בָּצַר

𐤁𐤑𐤓

bâtsar

H1219 adjective

SILEX Entry

Definition

To cut off, prune, or harvest, especially in reference to gathering grapes at vintage. In extended usage, to make inaccessible through fortifying, securing, or enclosing. Occasionally, to withhold or restrain access. The term can refer both to the agricultural action of grape-picking and to rendering a place strong or unapproachable by fortification.

Semantic Range

to gather (especially grapes), to harvest, to cut off, to prune, to fortify, to make inaccessible, to restrain, to withhold

Root / Etymology

From the root בצר meaning 'to cut off, harvest, make inaccessible.' The verb form primarily denotes actions of cutting or gathering, particularly during the grape harvest, but by metaphorical extension also describes making something inaccessible or fortified. There is a denominative connection to בָּצִיר (bâtsîr, 'vintage, grape harvest').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In pre-exilic Israelite society, בָּצַר commonly appears in agricultural contexts, specifically regarding grape-harvest (Isaiah 5:2, Judges 9:27). The root concept of 'cutting off' leads to its use in military or defensive scenarios—especially in the sense of fortifying city walls, making towns or strongholds inaccessible by height or strength (Deuteronomy 3:5). This metaphoric extension develops particularly in monarchic and exilic literature. The noun derivative בִּצָּרוֹן (bitsaron) for 'stronghold' shares this sense of firmness or inaccessibility. Standard English translations 'gather,' 'fortify,' or 'make inaccessible' only partially express the semantic range; the term's agricultural and military connotations reflect a common biblical pattern of root extension. Post-exilic usage tends to favor derivatives rather than the verb form. The term should not be confused with other verbs for 'fortify' (e.g., חזק), which often imply strengthening rather than enclosing or making inaccessible by separation.

Translation Consistency

primary "fortify" 2 occurrences

Most occurrences (24 of 38) are rendered with the idea of making inaccessible or secure (e.g., “fortified”), so choosing fortify gives the most consistent, natural English that matches the typical biblical usage. It also covers the extended sense of enclosing or cutting off; the rarer agricultural sense (gather/harvest grapes) will be handled by contextual glossing or alternate phrasing, while preserving consistency across all forms of H1219.

Alternatives (36 occurrences):
"fortified ones" (17x) "fortified ones (feminine)" (3x) "fortified" (3x) "harvest" (2x) "fortified one" (2x) "restrained" (1x) "gather" (1x) "harvested" (1x) "like a grape-harvester" (1x) "grape-harvesters" (1x) "grape-gatherers" (1x) "vintage" (1x) "cut off" (1x) "withheld" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to clip off; specifically (as denominative from בָּצִיר); to gather grapes; also to be isolated (i.e. inaccessible by height or fortification); cut off, (de-) fenced, fortify, (grape) gather(-er), mighty things, restrain, strong, wall (up), withhold.

Bantu Hebrew

Language Bantu Word Transliteration Meaning
Bemba kakata to cut, slice
Kikuyu gata to cut, chop, sever
Kimbundu kakata to cut
Kinyarwanda gakata to cut
Kirundi gakata to cut

See all 7 languages →

Root Family

בצר (Betser) — to cut off, to make inaccessible, to fortify, to gather (in the agricultural sense)

Root בצר to cut off, harvest, make inaccessible
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1208 בָּצוֹר the fortified one
H1210 בָּצִיר grape harvest
H1220 בֶּצֶר extracted gold
H1221 בֶּצֶר Fortified-Place
H1222 בְּצַר gold

Word Forms

16 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1219-02 בְּצֻרֽוֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones 9
H1219-05 הַ/בְּצֻר֑וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones 7
H1219-01 בְּצוּרָֽה betsurah HAafsa fortified made-inaccessible fortified 3
H1219-11 וּ/בְצוּרֹ֖ת uvetsurot HC/Aafpa and fortified and fortified ones (feminine) and fortified ones (feminine) 3
H1219-03 בֹּֽצְרִים֙ botserim HVqrmpa grape-gatherers grape-harvesters grape-gatherers 2
H1219-10 תִבְצֹר֙ tivetsor HVqi2ms you gather you harvest you harvest 2
H1219-14 בְצוּרָֽה vetsurah HAafsa fortified fortified one fortified one 2
H1219-15 יִבָּצֵ֣ר yibatser HVNi3ms can-be-thwarted he will be made inaccessible be withheld 2
H1219-04 הַ/בָּצִֽיר habatsir HTd/Ncmsa of the vintage the grape-harvest of the vintage 1
H1219-06 כְּ/בוֹצֵ֖ר kevotser HR/Vqrmsa like a grape-gatherer like a grape-harvester like a grape-harvester 1

Occurrences in Scripture

38 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1219-15 Genesis 11:6 יִבָּצֵ֣ר yibatser HVNi3ms will be restrained he will be made inaccessible will be restrained
H1219-10 Leviticus 25:5 תִבְצֹ֑ר tivetsor HVqi2ms you shall gather you harvest you will gather
H1219-09 Leviticus 25:11 תִבְצְר֖וּ tivetseru HVqi2mp you-shall-gather you will harvest you shall harvest
H1219-02 Numbers 13:28 בְּצֻר֤וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-11 Deuteronomy 1:28 וּ/בְצוּרֹ֖ת uvetsurot HC/Aafpa and fortified and fortified ones (feminine) and fortified ones (feminine)
H1219-02 Deuteronomy 3:5 בְּצֻר֛וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-11 Deuteronomy 9:1 וּ/בְצֻרֹ֖ת uvetsurot HC/Aafpa and fortified and fortified ones (feminine) and fortified ones (feminine)
H1219-10 Deuteronomy 24:21 תִבְצֹר֙ tivetsor HVqi2ms you gather you harvest you harvest
H1219-13 Deuteronomy 28:52 וְ/הַ/בְּצֻר֔וֹת vehabetsurot HC/Td/Aafpa and-the-fortified and the fortified ones and the fortified ones
H1219-02 Joshua 14:12 בְּצֻר֔וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-12 Judges 9:27 וַֽ/יִּבְצְר֤וּ vayivetseru HC/Vqw3mp and they gathered and they harvested and they harvested
H1219-02 2 Samuel 20:6 בְּצֻר֖וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-05 2 Kings 18:13 הַ/בְּצֻר֖וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-02 2 Kings 19:25 בְּצֻרֽוֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-14 Isaiah 2:15 בְצוּרָֽה vetsurah HAafsa fortified fortified one fortified one
H1219-07 Isaiah 22:10 לְ/בַצֵּ֖ר levatser HR/Vpc to fortify to harvest fully to fortify
H1219-14 Isaiah 25:2 בְצוּרָ֖ה vetsurah HAafsa fortified fortified one fortified one
H1219-01 Isaiah 27:10 בְּצוּרָה֙ betsurah HAafsa fortified made-inaccessible fortified
H1219-05 Isaiah 36:1 הַ/בְּצֻר֖וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the-fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-02 Isaiah 37:26 בְּצֻרֽוֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-06 Jeremiah 6:9 כְּ/בוֹצֵ֖ר kevotser HR/Vqrmsa like a grape-gatherer like a grape-harvester like a grape-harvester
H1219-01 Jeremiah 15:20 בְּצוּרָ֔ה betsurah HAafsa fortified made-inaccessible fortified
H1219-11 Jeremiah 33:3 וּ/בְצֻר֖וֹת uvetsurot HC/Aafpa and mighty things and fortified ones (feminine) and fortified ones (feminine)
H1219-03 Jeremiah 49:9 בֹּֽצְרִים֙ botserim HVqrmpa grape-gatherers grape-harvesters grape-harvesters
H1219-08 Jeremiah 51:53 תְבַצֵּ֖ר tevatser HVpi3fs she fortifies she will fortify it will fortify
H1219-01 Ezekiel 21:25 בְּצוּרָֽה betsurah HAafsa fortified made-inaccessible fortified
H1219-02 Ezekiel 36:35 בְּצוּר֥וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-02 Hosea 8:14 בְּצֻר֑וֹת betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-03 Obadiah 1:5 בֹּֽצְרִים֙ botserim HVqrmpa grape-gatherers grape-harvesters grape-gatherers
H1219-05 Zephaniah 1:16 הַ/בְּצֻר֔וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-04 Zechariah 11:2 הַ/בָּצִֽיר habatsir HTd/Ncmsa of the vintage the grape-harvest of the vintage
H1219-16 Psalms 76:13 יִ֭בְצֹר yivetsor HVqi3ms He will cut off he will cut off he will cut off
H1219-15 Job 42:2 יִבָּצֵ֖ר yibatser HVNi3ms can-be-thwarted he will be made inaccessible be withheld
H1219-02 Nehemiah 9:25 בְּצֻרוֹת֮ betsurot HAafpa fortified fortified ones fortified ones
H1219-05 2 Chronicles 17:2 הַ/בְּצֻר֑וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-05 2 Chronicles 19:5 הַ/בְּצֻר֖וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-05 2 Chronicles 32:1 הַ/בְּצֻר֔וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones
H1219-05 2 Chronicles 33:14 הַ/בְּצֻר֖וֹת habetsurot HTd/Aafpa the-fortified the fortified ones the fortified ones