וַ/יִּתְחַזַּ֔ק

𐤅/𐤉𐤕𐤇𐤆𐤒

vayitechazaq

and he strengthened himself

a primitive root; to fasten upon; hence, to seize, be strong (figuratively, courageous, causatively strengthen, cure, help, repair, fortify), obstinate; to bind, restrain, conquer; aid, amend, [idiom] calker, catch, cleave, confirm, be constant, constrain, continue, be of good (take) courage(-ous, -ly), encourage (self), be established, fasten, force, fortify, make hard, harden, help, (lay) hold (fast), lean, maintain, play the man, mend, become (wax) mighty, prevail, be recovered, repair, retain, seize, be (wax) sore, strengthen (self), be stout, be (make, shew, wax) strong(-er), be sure, take (hold), be urgent, behave self valiantly, withstand.

H2388

2 Chronicles 21:4 · Word #6

Lexicon H2388

Lemmaחָזַק
Lemma (Paleo)𐤇𐤆𐤒
Transliterationchâzaq
Strong'sH2388
In-contextand he strengthened himself

Morphology HC/Vtw3ms All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan t — Hithpael — Intensive reflexive
Conjugation w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H2388-70

and he made himself strong

Rootחזק (ḥ-z-q)
Core Meaningsfirmness, strength, grasping, holding fast, prevailing
Semantic Rangeto strengthen oneself, to take hold firmly, to become strong, to show firmness or resolve, to prevail, to harden oneself, to seize or grasp tightly
Conceptual Significanceחזק frequently marks moments of resolve, courage, or hardening—whether human self-fortification in crisis or divinely influenced firmness of heart. It conveys the biblical theme of inner strengthening, either toward faithful endurance or stubborn resistance.
Morphological NotesVerb; waw-consecutive (wayyiqtol) + Hitpael imperfect, 3rd masculine singular (Vtw3ms). The Hitpael stem expresses reflexive or self-strengthening action in past narrative sequence.
Rendering RationaleThe verb is Hitpael (reflexive) wayyiqtol, 3rd masculine singular, from חזק. The reflexive stem conveys that the subject acts upon himself, hence "made himself strong," preserving the root sense of firmness and strength while accurately reflecting the masculine singular narrative form.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root חזק (firmness, strength, grasping, holding fast, prevailing)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H2388-01 achazeq I will make strong
H2388-02 achazeqenu I will firmly strengthen him
H2389-01 bechazaq in firm strength

Word Usage (290 occurrences of H2388)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 19:16 וַ/יַּחֲזִ֨קוּ vayachaziqu and the men seized
Genesis 21:18 וְ/הַחֲזִ֥יקִי vehachaziqi and hold
Genesis 41:56 וַ/יֶּחֱזַ֥ק vayechezaq was severe