H3986 H3986
refusing, one who refuses (always of disobeying YHWH, with infinitive following)
This adjectival participle describes someone who refuses or disobeys, appearing exclusively in contexts of refusing to obey Yahweh's command. The term functions almost as a technical designation for covenant disobedience—Pharaoh repeatedly 'refuses' to let Israel go despite plague after plague, and Zedekiah 'refuses' to surrender to Babylon despite Jeremiah's prophetic warnings. The word always takes an infinitive to specify what action is being refused, emphasizing the willful nature of the disobedience.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The participle appears four times describing stubborn refusal to obey God. Pharaoh is three times designated as 'refusing to let the people go' before successive plagues—the frogs (Exod 8:2), cattle disease (Exod 9:2), and locusts (Exod 10:4). Zedekiah is warned, 'If you are refusing to surrender' to the Babylonians, disaster will follow (Jer 38:21). In each case, the Hebrew construction is 'refusing [infinitive],' emphasizing the ongoing stubborn disobedience. Spanish rehusando/rehúsas and French/German leaving the participle in brackets show the challenge of rendering this distinctive participial construction that functions almost as a covenant-breaking technical term. 4×
AR["أَبَيْتَ"]·ben["অস্বীকার", "অস্বীকার-কর", "প্রত্যাখ্যান"]·DE["[מאן]", "refusing"]·EN["refusing"]·FR["[מאן]", "refusing"]·heb["מאן", "מסרב"]·HI["तू-मना-करता-है", "नकारता-है"]·ID["menolak"]·IT["[מאן]", "refusing"]·jav["emoh", "nampik"]·KO["거부하는-자이다", "거부하면", "거부한다면"]·PT["recusares", "recusas"]·RU["откажешься", "отказываешься"]·ES["rehusando", "rehúsas"]·SW["unakataa", "utakataa"]·TR["reddedersen"]·urd["انکار", "انکار-کرتا-ہے", "انکار-کرو-گا-تو"]
Related Senses
G4102 1. faith, trust, belief (239×)G4100 1. believe / have faith in (233×)H0982 1. trust in, rely on (105×)H3988a 1. reject, refuse (56×)G4103 1. faithful, trustworthy, reliable (54×)H0530 1. faithfulness, fidelity, reliability (47×)H0539 1. believe, accept as true (42×)H3985 1. refuse, be unwilling (41×)H0539 2. faithful, trustworthy, sure (39×)H8582 1. lead astray, cause to err (22×)H2623 1. faithful ones / saints (community) (21×)G0571 1. unbelieving, unbeliever (20×)G3982 1. be persuaded or convinced (19×)H8582 2. go astray, err morally (19×)G4105 1. to deceive, lead astray (18×)G3982 2. trust or have confidence in (17×)H2186a 1. reject, spurn (Qal) (16×)H3988a 2. despise, scorn (14×)G3982 3. persuade or convince someone (13×)G4103 2. believing, a believer (13×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מָאֵן adj.verb. refusing, sq. Inf., and always of disobeying י׳; Ex 7:27; 9:2; 10:4 (all J), Je 38:21.