H2389 H2389
Strong, mighty, powerful; also severe or fierce in intensity; hard or unyielding in character; forcefully (adverbial).
An adjective describing strength, power, or firmness in various dimensions. Its most iconic pairing is with יָד ('hand') — the 'strong hand' (בְּיָד חֲזָקָה) by which God delivered Israel from Egypt, repeated across Exodus like a liturgical refrain (Exod 3:19; 6:1; 13:9). Spanish 'fuerte,' French 'fort,' and German 'stark' all consistently translate the core idea. Beyond raw power, the word also describes fierce intensity — the severity of battle (2 Sam 11:15) or famine (1 Kgs 18:2) — and the hard, unyielding stubbornness of Israel's forehead in Ezekiel's call narrative (Ezek 2:4; 3:7). Isaiah 40:10 uses it adverbially for the Lord coming 'with strength.'
Senses
1. strong, mighty, powerful — The dominant sense (50x): possessing or exhibiting physical or figurative strength, power, or might. This covers the 'strong hand' of the Lord in the Exodus narratives (Exod 3:19; 6:1), mighty warriors (Num 13:18, 31), comparative uses ('stronger than,' Judg 18:26), and the strong arm of Pharaoh (Ezek 30:22). The translation evidence is strikingly uniform: Spanish 'fuerte,' French 'fort/puissant,' German 'stark/mächtig' — all core vocabulary for strength. Joshua 14:11 captures the personal dimension: Caleb declares himself still as 'strong' at eighty-five as when Moses first sent him out. 50×
AR["أَقْوَى", "شَدِيدٌ", "شَدِيدَةً", "قَويٌّ", "قَويّاً", "قَوِيَّةٌ", "قَوِيَّةٍ"]·ben["প্রবল", "ভীষণ", "শক্তিশালী", "শক্তিশালী?"]·DE["maechtig", "stark"]·EN["mighty", "strong"]·FR["fort", "puissant"]·heb["חזק", "חזקה"]·HI["ताकतवर", "प्रबल", "बलवन्त", "बलवान", "बहुत-तेज़", "भारी", "शक्तिशाली"]·ID["kuat", "lebih-kuat", "sangat-kuat", "sengit", "yang-kuat"]·IT["forte", "potente"]·jav["atos", "ingkang-kiyat", "kenceng", "kiyat", "kuwat?", "langkung-kiyat", "rosa"]·KO["강하다", "강한", "강한-손"]·PT["forte"]·RU["крепкой", "крепкою", "сильная", "сильнее", "сильной", "сильною", "сильный", "тяжёлая"]·ES["fuerte", "fuerte?"]·SW["hodari", "kutoka-mkono", "kuu", "mwenye-nguvu", "ngumu", "wenye-nguvu"]·TR["güçlü", "şiddetli"]·urd["بہت-تیز", "تیز", "زبردست", "سخت", "طاقتور", "طاقتور-ہے", "قوی", "مضبوط"]
Exod 3:19, Exod 6:1, Exod 6:1, Exod 10:19, Exod 13:9, Exod 19:16, Exod 32:11, Num 13:18, Num 13:31, Num 20:20, Deut 3:24, Deut 4:34 (+38 more)
2. severe, fierce, intense — An intensification toward severity, fierceness, or harshness (3x). When describing battle conditions (2 Sam 11:15 — 'the fiercest part of the fighting'), disease (1 Kgs 17:17 — 'very severe' illness), or famine (1 Kgs 18:2), the focus shifts from personal might to the violent or extreme intensity of an event or condition. The semantic bridge is clear — strength pushed to its threatening extreme — but the collocations differ markedly from sense 1. 3×
AR["الشَّديدَةِ", "شَديدًا", "شَديدَةٌ"]·ben["গুরুতর", "তীব্র"]·DE["der-fiercest", "severe"]·EN["severe", "the-fiercest"]·FR["le-fiercest", "severe"]·heb["ה-חזקה", "חזק"]·HI["कठिन", "कठोर", "प्रचण्ड-के"]·ID["hebat", "parah", "yang-paling-keras"]·IT["il-fiercest", "severe"]·jav["nemen", "sang-atos"]·KO["그-격렬한", "심한"]·PT["a-mais-forte", "forte"]·RU["-сильной", "сильная", "сильный"]·ES["fuerte", "la-fuerte"]·SW["ilikuwa-kali", "makali", "mkali"]·TR["şiddetli", "şiddetlinin"]·urd["سخت", "شدید"]
3. hard, firm, unyielding — Hard, firm, or unyielding in material or character (2x). In Ezekiel's commissioning (Ezek 2:4; 3:7), Israel is described as 'hard of forehead' (חִזְקֵי מֵצַח) and 'hard of heart' — obstinate and impervious to prophetic warning. French 'fort' and German 'stark' do double duty here, but Spanish 'fuertes de' and the construct-chain syntax signal the shift toward obduracy rather than admirable power. 2×
AR["صُلْبُ", "وَ-صُلْبُ"]·ben["আর-কঠিন-", "কঠিন-"]·DE["stark", "und-stark"]·EN["and-strong-of-", "strong-of-"]·FR["et-fort", "fort"]·heb["ו-חזקי", "חזקי"]·HI["और-कठोर-", "कठोर-"]·ID["dan-keras", "keras"]·IT["e-forte", "forte"]·jav["atos-ing", "lan-atos"]·KO["강한-", "그리고-강한-"]·PT["e-fortes-de", "fortes-de"]·RU["и-упрямые-", "упрямые-"]·ES["fuertes-de", "y-fuertes-de"]·SW["imara-", "na-wagumu-wa"]·TR["ve-katı", "İsrail'in"]·urd["سخت-", "و-مضبوط-"]
4. with strength, forcefully — An adverbial use with a preposition meaning 'with strength, forcefully' (1x). In Isa 40:10 — 'Behold, the Lord GOD comes בְּחָזָק, with strength' — the adjective functions as a manner expression rather than an attribute. Spanish 'con poder' and the German bracketed transliteration '[בחזק]' both reflect the idiomatic, adverbial character of this construction. 1×
AR["بِ-قُوَّةٍ"]·ben["শক্তিতে"]·DE["[בחזק]"]·EN["with-strength"]·FR["fort"]·heb["ב-חוזק"]·HI["में-शक्ति"]·ID["dengan-kuasa"]·IT["in-fu-forte"]·jav["kalayan-kakiyatan"]·KO["에-강함으로"]·PT["com-força"]·RU["в-силе"]·ES["con-poder"]·SW["kwa-nguvu"]·TR["gucle"]·urd["طاقت-کے-ساتھ"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חָזָק adj. strong, stout, mighty;—ח׳ Ex 10:19 + 18 times; f. חֲזָקָה Ex 3:19 + 31 times + Ez 3:14 (Co for MT vb. 3 fs.); pl. חֲזָקִים Ju 18:25 + 2 times; cstr. חִזְקֵי Ez 2:4 (del. Co v. infr.) 3:7;— 1. strong: a. of men, rarely pred. Nu 13:18 (opp. רָפֶה), v 31 (compar. c. מִן), Jos 14:11; 17:18 (all JE), Ju 18:26 (compar. c. מִן); also of גֹּאֲלָם Je 50:34 Pr 23:11; of hand of י׳ Jos 4:24…