H6114 H6114
restraint, control; possibly wealth (textually uncertain in Judges 18:7)
This word appears in Judges 18:7 in a notoriously difficult phrase describing the people of Laish as having 'a possessor of restraint'—perhaps meaning a ruler who exercises control. However, ancient versions (Greek and Latin) understood it as 'wealth' instead, and the text may actually combine two different Hebrew words (treasure and wealth) that later scribes conflated. The range of translations reflects genuine textual uncertainty, with Spanish using 'repression' and English 'restraint' to preserve the governance sense, though the original meaning remains elusive.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Judges 18:7 uses this term in a phrase so obscure that even ancient translators disagreed. The Hebrew tradition reads it as 'restraint' or 'control,' possibly referring to governmental authority—a ruler who keeps order. The Greek and Latin versions, however, saw 'wealth' here. Modern scholars suspect textual corruption, with some proposing the word is actually a combination of two Hebrew terms for riches that got merged in transmission. The multilingual evidence shows interpreters favoring the 'restraint' reading while acknowledging deep uncertainty. 1×
AR["قَهْرًا"]·ben["শাসক"]·DE["restraint"]·EN["restraint"]·FR["restraint"]·heb["עצר"]·HI["रोकनेवाला"]·ID["kekuasaan"]·IT["restraint"]·jav["kakuwasan"]·KO["다스림을"]·PT["riqueza"]·RU["властью"]·ES["represión"]·SW["wa-mamlaka"]·TR["kısıtlayıcı"]·urd["روک"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עֶ֫צֶר n.[m.] restraint (?), only יוֹרֵשׁ ע׳ Ju 18:7 a possessor of restraint, i.e. ruler, but 𝔊 𝔙 wealth, so Thes al., text very dub., cf. GFM; Bu conj. that ע׳ combines readings אֹצָר and עֹשֶׁר.