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
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
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…