H2388 — חָזַק (chazaq)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2388
Original: חָזַק
Transliteration: chazaq
Pronunciation: khaw-zak'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root — "to fasten upon"
Occurrences: 266 unique verses (346 tokens) across 28 books
First Occurrence: Gen 19:16 — "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to fasten upon; hence, to seize, be strong (figuratively, courageous, causatively strengthen, cure, help, repair, fortify), obstinate; to bind, restrain, conquer: — aid, amend, calker, catch, cleave, confirm, be constant, constrain, continue, be of good (take) courage(-ous, -ly), encourage (self), be established, fasten, force, fortify, make hard, harden, help, (lay) hold (fast), lean, maintain, play the man, mend, become (wax) mighty, prevail, be recovered, repair, retain, seize, be (wax) sore, strengthen (self), be stout, be (make, shew, wax) strong(-er), be sure, take (hold), be urgent, behave self valiantly, withstand.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	113	seize, take hold of, grasp physically; repair (Neh 3); hold fast to
Qal	64	be/become strong, prevail; be hardened (of heart); be severe (famine)
Piel	50	strengthen (someone), make strong; harden (heart); encourage; repair
Hithpael	12	strengthen oneself, take courage; show oneself strong

Stem notes: Hiphil dominates (47%) largely due to Nehemiah 3's wall-repair catalogue (28+ occurrences). The Qal intransitive "be strong" and the Piel causative "make strong" together account for the core theological range. Hithpael reflexive appears at key moments of personal resolve (Gen 48:2 Jacob; 1 Sam 30:6 David; Dan 10:19 Daniel).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
repaired / to repair	36	13.5%
be strong / Be strong	20	7.5%
prevailed / prevail	8	3.0%
hardened / was hardened / will harden	10	3.8%
strong / was strong	7	2.6%
strengthened / was strengthened	6	2.3%
strengthened himself	4	1.5%
held / hold / hold fast	9	3.4%
laid hold / caught hold / took hold	12	4.5%
Be of good courage / be courageous	6	2.3%
encourage / encouraged	5	1.9%
strengthen	5	1.9%
retained / retain	3	1.1%
to confirm	2	0.8%
fortify / fortified	2	0.8%
Other (single-use translations)	~131	~49.2%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nehemiah	34	8.4
2 Chronicles	38	4.6
Nahum	2	4.3
Haggai	1	2.6
Daniel	9	2.5
2 Samuel	15	2.2
2 Kings	15	2.1
Judges	12	1.9
Zechariah	4	1.9
Micah	2	1.9
Ezra	5	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8
Isaiah	20	1.5
Exodus	15	1.2
Joshua	8	1.2
1 Chronicles	10	1.1
Jeremiah	15	1.1
1 Kings	8	1.0
Deuteronomy	9	0.9
Ezekiel	12	0.9
1 Samuel	6	0.7
Job	7	0.7
Hosea	1	0.5
Genesis	6	0.4
Proverbs	4	0.4
Psalms	5	0.2
Leviticus	1	0.1
Numbers	1	0.1

Patterns: Highest density in Nehemiah (wall-repair catalogue in ch. 3). 2 Chronicles concentrates royal self-strengthening and temple repair. Historical and prophetic books dominate; Wisdom literature uses are sparse. Absent from Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Zephaniah, and all NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical Seizing / Grasping¶

Gen 19:16 — "the men laid hold upon his hand" (angels seize Lot)
1 Sam 15:27 — "he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent"
2 Sam 2:16 — "they caught every one his fellow by the head"
Prov 7:13 — "So she caught him, and kissed him"

2. Exhortation to Courage / "Be Strong" Command¶

Deut 31:6 — "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid"
Josh 1:6 — "Be strong and of a good courage"
1 Chr 28:20 — "Be strong and of good courage, and do it"
Hag 2:4 — "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua"

3. Strengthening / Encouraging Another¶

Deut 3:28 — "encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people"
1 Sam 23:16 — "Jonathan... strengthened his hand in God"
Dan 10:18–19 — "he strengthened me, And said... be strong, yea, be strong"
Isa 35:3 — "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees"

4. Hardening of Heart (Obstinacy)¶

Exod 4:21 — "I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go"
Exod 7:13 — "And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not"
Exod 9:12 — "And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh"
Josh 11:20 — "it was of the LORD to harden their hearts"

5. Prevailing / Overcoming in Strength¶

1 Sam 17:50 — "So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling"
2 Sam 24:4 — "the king's word prevailed against Joab"
Judg 1:28 — "when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute"
2 Chr 27:5 — "He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed"

6. Repairing / Restoring (Buildings, Walls)¶

Neh 3:4 — "next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah"
2 Ki 12:5 — "let them repair the breaches of the house"
2 Chr 24:12 — "hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD"
2 Chr 34:8 — "sent Shaphan... to repair the house of the LORD"

7. Holding Fast / Retaining¶

Job 2:3 — "still he holdeth fast his integrity"
Job 27:6 — "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go"
Isa 56:2 — "the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath"
Isa 56:4 — "the eunuchs that... take hold of my covenant"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	73x (27%)	divine exhortation "Be strong... for the LORD"
יָד (yad)	H3027	62x (23%)	"laid hold upon his hand"; "strengthened their hands"
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	59x (22%)	genealogical context in repair catalogues
אָמַר (ʼamar)	H559	46x (17%)	speech formula introducing "be strong" commands
עָשָׂה (ʻasah)	H6213	41x (15%)	"be strong and do it"
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	39x (15%)	"repair the house of the LORD"
אִישׁ (ʼiysh)	H376	33x (12%)	"every man" in repair lists; "play the man"
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	33x (12%)	royal strengthening and political prevailing
אֱלֹהִים (ʼelohiym)	H430	29x (11%)	"strengthen his hand in God"
אֶרֶץ (ʼerets)	H776	28x (11%)	"be strong... go in and possess the land"

Synonyms¶

H553 אָמַץ (ʼamats) — be strong, be alert, be courageous; paired with chazaq in the formulaic command "be strong and courageous" (Josh 1:6, Deut 31:6)

Antonyms¶

H2865 חָתַת (chathath) — be shattered, dismayed, broken; direct opposite in "be strong... fear not" formulas
H3372 יָרֵא (yareʼ) — to fear, be afraid; paired antonymically: "be strong, fear not"
H6206 עָרַץ (ʻarats) — to dread, be terrified; antonym in courage exhortations

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2389 חָזָק (chazaq) — adjective: strong, hard, bold, fierce (from this root; 56v)
H2391 חֵזֶק (chezeq) — noun: strength (5v)
H2392 חֹזֶק (chozeq) — noun: strength, power (5v)
H2393 חֶזְקָה (chezqah) — noun: force, strength, repair (6v)
H2396 חִזְקִיָּה (Chizqiyah) — proper noun: Hezekiah ("Yah has strengthened")

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
גָּבַר (gabar)	H1396	"prevailed"	gabar = warrior-strength, overcoming by force; chazaq = broader range including seize, repair, encourage
קָשָׁה (qashah)	H7185	"hardened"	qashah = make dense/difficult/harsh; chazaq hardening = obstinate firmness of will
כָּבַד (kabad)	H3513	"hardened"	kabad = make heavy/dull (Pharaoh's heart); chazaq = make firm/obstinate (Pharaoh's heart)
אָחַז (ʼachaz)	H270	"take hold"	achaz = seize with accessory (net, bridle); chazaq = seize with strength
עָזַז (ʻazaz)	H5810	"strengthened"	azaz = be stout/fierce; chazaq = be firm/strong with broader semantic range

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
κρατέω (krateo) G2902	46	21.90	Primary — "seize, hold fast" sense
κατισχύω (katischyo) G2729	44	21.48	"Prevail against, overpower"
κραταιόω (krataioo) G2901	28	18.37	"Strengthen, make firm"
ἀνδρίζομαι (andrizomai) G407	18	18.28	"Act manly, be courageous"
ἐνισχύω (enischyo) G1765	23	17.26	"Invigorate, strengthen"
ἐπιλαμβάνομαι (epilambanomai) G1949	19	16.15	"Seize, take hold of"
ἰσχύω (ischyo) G2480	23	15.60	"Be strong, have force"
σκληρύνω (skleruno) G4645	11	12.04	"Harden, make stubborn" (Pharaoh)

Note: The wide LXX mapping reflects the word's broad semantic range. The "seize" sense maps to krateo/epilambanomai, the "be strong" sense maps to krataioo/enischyo/ischyo, the "be courageous" sense maps to andrizomai, and the "harden" sense maps to skleruno.