H5794 H5794
Strong, mighty, fierce; of persons, forces, or fortifications possessing great power, severity, or boldness
Describes something or someone possessing formidable strength or intensity. A wind that parts the sea (Exod 14:21), a people too powerful to conquer (Num 13:28), or love that rivals death itself (Song 8:6) — all share this quality of overwhelming force. The word can shade toward fierceness and harshness, as when Jacob rebukes the cruelty of Simeon and Levi (Gen 49:7), or toward brazen insolence, as in the 'bold-faced king' of Daniel 8:23. Spanish captures this range well: 'fuerte' for raw strength, 'feroz' for savage intensity.
4. fortified, strong (of a city) — A transferred application to a city or stronghold: 'We have a strong city' (Isa 26:1). Here the adjective moves from personal might to architectural impregnability — walls, gates, and divine protection making a place unconquerable. Only one occurrence carries this fortification sense, but it bridges naturally from the core meaning of overwhelming force. 1×
AR["حَصِينَةٌ-"]·ben["শক্তিশালী-"]·DE["stark"]·EN["city"]·FR["fort"]·heb["עז"]·HI["शक्तिशाली-"]·ID["kuat-"]·IT["forte"]·jav["ingkang-kukuh-"]·KO["강하도다-"]·PT["força-"]·RU["сильный-"]·ES["fuerte"]·SW["wenye-nguvu-"]·TR["guclu-"]·urd["مضبوط"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. strong, mighty, powerful — Denotes robust physical, military, or abstract power — a mighty nation, a strong east wind, waters too powerful to cross. The multilingual evidence clusters tightly around 'strong/fuerte/fort,' reflecting straightforward potency. Applied to people (Num 13:28), natural forces (Exod 14:21), and even love and death (Song 8:6), this is the core sense: raw, prevailing might. Amos 5:9 personifies destruction itself as 'the strong one.' 17×
AR["أَعَزُّ","أَقوياءُ","الأَعِزَّاءِ","العَزِيزَةِ","القَوِيِّ","الْعَزِيزِ","الْقَوِيِّ","حَصِينٌ","عَاصِفَةٍ","عَزِيزٌ","عَزِيزَةٌ","عَنِيفٌ","قَوِيٌّ","قُوَّةٍ","وَ-مِنَ-الْعَزِيزِ"]·ben["এবং-শক্তি-থেকে","প্রচণ্ড","প্রবল","বলবানের","শক্তি","শক্তিতে","শক্তিশালী","শক্তিশালীতে","শক্তিশালীদের","শক্তিশালীরা"]·DE["[עז]","[עזה]","[עזים]","an-Macht","der-fierce","stark","stronger","und-von-stark"]·EN["a-city","and-from-strong","fierce","mighty","mighty-ones","power","strong","stronger","the-fierce"]·FR["[עז]","[עזים]","et-de-fort","force","fort","puissance","stronger"]·heb["ו-מ-עז","עָז","עז","עזה","עזים"]·HI["और-बलवान-से","क्योंकि","ताकतवर","प्रचंड","प्रचण्ड","प्रबल","बलवान","बलवानों","मज़बूत","शक्तिशाली","सामर्थ्य-में"]·ID["dan-dari-yang-kuat","kencang","kuasa","kuat","lebih-kuat","orang-orang-kuat","yang-dahsyat","yang-keras","yang-kuat"]·IT["[עז]","[עזים]","e-da-forte","forte","forza","potenza","stronger"]·jav["ingkang-banter","ingkang-kiyat","ingkang-rosa","kakiyatan","kiyat","kuwat","lan-karisakan","lan-saking-ingkang-kiyat","saking-tiyang-rah","tiyang-tiyang-kiyat"]·KO["강하네","강하다","강한","강한-자","강한-자-들-이","강한-자들의","강한가","거센","그리고-로부터-강한-것","힘의"]·PT["e-do-forte","forte","fortes","poder"]·RU["и-от-сильного","крепка","могучих","силы","сильна","сильнее","сильного","сильные","сильный","сильным","сильных","силён"]·ES["el-fuerte","fuerte","fuertes","impetuosas","más-fuerte","poder","poderosos","y-del-fuerte"]·SW["cha-wenye-nguvu","imara","makali","mkali","mwenye-nguvu","na-kutoka-kwa-mkali","nguvu","wa-nguvu","wenye-nguvu","yenye-nguvu"]·TR["azgın","guclu","guclunun","güçlü","güçlüler","güçlülerin","güçlünün","güçlüyüdü","kudretle","ve--den-güçlü"]·urd["اور-طاقتور-سے","تیز","زوراوروں-کا","زوردار","طاقت-میں","طاقتور","طاقتور-ہیں","طاقتوَر","مضبوط"]
Gen 49:3, Exod 14:21, Num 13:28, Num 21:24, Judg 14:14, Judg 14:18, 2 Sam 22:18, Neh 9:11, Ps 18:17, Ps 59:3, Prov 30:25, Song 8:6 (+5 more)
2. fierce, harsh, severe — Shifts from strength to its menacing edge: fierceness, harshness, severity. Jacob's dying oracle condemns his sons' anger as 'fierce' (Gen 49:7), and Proverbs 18:23 contrasts the poor man's entreaties with the rich man's 'harsh' replies. German 'heftig' and Spanish 'feroz' capture this emotional violence — strength turned cruel or unrelenting. 3×
AR["بِعُنْفٍ","شَدِيدٌ","شَدِيدَةً"]·ben["কঠিন","প্রচণ্ড"]·DE["[עזה]","[עזות]","heftig-ist-er"]·EN["fierce","harshly"]·FR["fierce","fort"]·heb["עז","עזה","עזות"]·HI["कठोरता-से","प्रचंड","भीषण"]·ID["dengan-kasar","ganas","yang-kuat"]·IT["fierce","harshly"]·jav["kasar","kiyat"]·KO["강하다","거칠게","맹렬한"]·PT["duramente","forte"]·RU["дерзостью","сильную","сильный"]·ES["durezas","feroz","fuerte"]·SW["kali","kuwa-kali","kwa-ukali"]·TR["sertlikle","şiddetli"]·urd["سخت","سختی-سے","شدید"]
3. bold-faced, brazen, ruthless — Appears in construct phrases — 'fierce of face' (Deut 28:50, Dan 8:23), 'strong of appetite' (Isa 56:11) — to convey boldness, insolence, or voracity. The construction intensifies a quality into a defining trait: not merely strong but brazenly so. Spanish 'fiera-de' and German 'grimmig' reflect this shift from general strength to a character marked by shameless aggression or greed. 3×
AR["شَدِيدَةُ-","صَلْبُ-","قَاسِيَةُ"]·ben["কঠিন","নির্লজ্জ-","শক্তিশালী"]·DE["[עז]","grimmig","stark"]·EN["fierce","fierce-of-","strong-of-"]·FR["[עז]","fierce","fort"]·heb["עז","עזי-"]·HI["कठोर","कठोर-","लालची"]·ID["keras","kuat"]·IT["[עז]","fierce","forte"]·jav["galak","keras","kiyat-"]·KO["강한-","굳센-","험악한"]·PT["feroz-de","fortes-de-"]·RU["дерзкий-","жадные-","жестокий"]·ES["fiera-de","fuerte-de","fuertes-de-"]·SW["kali","mkali-wa-","wenye-pupa-ya-"]·TR["acgozlu-","sert","sert-"]·urd["سخت"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עַז adj. strong, mighty, fierce;—ע׳ abs. Nu 13:28 + 2 times, עָז Ju 14:18, עָ֑ז Am 5:9 + 4 times; ע��ז cstr. Dt 28:50; Dn 8:23; f. עַזָּה Ex 14:21 + 2 times; pl. עַזִּים Ez 7:24 + 3 times; f. עַזּוֹת Pr 18:23; cstr. עַזֵּי Is 56:11;—strong, mighty, wind Ex 14:21 (J); border Nu 21:24 (JE), but read prob. יַעְזֵר (𝔊 Di al.) Yaʾzer was times border; of people Pr 30:25 (fig. of ants), מַיִם…