H3336 H3336
Form, frame, inclination; what is shaped by a potter, the constitution of a creature, or the bent of the human heart.
Derived from the verb yatsar ('to form, fashion'), this noun spans the distance between a potter's handiwork and the hidden movements of the human mind. In Genesis 6:5 and 8:21 it names the 'inclination' of the heart — that deep-set disposition toward good or evil that later rabbinic thought crystallized as yetser ha-tov and yetser ha-ra. In Isaiah 29:16 and Habakkuk 2:18 it denotes the concrete product of craftsmanship: a pot, an idol, a thing shaped by hands. Psalm 103:14 occupies the tender middle ground — 'He knows our frame' — where yetser points to the fragile, dust-born constitution of the human body. Arabic tasawwur ('mental image') and jibilla ('natural constitution') mirror these overlapping senses, showing that the tension between what is formed outwardly and what is formed inwardly is not unique to Hebrew.
4. maker, former (Qal participle of yatsar) — The Qal active participle yotser used as a substantive meaning 'maker, former' — the agent rather than the product. In Habakkuk 2:18 it appears alongside the noun sense: the maker (yotser) trusts in what he has formed (yetser). Spanish hacedor ('maker') and Arabic saani' ('craftsman') show the participial force clearly. Though morphologically related to the noun, this sense points to the shaping agent, not the shaped result. 1×
AR["صانِعُهُ"]·ben["তার-নির্মাতা"]·DE["Gebilde"]·EN["its-maker"]·FR["création"]·heb["יוצרו"]·HI["उसका-बनाने-वाला"]·ID["pembuatnya,"]·IT["la-sua-creatura"]·jav["tiyang-kang-natah"]·KO["만든-자-가"]·PT["seu-formador"]·RU["создатель-его"]·ES["su-hacedor"]·SW["mtengenezaji-wake"]·TR["yapıcısı-onun"]·urd["بنانے-والے-نے"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. inclination, disposition, intent — The inner disposition or inclination of the heart, the default bent of a person's thinking and desiring. Genesis 6:5 pairs it with 'every thought of his heart,' and Genesis 8:21 echoes the same phrase after the Flood, anchoring the word in humanity's moral constitution. Deuteronomy 31:21 and the Chronicles passages (1 Chr 28:9; 29:18) extend it to plans and purposes. Arabic mayl ('inclination') and tasawwur ('mental image, conception') both orbit the same semantic space — an internal shaping that precedes outward action. This is the sense that rabbinic literature developed into the famous yetser ha-ra and yetser ha-tov. 6×
AR["الْفِكْرَ","تَصَوُّرِ","خَاطِرِ","فِكْرَهُ","لِيَكُونَ","مَيْلَ"]·ben["গঠন","গঠনের-জন্য","তার-প্রবৃত্তি","মন"]·DE["Gebilde","[יצר]","[ליצר]","bildete","das-Gebilde","sein-inclination"]·EN["A-mind","as-the-intent-of","his-inclination","inclination-of","intent-of"]·FR["[יצר]","[ליצר]","inclination-de","son-inclination"]·heb["יצר","יצרו","ל-יצר"]·HI["-के-बनावट","उसकी-योजना","बनावट","मन","विचर"]·ID["-maksud","Pikiran","kecenderungan","kecenderungannya","untuk-maksud"]·IT["[יצר]","[ליצר]","formo","inclination-di","suo-inclination"]·jav["dhateng-gagasan","gagasan","pepenginan","pikiran","rancangan-ipun"]·KO["그의-경향을","뜻을","생각","에-대한-생각"]·PT["Inclinação","a-inclinação","formação-de","inclinação","para-formação-de","sua-inclinação"]·RU["побуждение","побуждением","помысл","помышление","помышление-его"]·ES["Inclinación","intención-de","para-intención-de","su-inclinación"]·SW["Nia","kwa-mawazo-ya","mawazo","mawazo-yake","nia-ya"]·TR["Dusunce","düşüncelerini","düşüncesine","eğilimi","eğilimini"]·urd["اُس-کے-خیال","تصور","خیال","ذہن"]
2. thing formed, product (of craftsmanship) — The concrete product of someone's forming — a vessel shaped by a potter or an idol carved by a craftsman. Isaiah 29:16 sets up the bitter irony: 'Shall the thing formed say to the one who formed it, You did not make me?' Habakkuk 2:18 also applies it to an idol, with Spanish obra ('work, product') and Korean mandeun geot ('thing made') capturing the tangible, physical result. Here yetser is not a thought but a thing you can hold. 2×
AR["صُنعِهِ","وَ-يَقُولُ-الْمَصُوغُ"]·ben["ও-গঠিত","তার-নির্মিত-বস্তুতে"]·DE["Gebilde","und-bildete"]·EN["of-his-making","says"]·FR["[ויצר]","création"]·heb["ו-יצר","יצרו"]·HI["अपनी-रचना-पर","और-गढ़ी-हुई-वस्तु"]·ID["buatannya","dan-barang-yang-dibentuk"]·IT["e-formo","la-sua-creatura"]·jav["kang-dipundamel","lan-barang-ingkang-dibentuk"]·KO["그리고-빚어진-것이","만든-것-을"]·PT["e-formado","sua-obra"]·RU["и-творение","творения-своего"]·ES["en-su-obra","y-lo-formado"]·SW["kazi-yake","na-umbo"]·TR["ve-sekillenen","yaptığına-onun"]·urd["اور-ڈھالا-ہوا","اپنی-بنائی-ہوئی-چیز-پر"]
3. frame, constitution (physical formation) — The physical frame or constitution of the human being, used in Psalm 103:14 where God 'knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.' The word here bridges the potter metaphor and the mortality theme — humans are shaped from clay and remain fragile. Arabic jibilla ('natural constitution') and French forme both reflect this sense of creaturely weakness rather than moral bent. It is a word of divine compassion: God does not forget what He made us from. 1×
AR["جِبلَّتَنا"]·ben["আমাদের-গঠন"]·DE["unser-frame"]·EN["our-frame"]·FR["forme"]·heb["יצרנו"]·HI["हमारी-बनावट"]·ID["pembentukan-kita"]·IT["[יצרנו]"]·jav["ciptaan-kita"]·KO["우리-의-지으신-바-를"]·PT["nossa-formação"]·RU["сотворение-наше"]·ES["nuestra-formación"]·SW["jinsi-tulivyoumbwa"]·TR["yapımızı"]·urd["ہماری-سرشت-کو"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. יֵ֫צֶר n.m. Is 26:3 form, framing, purpose;—י׳ Gn 6:5 + 5 times; יִצְרוֹ Dt 31:21 Hb 2:18; יִצְרֵנוּ ψ 103:14;— 1. pottery, formed by the potter Is 29:16. 2. form of a graven image Hb 2:18. 3. form of man as made of the dust ψ 103:14. 4. of what is framed in the mind (cf. יָצַר 1 c, 2 b), imagination, device, purpose: יצר מחשׁב(ו)ת לב(ב) Gn 6:5 (J), 1 Ch 29:18; י׳ מחשׁבות 28:9; י׳ לב Gn 8:21…