Narrow ; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble ); also a pebble (as in 6864 ); (transitive) an opponent (as crowding )
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The Hebrew form tsar can describe what is narrow or constricting and, as a noun, the distress or adversary that presses a person hard. Some passages speak about an enemy; others name the lived pressure created by danger, grief, judgment, or deprivation.
Reader summary
Full entry for צַר (H6862) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Hebrew form tsar can describe what is narrow or constricting and, as a noun, the distress or adversary that presses a person hard. Some passages speak about an enemy; others name the lived pressure created by danger, grief, judgment, or deprivation.
The BSB source-word alignment has 110 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include distress (5), His foes (4), in their trouble (4), In my distress (3), The adversary (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 14:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (36), Isaiah (15), Lamentations (10), Job (9).
The Hebrew form tsar can describe what is narrow or constricting and, as a noun, the distress or adversary that presses a person hard. Some passages speak about an enemy; others name the lived pressure created by danger, grief, judgment, or deprivation. The word does not tell the interpreter whether every hardship is punishment, whether every opponent is equally guilty, or whether a sufferer caused the crisis.
Psalms use it in honest cries for deliverance, while narratives and prophets identify real hostile agents. Responsible teaching keeps the pressure, sufferer, adversary, and covenant setting visible. It invites prayer and practical refuge without minimizing violence, blaming victims, or promising that faithful people will never experience constriction before God's final deliverance.
Tsar gathers the experience of being hemmed in with the person or force that creates such pressure. Biblical contexts move from urgent lament and hostile opposition to refuge, judgment, and remembered deliverance.
In my distress I called upon the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
David calls to the Lord from distress, and the answer comes from God's temple, making prayer a response to real pressure rather than denial.
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
The Lord is confessed as a refuge for the needy in distress, joining divine strength with protection for people exposed to ruthless power.
Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.
Esther identifies Haman as adversary and enemy, naming the responsible agent in a concrete plot rather than treating danger as an abstraction.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. narrow ; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble ); also a pebble (as in 6864 ); (transitive) an opponent (as crowding )
narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble); also a pebble (as in 6864); (transitive) an opponent (as crowding) BDB: pebble Usage: adversary, afflicted(-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, trouble.
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.
צַר is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Tsar gives Scripture a compact way to describe pressure that is both inwardly felt and outwardly real. David's distress in Psalm 18 is not solved by pretending fear has vanished; he cries to the covenant Lord who hears. Isaiah 25 praises God as refuge for the poor and needy against ruthless power, so divine protection has a social direction toward exposed people.
Esther 7 names Haman as the adversary responsible for a genocidal scheme, demonstrating that faithful speech may identify an oppressor rather than hiding behind vague language. Churches should make room for lament, discern whether the pressure involves violence, poverty, illness, grief, persecution, or ordinary conflict, and respond with fitting care. Prayer belongs with safety planning, material help, truthful testimony, due process, and patient hope.
The word does not permit leaders to label critics enemies or to promise immediate relief. It directs constrained people toward the God who hears and judges rightly.
Ps.18.6
The consonantal form can function adjectivally for narrowness or substantivally for distress and an adversary. Translation depends on syntax and parallelism, so a felt condition and the person causing it must not be merged automatically.
The New Testament continues to describe tribulation, persecutors, and constricted circumstances while directing believers to Christ's preserving love and final justice. Jesus protects the vulnerable, teaches truthful witness, and forms a church that shares burdens without denying suffering or appointing itself the final judge.