H6819 H6819
to be insignificant, become small, be brought low; diminishing in status, honor, or number
This verb means to become insignificant, small, or diminished—the opposite of being honored or numerous. Job 14:21 speaks of children being brought low without the father's knowledge. Jeremiah 30:19 promises that God's restored people 'will not be insignificant'—they will grow and be honored. Zechariah 13:7 mentions 'the little ones' among the scattered sheep, those of lesser status or strength. The semantic field covers both numerical decrease and social diminishment. Spanish distinguishes 'menospreciados' (despised/brought low) from 'pequeños' (small ones), capturing both nuances.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Three contexts reveal the word's range: personal ignorance of children's diminishment (Job), prophetic promise against national insignificance (Jeremiah), and the vulnerable 'little ones' among scattered people (Zechariah). The verb can be stative (be small/insignificant) or inchoative (become small, be brought low). The cross-linguistic evidence shows both adjectival ('small', 'little ones') and verbal ('will be insignificant', 'are humbled') forms, reflecting Hebrew's participial and imperfect uses. The term expresses vulnerability, diminished status, or lack of honor. 3×
AR["الصِّغَارِ", "وَ-يُحَقَّرُونَ", "يَصْغُرُونَ"]·ben["এবং-তারা-নিচু-হয়", "ক্ষুদ্রদের", "তুচ্ছ-হবে-তারা"]·DE["[הצערים]", "[ויצערו]", "[יצערו]"]·EN["and-brought-low", "the-little-ones", "will-they-be-insignificant"]·FR["[יצערו]", "et-ויצערו", "petit"]·heb["ה-צעירים", "ו-ייצערו", "יצערו"]·HI["और-वे-तुच्छ-होते-हैं", "छोटों", "तुच्छ-होंगे-वे"]·ID["dan-menjadi-rendah", "mereka-akan-menjadi-kecil", "yang-kecil-kecil"]·IT["[הצערים]", "[יצערו]", "e-e-brought-low"]·jav["badhe-alit", "ingkang-alit", "lan-sami-dipun-asoraken"]·KO["그-어린-자들", "그리고-미천해도", "작아지리라"]·PT["e-são-humilhados", "os-pequenos", "serão-diminuidos"]·RU["будут-унижены", "и-унизятся", "малых"]·ES["los-pequeños", "serán-menospreciados", "y-son-humillados"]·SW["kuwa-wachache", "na-wakidhalilishwa", "wadogo"]·TR["küçüklerin", "küçülecekler", "ve-küçülürler"]·urd["اور-ذلیل-ہوتے-ہیں", "ذلیل-ہوں-گے-وہ", "چھوٹوں"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [צָעַר] vb. be, or grow, insignificant (‖ זער; NH id., Assyrian ṣeḫêru, be small, Arabic صَغُرَ id.; Syriac ܨܥܰܪ be insignificant, despicable; 𝔗 צְעַר trans. despise, belittle);— Qal Impf. (opp. כָּבֵד), 3 mpl. יִצְעֲרוּ Jb 14:21, יִצְעָ֑רוּ Je 30:19; Pt. as subst. הַצֹּעֲרִים Zc 13:7 (i.e. sheep, in fig., cf. Now).