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Bible Lexicons
Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's #5341 - נָצַר
- Brown-Driver-Briggs
- Strong
1) to guard, watch, watch over, keep
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to watch, guard, keep
1a2) to preserve, guard from dangers
1a3) to keep, observe, guard with fidelity
1a4) to guard, keep secret
1a5) to be kept close, be blockaded
1a6) watchman (participle)
- Book
- Word
2429) ryn (נתסר NTsR) AC: Preserve CO: ? AB: ?
V) ryn (נתסר NTsR) - Preserve: To watch over or guard in order to preserve. KJV (63): (vf: Paal, Participle) keep, preserve, watchman, besiege, keeper, monument, preserver, subtil, hidden, watcher - Strongs: H5341 (נָצַר)
Nm) ryn (נתסר NTsR) - Branch: [Unknown connection to root;] KJV (4): branch - Strongs: H5342 (נֵצֶר)
bm) riyn (נתסיר NTsYR) - Preserve: KJV (1): preserved - Strongs: H5336 (נָצִיר)
Jeff Benner, Ancient Hebrew Research Center Used by permission of the author.
(compare Wetzst in De Job (2) on Job 27:18); Arabic 
look at, consider, examine (
, overseer is Aramaic loan-word Frä138); Sabean להנצרהמו to aid them Hal Rev. Sém. iv (1896), 71; Ethiopic 
spectare, intueri, etc., Di701; — compare also נטר); — Qal Perfect 3 masculine singular suffix נְצָרָ֫תַם Psalm 119:129; 1 singular נָצָ֑רְתִּי Psalm 119:22; Psalm 119:56; Psalm 119:100; 3 masculine plural נָָֽצְרוּ Proverbs 22:12; Imperfect יִצִּר Proverbs 3:1; suffix יִצְּרֶ֫נְהוּ Ges§ 58, 4 R.) Deuteronomy 32:10; feminine suffix תִּנְצְרֶ֑כָּה Proverbs 2:11 (Ges§ 58, 4 R.); 1 singular אֶצֹּר Psalm 119:69; אֶצְּרָה Psalm 119:34; Psalm 119:115; אֶצֹּ֑רָה Psalm 119:145; suffix אֶצָּרְךָ Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:8 (Ges Bö Ew and others from יצר); אֶצֳּרֶ֑נָּה Isaiah 27:3; 3 masculine plural יִצְּרוּ Proverbs 20:28; יִנְצֹ֑רוּ Deuteronomy 33:9 (on forms see Ges§ 66, 2, R. I) + 15t. Imperfect; Imperative נְצֹר Psalm 34:14 3t.; נִצְּרָה Psalm 141:3 (dagesh forte dirimens Ges§ 20, 2 b); suffix נִצְּרֶ֑ה Proverbs 4:13; Infinitive absolute נָצוֺר Nahum 2:2; construct נְצֹר Proverbs 2:8; Participle נוֺצֵר Proverbs 28:7; נֹצֵר Exodus 34:7 7t.; suffix נֹצְרָהּ Isaiah 27:3; plural נוֺצְרִים 2 Kings 17:9; 2 Kings 18:8, etc.; passive נָצוּר Ezekiel 6:12; plural נְצוּרִים Isaiah 65:4 (ᵐ5 ἐν τοις σπηλαίοις, בַּמְּערוֺת); construct נְצוּרֵי (Kt נְצִירֵי only here) Isaiah 49:6; feminine נְצוּרָה Isaiah 1:8 (Di reads נְצוֺרָה Niph`al Participle √ צוּר); construct נְצֻרַת Proverbs 7:10; plural נְצֻרוֺת Isaiah 48:6 (Che reads בְּצֻרוֺת).
1 Watch, guard, keep, a vineyard Job 27:18 (compare Wetzst in De Job (2) on the passage), Isaiah 27:3 (twice in verse), fig-tree Proverbs 27:18, fortification Nahum 2:2; נֹצְרִים watchmen Jeremiah 31:6; ׳מִגְדַּל נ tower of watchmen 2 Kings 17:9; 2 Kings 18:8; in ethical sense of men, guarding the mouth Proverbs 13:3, the way Proverbs 16:17 לֵב Proverbs 4:23; the tongue מֵרַע Psalm 34:14; with על, over the door of the lips Psalm 141:3; of God נֹצֵר הָאָדָם Job 7:20 (thou) watcher of men (iron.).
2 Guard from dangers, preserve, with accusative, subject God or his attributes Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalm 25:21; Psalm 31:24; Psalm 40:12; Psalm 61:8; Isaiah 26:3; Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:8; Proverbs 2:8; Proverbs 20:28; Proverbs 22:12; נֹצֵר נֶפֶשׁ Proverbs 24:12; with accusative and מן from which Psalm 12:8; Psalm 32:7; Psalm 64:2; Psalm 140:2; Psalm 140:5. In Wisdom Literature subject is abstract: חבמה Proverbs 4:6; תבונה Proverbs 2:11; צדקה Proverbs 13:6; נְצוּרֵי ישׂראל Isaiah 49:6 preserved of Israel.
3 Guard with fidelity, keep, observe: of ׳י, נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לאלפים Exodus 34:7 (J); elsewhere of man observing the covenant Deuteronomy 33:9 (poem) Psalm 25:10, the divine law Psalm 78:7; Psalm 105:45; Psalm 119:2; Psalm 119:22; Psalm 119:33; Psalm 119:34; Psalm 119:56; Psalm 119:69; Psalm 119:100; Psalm 119:115; Psalm 119:129; Psalm 119:145; commands of parents Psalm 60:20; Psalm 28:7; and discipline of Wisdom Proverbs 3:1,21; Proverbs 4:13; Proverbs 5:2.
4 Guard, keep secret, dubious: נְצֻרוֺת secret things Isaiah 48:6; נְצוּרִים secret places Isaiah 65:4 (see forms above); נְצֻרַת לֵב secret, wily minded Proverbs 7:10 (of harlot, so RVm close, i.e. secretive).
5 Kept close, blockaded, dubious: הַנָּצוּר the blockaded (so Ew Hi Co Toy; but Ke Bth Kau preserved; Hi Co Bth Toy strike out והנשׁאר) Ezekiel 6:12; עִיר נְצוּרָה blockaded city Isaiah 1:8 (see form above); נֹצְרִים blockaders Jeremiah 4:16 (but ᵐ5 συστροφαι = צררים i.e. foes).
נְצוּרִים see I נצר
Qal Passive participle
נָצַר fut. יִצֹּר, more rarely יִנְצֹר
(1) i.q. נָטַר to watch, to keep (Arab. نَطَرَ to keep, e.g. a vineyard; comp. cogn. نَظَرَ to look at, to watch over, like the Lat. tueri and intueri, and نصر to defend, to free); e.g. used of a vineyard, Job 27:18. מִגְדַּל נֹצְרִים a watch-tower, 2 Kings 17:9. Followed by עַל Psalms 141:3, נִצְּרָה עַל דַּל שְׂפָתַי as if “keep watch over the door of my lips,” i.e. my mouth, lest rash words go forth; (נִצְּרָה with Dag. euphon., for נִצְרָה). Specially
(1) i.q. to defend, to preserve from dangers (as God guarding men), Deuteronomy 32:10; Psalms 31:24; Proverbs 22:12 followed by מִן Psalms 32:7, מִצַּר תִּצְּרֵנִי “thou wilt preserve me from distress.” Psalms 12:8, 64:2 140:2 Isaiah 49:6 כתיב, נְצוּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל “the preserved (from the exile [destruction, rather]) of Israel.”
(2) to keep, to observe a covenant, Deuteronomy 33:9; Psalms 25:10 the precepts of God, Psalms 105:45 on the other hand, used of God keeping mercy, Exodus 34:7, נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים “keeping mercy for thousands.”
(3) to keep, i.q. to hide. Isaiah 48:6, נְצוּרוֹת וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּם “hidden things of which thou knewest not.” Isaiah 65:4, בַּנְּצוּרִים יָלינוּ “they lodge in hidden places” (to be understood of adyta, recesses of the shrines of gods; or perhaps, sepulchral caves; so LXX. parall. sepulchres). Proverbs 7:10, “a woman נְצוּרַת־לֵב hidden (subtle) of heart.”
(4) in a bad sense; God is said to observe any one, as marking his guilt or faults. Job 7:20, נֹצֵר הָאָדָם “O thou observer of men!”
(5) to watch a city, i.e. to besiege it [so שָׁמַר in the following passage], 2 Samuel 11:16, כִּשְׁמֹר יוֹאַב אֶל־הָעִיר “when Joab besieged the city.” Part. pl. נֹצְרִים besiegers, Jeremiah 4:16; Isaiah 1:8, “as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, כְּעִיר נְצוּרָה so is a besieged city” (כְּ, כְּ ut-ita, compare כְּ A, 1), Jerusalem is intended. (Arnold, in the same sense, proposes that we should write כָּעִיר נְצוּרָה, that the substantive may be rendered definite by the article; compare הַדּוֹר זוּ Psalms 12:6, and הָעֲנָלָה חֲדָשָׁה 2 Samuel 6:3 and so we should render die belagerte Stadt, the besieged city, but apparently in the poetic style the article may be omitted in such cases. [This word is in Thes. made a distinct noun, see נְצוּרָה.]
II. נָצַר an unused root. Arab. نضر to shine, to be very verdant; whence נֵצֶר.
The significations of watching and being verdant, which are also joined in the root חָצֵר, I have placed separately, although they may perhaps have a common origin, namely, from the idea of shining (نضر), which is applied to the notion of beholding (نظر, compare שָׁזַף, Gr. φάος δέδορκε, Germ. Blick, used of brightness and beholding); whence arises the signification of observing and guarding.
