the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Dictionaries
Wroth, to Be; Angry
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verb.
Qâtsaph (קָצַף, Strong's #7107), “to be wroth, angry.” This verb appears 34 times and is found mainly in the Pentateuch and in the prophets, and a few times in the historical books and the poetic literature. The word is used in rabbinic Hebrew, but its use in modern Hebrew has been displaced by other verbs. It is an ancient Canaanite word; as a gloss it appeared in the Amarna Tablets with the meaning “to become worried,” or according to others, “to be embittered.” The relation with the Arabic cognate qacafa is doubtful.
The general meaning of qâtsaph is a strong emotional outburst of anger, especially when man is the subject of the reaction. The first usage of the word brings this out: “And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers … and he put them in [custody] …” (Gen. 40:2-3; cf. 41:10). Moses became bitterly angry with the disobedient Israelites (Exod. 16:20). The leaders of the Philistines “were wroth” with Achish (1 Sam. 29:4), and Naaman was strongly irritated by Elisha’s lack of a sense of protocol (2 Kings 5:11). Elisha expressed his anger with Joash, king of Israel (2 Kings 13:19). King Ahasuerus deposed Vashti in his anger (Esth. 1:12). In these examples an exalted person (generally a king) demonstrated his royal anger in radical measures against his subjects. He was in a position “to be angered” by the response of his subjects. It is rarer for a person “to become angry” with an equal. It is even rarer for a subject “to be angry” with his superior: “… Two of the king’s chamberlains … were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus” (Esth. 2:21).
The noun derived from qâtsaph particularly refers to God’s anger. The verb qâtsaph is used 11 times to describe man’s anger and 18 times to refer to God’s anger. This fact, coupled with the observation that the verb generally is an expression of a superior against a subject, explains why the biblical text more frequently uses qâtsaph to describe God’s anger. The object of the anger is often indicated by the preposition ‘al (“against”). “For I was afraid of the anger [‘ap] and hot displeasure [chemah], wherewith the Lord was wroth [qâtsaph] against [‘a] you to destroy you” (Deut. 9:19). The Lord’s anger expresses itself against disobedience (Lev. 10:6) and sin (Eccl. 5:5ff.). However, people themselves can be the cause for God’s anger (Ps. 106:32). In the wilderness the Israelites provoked God to wrath by their disobedience and lack of faith: “Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord” (Deut. 9:7; cf. vv. 8, 22). Moses spoke about God’s wrath against Israel’s disobedience which would in time be the occasion for the Exile (Deut. 29:27), and the prophets amplify Moses’ warning of God’s coming “wrath” (Jer. 21:5). After the Exile, God had compassion on Israel and turned His anger against Israel’s enemies (Isa. 34:2).
In the Greek version we find the following translations: orgizomai (“to be angry”) and lupew (“to grieve, to pain, to be sad”).
B. Noun.
Qetseph (קֶצֶף, Strong's #7110), “wrath.” This noun occurs 28 times in biblical Hebrew and generally with reference to God. One occurrence of God’s “wrath” is in 2 Chron. 29:8: “Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem.…” An example of man’s “wrath” appears in Esth. 1:18: “Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath” (cf. Eccl. 5:17).
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Wroth, to Be; Angry'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/w/wroth-to-be-angry.html. 1940.
