pulp. Oil flowed into rock-hewn vats. The verb צָהַר describes this critical, strenuous stage.
3. Ownership Patterns: Estates or city elites often controlled the presses. Hired hands or the poor worked them, as implied in Job 24:11 and echoed in Micah 6:15 (“You will tread olives but will not anoint yourselves with oil”).
4. Significance of Oil: Beyond food value, it represented joy (Psalm 104:15), sacred consecration (Exodus 30:30), illumination (Exodus 27:20), and commerce (1 Kings 5:11).

Theological Insights

• Divine Concern for the Oppressed: The lone usage of צָהַר occurs in a lament over exploitation. Scripture consistently condemns withholding wages (Leviticus 19:13; James 5:4) and calls rulers to defend laborers’ rights.
• Human Depravity vs. Divine Justice: Job’s complaint sets the stage for God’s later speeches showing that His governance is perfect, even when injustice seems unchecked.
• Symbolic Anticipation: Oil gained through crushing becomes a biblical picture of the Spirit’s anointing (1 Samuel 16:13). The unjust crushing of workers in Job prefigures the righteous Servant who would be “pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5), through whose suffering the Spirit is poured out (Acts 2:33).

Christological Overtones

Gethsemane means “oil press.” There the greater Job, Jesus Christ, experienced soul-crushing anguish to bring forth salvation. The single Old-Testament use of צָהַר thus anticipates the gospel paradox: life and light flow out of pressure and suffering.

Ministry Applications

• Advocacy: Believers are to oppose exploitative labor practices, mirroring God’s concern revealed in Job 24:11.
• Stewardship: Those who profit from others’ work must ensure just compensation and compassionate conditions (Colossians 4:1).
• Spiritual Formation: Personal trials can resemble an olive press, yet yield the “oil of gladness” (Hebrews 1:9) as believers trust God’s refining purposes.

Related Vocabulary and Concepts

yitshar (יִצְהָר, “fresh oil,” Deuteronomy 7:13) – the product of צָהַר.

miṣrah (“press place,” Nehemiah 13:15) – installation where olives or grapes were pressed.

dakaʾ (“crush,” Isaiah 53:10) – broader term for bruising, often with redemptive significance.

Legacy in Jewish and Christian Tradition

Rabbinic literature highlights fair treatment of day laborers in olive yards. Early church fathers drew parallels between olive oil and the Holy Spirit’s gifts. Medieval commentators saw Job 24:11 as a moral indictment of feudal exploitation. Modern missions employ the verse to challenge trafficking and sweatshop abuses.

Practical Counsel for Today

Remember the workers behind daily commodities, intercede for the exploited, support fair-trade initiatives, and embrace seasons when God’s providential “press” produces character and spiritual vitality.

Forms and Transliterations

יַצְהִ֑ירוּ יצהירו yaṣ·hî·rū yaṣhîrū yatzHiru

Englishman's Concordance

Job 24:11
HEB: בֵּין־ שׁוּרֹתָ֥ם יַצְהִ֑ירוּ יְקָבִ֥ים דָּ֝רְכ֗וּ
NAS: the walls they produce oil; They tread
KJV: [Which] make oil within their walls,
INT: Within the walls produce wine tread

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6671
1 Occurrence

yaṣ·hî·rū — 1 Occ.