H1504 H1504
To cut, divide, or sever physically; by extension, to decree or determine (as in 'cutting' a decision).
A verb rooted in the concrete act of cutting or dividing something in two, as when Solomon ordered a child divided (1 Kgs 3:25) or when the psalmist recalls God cleaving the Red Sea into sections (Ps 136:13). The Nifal stem expresses being cut off or excluded, carrying a sense of isolation or destruction. In later usage influenced by Aramaic, the word extends metaphorically to decreeing or determining, as though a decision is 'cut' into being (Job 22:28). Spanish 'dividió' and 'cortará' capture the physical splitting, while 'decretarás' marks the legal extension.
Senses
1. cut, divide, cut off — Covers the primary physical meaning of cutting, dividing, or severing objects and people. In the Qal, it describes cutting wood (2 Kgs 6:4), dividing a child (1 Kgs 3:25), and the dramatic splitting of the Red Sea 'into parts' (Ps 136:13, where Spanish renders 'Al que dividió'). The Nifal passive conveys being cut off from community or life, as in the lament of Psalm 88:5 and the leper-king's exclusion in 2 Chronicles 26:21. Across languages, the physical dimension is consistent: French and German leave some forms untranslated, but English 'snatches' (Isa 9:19) and Spanish 'dividid' confirm the concrete semantic core. 11×
AR["اشْطُرُوا", "انْقَطَعَ", "انْقَطَعَتْ", "انْقَطَعُوا", "انْقَطَعْتُ", "اِنْقَطَعْنَا", "قُطِعَ", "لِـ-شَاقِّ", "وَ-يَقْطَعُ", "وَقَطَعوا"]·ben["এবং-কাটবে", "এবং-কাটলেন", "কাটা", "কেটে-গেছে", "ছিন্ন-হয়েছি", "বিচ্ছিন্ন-হয়েছি-আমি", "বিচ্ছিন্ন-হয়েছিল", "বিচ্ছিন্ন-হয়েছে", "বিচ্ছিন্ন-হলেন", "বিভাজনকারীকে"]·DE["[גזר]", "[ויגזר]", "[נגזר]", "[נגזרנו]", "[נגזרתי]", "divide", "sind-abgeschnitten-weg", "und-sie-schnitt", "zu-der-einer-dividing"]·EN["I-am-cut-off", "and-he-snatches", "and-they-cut", "are-cut-off", "divide", "he-was-cut-off", "is-cut-off", "to-the-one-dividing", "we-are-cut-off"]·FR["[ויגזר]", "[נגזר]", "[נגזרתי]", "couper", "divise", "et-ils-coupa", "à-couper"]·heb["גזר", "גזרו", "ו-יגזור", "ו-יגזרו", "ל-גוזר", "נגזר", "נגזרו", "נגזרנו", "נגזרתי"]·HI["और-वह-काटेगा", "काट-दिए-गए", "काट-दिया-गया", "काटनेवाले-को", "काटा-गया-था", "काटा-जाएगा", "काटो", "मैं-कट-गया", "वय्यिग्जरू", "हमारी"]·ID["Dan-ia-merenggut", "Dia-terputus", "Kepada-yang-membelah", "aku-terputus", "belahlah", "dan-mereka-menebang", "ia-terputus", "terputus", "terputus-kami"]·IT["[גזר]", "[ויגזר]", "[נגזר]", "[נגזרנו]", "[נגזרתי]", "dividi", "e-essi-tagliò", "taglio'"]·jav["Dhateng-ingkang-mecah", "Lan-piyambakipun-ngethèk", "dipunpisah", "dipuntegor", "kapisahaken", "kasirnakaken", "kawula-sampun-kasirnakaken", "kita-kapisah", "lan-negor", "sigar", "sigara"]·KO["가르신-이-에게", "그리고-베었다", "그리고-찢었으나", "끊겼다", "끊어졌나이다", "끊어졌느니라", "끊어졌다-우리가", "끊어지고", "나누라", "내-가-끊어졌네"]·PT["Ao-que-dividiu", "E-despedaçará", "Fui-cortado", "cortai", "e-cortaram", "foi-cortado", "fomos-cortados", "foram-cortados"]·RU["и-режет", "и-рубили", "исчезли", "отлучён", "отрезан-я", "отрезаны-мы", "отсечены", "отсечён", "разделившему-", "рассеките"]·ES["Al-que-dividió", "Y-cortará", "dividid", "fue-cortado", "fue-excluido", "fueron-cortados", "fuimos-cortados", "sea-cortado", "soy-cortado", "y-cortaban"]·SW["Na-watakata", "Nimekatiliwa-mbali", "alikataliwa", "alikatiliwa", "aliyegawanya", "imekatwa", "mkateni", "na-wakakata", "tumekatiliwa-mbali", "wamekatiliwa-mbali"]·TR["bölene-", "bölün", "kesildi", "kesildik", "kesildim", "koparıldılar", "ve-kesti", "ve-kestiler"]·urd["اور-کاٹا", "اور-کاٹے", "چیرنے-والے-کا", "کاٹ-دیئے-گئے", "کاٹ-دیا-جائے-گا", "کاٹ-دیا-گیا", "کاٹا-جا-چکا-تھا", "کاٹو", "کٹ-گئے", "کٹ-گیا-میں"]
2. decree, determine — An Aramaic-influenced metaphorical extension where 'cutting' becomes 'decreeing' or 'determining,' treating a decision as something carved or incised. Job 22:28 promises that what one decrees will be established (English 'you will decree,' Spanish 'decretarás'), while Esther 2:1 uses the Nifal to report what 'was decreed' against Vashti. The shift from physical cutting to authoritative pronouncement is well attested in cognate Semitic languages, and the multilingual glosses mark this sense distinctly from the concrete cutting uses. 2×
AR["قُضِيَ", "وَ-تَقْضِي-"]·ben["এবং-তুমি-নির্ধারণ-করবে-", "স্থির-হয়েছিল"]·DE["[ותגזר]", "[נגזר]"]·EN["and-you-will-decree", "was-decreed"]·FR["[נגזר]", "et-ותגזר"]·heb["ו-תגזור", "נגזר"]·HI["और-तू-ठानेगा", "ठहराया-गया-था"]·ID["dan-engkau-memutuskan", "ditetapkan"]·IT["[נגזר]", "e-e-voi-will-decree"]·jav["dipun-prèntahaken", "lan-panjenengan-mutusaken-"]·KO["결정되었다", "그리고-정하리라-"]·PT["E-decretarás", "foi-decretado"]·RU["и-решишь-", "постановлено"]·ES["Y-decretarás-", "fue-decretado"]·SW["Na-utaamua", "kiliamriwa"]·TR["kararlaştırıldığını", "ve-karar-verirsin-"]·urd["اور-فیصلہ کرے گا-", "ٹھہرایا-گیا"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H4941 1. justice, righteousness (134×)H4941 2. judgment, judicial decision (119×)H4941 3. ordinances, statutes (plural) (110×)H8199 1. to judge, adjudicate (98×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)G2919 1. judge, pass judgment (76×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גָּזַר vb. cut, divide (Arabic جَزَرَ, NH גָּזַר cut, determine, circumcise; Ethiopic ገዘረ Aramaic גְּזַר, ܓܙܰܪ )— Qal Pf. גָּזַר Hb 3:17; Impf. וַיִּגְזֹר Is 9:19; 2 ms. תִּגְזַר Jb 22:28; וַיִּגְזְרוּ 2 K 6:4; Pt. act. גֹּזֵר ψ 136:13;— 1. divide, cut in two, sq. acc. 1 K 3:25 (ג׳ לִשְׁנָ֑יִם) cf. v 26 (obj. not expressed). 2. divide the Red Sea (acc.) ψ 136:13 sq. לִגְזָרִים. 3. cut down…