What does אָחַז mean in the Bible?
Achaz names taking or keeping a physical or figurative hold. The subject, object, manner, and setting determine whether the action is protective, ordinary, violent, faithful, fearful, or morally disordered.
Hebrew · H270
אָחַז
To seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in possession)
Reading a lexicon entry
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אָחַזH270
What does אָחַז mean in the Bible?
Achaz names taking or keeping a physical or figurative hold. The subject, object, manner, and setting determine whether the action is protective, ordinary, violent, faithful, fearful, or morally disordered.
Reader summary
Full entry for אָחַז (H270) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H270?
The BSB source-word alignment has 68 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (3), and took hold (2), caught (2), seized him (2), and acquire your own property (1).
Where does אָחַז appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 22:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Job (9), Psalms (7), 2 Samuel (5), Judges (5).
What This Word Actually Means
Achaz names taking or keeping a physical or figurative hold. The subject, object, manner, and setting determine whether the action is protective, ordinary, violent, faithful, fearful, or morally disordered. A ram can be caught in brush, a person can grasp an object, a righteous sufferer can hold to a way, and God can hold a worshiper's hand. The verb therefore contributes the idea of firm contact or possession but does not pronounce an ethical verdict by itself.
In 2 Samuel 6, Uzzah's taking hold of the ark belongs to a larger account about holy things and commanded worship; the lexeme alone does not explain the judgment. In Job, holding to one's way describes perseverance amid disputed accusations, not self-salvation. In Psalm 73, God's hold expresses sustaining presence. Teachers should name who grasps what, whether consent or force is involved, and what the passage itself says about purpose and outcome.
How the Bible Uses It
Across narrative, poetry, wisdom, and judgment texts, achaz can describe catching, fastening, possessing, seizing, persevering, or being gripped. Its moral and theological force comes from the agents, objects, and literary setting rather than from a fixed symbolism of grasping.
- Gen.22.13
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
The ram is physically caught in the thicket, showing a concrete result rather than a moral quality inherent in the verb.
- 2Sam.6.6
When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled.
Uzzah takes hold of the ark when the oxen stumble; the narrative context, not the verb alone, governs the act's significance.
- Job.17.9
Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
The righteous person holds to his way amid suffering, using the same grasping idea for perseverance rather than physical control.
- Ps.73.23
Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
The psalmist confesses that God holds his right hand, placing firm support inside restored trust and divine nearness.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It. . .3×Numbers 31:30, 1 Chronicles 24:6, Job 18:20
and took hold2×2 Samuel 6:6, 1 Chronicles 13:9
caught2×Genesis 22:13, Ecclesiastes 9:12
seized him2×Judges 1:6, Judges 16:21
and acquire your own property1×Genesis 34:10
and attached1×1 Kings 6:10
and grab it1×Exodus 4:4
and he has taken hold1×1 Kings 1:51
and hold1×Ruth 3:15
and securely fastened1×Nehemiah 7:3
and seize1×Isaiah 5:29
and take possession1×Joshua 22:19
and then one1×1 Chronicles 24:6
and to embrace1×Ecclesiastes 2:3
are skilled1×Song Of Solomon 3:8
bearing1×2 Chronicles 25:5
being taken1×1 Chronicles 24:6
Catch1×Song Of Solomon 2:15
grabbed1×2 Samuel 20:9
grasping1×Genesis 25:26
grasps it1×Deuteronomy 32:41
grip me1×Job 30:16
grip you1×Jeremiah 13:21
grips1×Isaiah 33:14
grips me1×Isaiah 21:3
has seized me1×2 Samuel 1:9
has taken hold of me1×Psalms 119:53
have followed1×Job 23:11
have seized her1×Jeremiah 49:24
He covers1×Job 26:9
He seized me1×Job 16:12
he who seizes1×Psalms 137:9
holds1×Job 17:9
I held him1×Song Of Solomon 3:4
I seized1×2 Samuel 4:10
I will take hold1×Song Of Solomon 7:8
seize1×2 Samuel 2:21
seized1×Psalms 56:1
seized them1×Psalms 48:6
seizes1×Job 18:9
so that the supports1×Ezekiel 41:6
supports1×Ezekiel 41:6
takes hold1×Job 21:6
that it might spread1×Job 38:13
Then I took1×Judges 20:6
then they must accept their possession1×Numbers 32:30
They acquired property1×Genesis 47:27
they had acquired1×Joshua 22:9
they seized1×Judges 12:6
to grasp1×Ecclesiastes 7:18
took1×Numbers 31:47
took hold1×Judges 16:3
trapped1×Ecclesiastes 9:12
was attached to it1×2 Chronicles 9:18
were fastened1×Esther 1:6
When she [did so]1×Ruth 3:15
will grip1×Exodus 15:14
will hold me fast1×Psalms 139:10
will seize1×Exodus 15:15
will seize them1×Isaiah 13:8
would be inserted1×1 Kings 6:6
You have kept1×Psalms 77:4
You hold1×Psalms 73:23
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 22:13נֶאֱחַ֥זtocaughtVerb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singularGenesis 25:26אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙tograspingVerb - Qal - Participle - feminine singularGenesis 34:10וְהֵֽאָחֲז֖וּtoand acquire your own propertyConjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Imperative - masculine pluralGenesis 47:27וַיֵּאָחֲז֣וּtoThey acquired propertyConjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralExodus 4:4וֶאֱחֹ֖זtoand grab itConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singularExodus 15:14אָחַ֔זtowill gripVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singularExodus 15:15יֹֽאחֲזֵ֖מוֹtowill seizeVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine pluralNumbers 31:30אָחֻ֣זto. . .Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singularNumbers 31:47הָֽאָחֻז֙totookArticle | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singularNumbers 32:30וְנֹֽאחֲז֥וּtothen they must accept their possessionConjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 22:13
Aligned rows68
Books represented20
Genesis4Exodus3Numbers3Deuteronomy1Joshua2Judges5Ruth22 Samuel51 Kings31 Chronicles42 Chronicles2Nehemiah1Esther1Job9Psalms7Ecclesiastes4Song Of Solomon4Isaiah4Jeremiah2Ezekiel2
Source forms
וְיֹאחֵ֣ז2xwə·yō·ḥêzJob 17:9, Isaiah 5:29
וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּ2xway·yō·ḥă·zūJudges 1:6, Judges 12:6
אָחוּז֙1x’ā·ḥūzEsther 1:6
אֲחוּזִ֑ים1x’ă·ḥū·zîmEzekiel 41:6
אֲחוּזִ֖ים1x’ă·ḥū·zîmEzekiel 41:6
אֲחֹ֥ז1x’ă·ḥōz1 Kings 6:6
אָחַ֔ז1x’ā·ḥazExodus 15:14
אָחַ֞ז1x’ā·ḥaz1 Kings 1:51
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular4xNumbers 31:30, 1 Chronicles 24:6, Esther 1:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular3xJudges 16:3, 2 Samuel 6:6, 1 Kings 6:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Imperative - masculine plural2xGenesis 34:10, Joshua 22:19
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular2xJob 17:9, Isaiah 5:29
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular2xJob 16:12, Job 21:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular2xRuth 3:15, 2 Samuel 20:9
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2xJudges 1:6, Judges 12:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular2xExodus 4:4, 2 Samuel 2:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- A call to hold fast must not blame exhausted or traumatized people for needing protection and help.
- Leaders may not turn metaphors of firm guidance into permission to control another person's body, choices, or property.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H270 itself makes every grasp faithful, violent, possessive, or providential.
- Do not claim that physical touch is condemned or approved apart from the passage's commands and circumstances.
- Do not claim that Job's perseverance teaches that righteous sufferers can secure blessing by willpower.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in possession)
Source Gloss
to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in possession)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in possession) BDB: grasp Usage: be affrighted, bar, (catch, lay, take) hold (back), come upon, fasten, handle, portion, (get, have or take) possess(-ion).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups4Aligned forms25
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense21×
Participle passive1Chr 24:6 · Esth 1:6 · Ezek 41:6 · Num 31:30 · Song 3:87×
Perfect1Kgs 1:51 · Exod 15:14 · Isa 33:14 · Job 23:11 · Ps 73:23 · Ps 77:5 · Job 18:207×
Participle active2Chr 25:5 · Gen 25:262×
ImperfectEccl 7:18 · Job 18:92×
Infinitive construct1Kgs 6:61×
Sequential imperfectSong 2:151×
CohortativeSong 7:91×
Hophalcausative passive — the subject is caused to perform the action1×
Participle passive2Chr 9:181×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action2×
PerfectGen 22:13 · Josh 22:92×
Pielintensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action1×
Participle activeJob 26:91×
Word Origins
אָחַז is a primitive root - no further derivation.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Achaz is vivid but not morally self-interpreting. A hand may catch, fasten, seize, maintain, or be held, and those actions can serve very different ends. Genesis 22 describes an animal caught in a thicket within God's provision. Second Samuel 6 records Uzzah taking hold of the ark, but responsible teaching must explain the covenant setting and the narrative's own judgment instead of claiming that touching is intrinsically evil.
Job 17 uses holding as perseverance, while Psalm 73 celebrates God's sustaining hold. These differences matter pastorally. Scripture does not authorize leaders to turn grasping language into permission for control, unwanted touch, property seizure, or coercion. Nor should sufferers be told that faithful perseverance guarantees immediate relief. Readers should distinguish agency from outcome and contact from consent, and should identify whether the text praises, reports, warns, or condemns.
God's faithful hold supplies security; human hands remain accountable to His commands and to the good of neighbors.
Anchor passage
Ps.73.23
Doctrinal connections
- God's sustaining presence is personal care, not impersonal control or fate.
- Human power over bodies, objects, and property remains morally accountable.
- Perseverance holds to a faithful path without claiming sinless self-sufficiency.
- Holy things are approached according to God's revealed commands and character.
- Providence may govern an outcome without erasing responsible human agency.
- Neighbor love rejects coercive possession and honors safety, consent, and justice.
The Hebrew verb has a broad grasping profile that can be rendered catch, take hold, seize, fasten, possess, or hold fast. English choices should follow syntax and context; no single gloss carries every physical, relational, or figurative use.
From Old to New Testament
John 10:28-29 speaks of Christ and the Father keeping the sheep securely, while Philippians 3:12 places Paul's pursuit inside the prior reality that Christ has taken hold of him. These are canonical parallels about divine keeping and responsive perseverance, not claims that either Greek expression is a direct lexical equivalent of H270.