H6999 — קָטַר (qatar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6999
Original: קָטַר
Transliteration: qâṭar
Pronunciation: kaw-tar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; identical with H7000 (enclose) through the idea of fumigation in a close place
Occurrences: 112 unique verses (139 tokens) across 15 books
First Occurrence: Exo 29:13 — "And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver... and burn them upon the altar."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root (identical with H7000 through the idea of fumigation in a close place and perhaps thus driving out the occupants); to smoke, i.e. turn into fragrance by fire (especially as an act of worship): — burn (incense, sacrifice) (upon), (altar for) incense, kindle, offer (incense, a sacrifice).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	70	cause to smoke — burn sacrificial portions on the altar
Piel	42	make sacrifices smoke — burn incense (especially idolatrous)
Hophal	2	be made to smoke — passive (Lev 6:22; Mal 1:11)
Pual	1	be perfumed — passive participle (Song 3:6)

Stem distinction: The Hiphil dominates Leviticus and Exodus (legitimate priestly altar-burning of fat/offerings). The Piel concentrates in Kings, Jeremiah, and Hosea, primarily for burning incense — often at high places or to other gods. This Hiphil/Piel distribution marks a functional split: Hiphil = authorized sacrificial burning on YHWH's altar; Piel = incense burning (both legitimate and idolatrous).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
burn (various forms: shall burn, and burn, burnt, etc.)	~62	55%
burn incense / burnt incense (various forms)	~38	34%
offer / offered (incense, sacrifice)	~5	4%
incense	2	2%
kindle	1	1%
perfumed	1	1%
other (and, them, let, etc.)	~3	3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	33	3.8
Jeremiah	21	1.5
2 Chronicles	15	1.8
2 Kings	12	1.7
1 Kings	7	0.9
Exodus	7	0.6
Hosea	3	1.5
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Numbers	3	0.2
Isaiah	2	0.2
1 Chronicles	2	0.2
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8
Amos	1	0.7
Song of Solomon	1	—

Pattern: Concentrated in ritual/legal literature (Leviticus 30%) and prophetic denunciation of idolatrous worship (Jeremiah 19%, Kings 17%). Absent from wisdom literature (except Song of Solomon), Psalms, and post-exilic narratives (Ezra, Nehemiah).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Burning Sacrificial Fat/Portions on the Altar (Hiphil — priestly ritual)¶

Lev 1:9 — "the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice... a sweet savour unto the LORD"
Lev 3:5 — "Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice"
Lev 4:26 — "he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings"
Exo 29:18 — "thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD"

2. Burning Incense in Legitimate Worship (Hiphil — priestly incense service)¶

Exo 30:7 — "Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it"
Exo 30:8 — "when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD"
1 Chr 23:13 — "Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things... to burn incense before the LORD"
2 Chr 26:18 — "It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron"

3. Burning Incense at High Places (Piel — mixed/unauthorized worship)¶

1 Ki 3:3 — "Solomon loved the LORD... only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places"
2 Ki 12:3 — "the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places"
2 Ki 15:4 — "the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places"
2 Ki 16:4 — "he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree"

4. Idolatrous Incense Burning (Piel — prophetic condemnation)¶

Jer 7:9 — "Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery... and burn incense unto Baal?"
Jer 44:17 — "we will certainly... burn incense unto the queen of heaven"
Hos 2:13 — "I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them"
Hos 11:2 — "they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images"

5. Figurative / Poetic Use¶

Song 3:6 — "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness... perfumed (Pual participle) with myrrh and frankincense?"
Mal 1:11 — "in every place incense shall be offered (Hophal participle) unto my name"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	48x (43%)	"burn [it] upon the altar"
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	51x (46%)	"unto the LORD" / "before the LORD"
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	28x (25%)	"the priest shall burn"
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	21x (19%)	"burn... upon the burnt offering"
אִשָּׁה (ishsheh)	H801	20x (18%)	"an offering made by fire"
בָּמָה (bamah)	H1116	16x (14%)	"burnt incense in the high places"
חֶלֶב (cheleb)	H2459	16x (14%)	"burn the fat upon the altar"
זָבַח (zabach)	H2076	15x (13%)	"sacrificed and burnt incense"
נִיחוֹחַ (niychoach)	H5207	15x (13%)	"a sweet savour"
רֵיחַ (reyach)	H7381	15x (13%)	"a sweet savour unto the LORD"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7004 קְטֹרֶת (qetoreth) — incense, fumigation (feminine noun; 60v) — the substance or act of smoking
H6988 קְטוֹרָה (qetoraw) — perfume, incense (1v — Deut 33:10) — hapax
H4729 מִקְטָר (miqtar) — hearth, incense altar (1v — Exo 30:1) — place of burning
H7008 קִיטוֹר (qiytowr) — smoke, vapor (4v) — the visible smoke produced

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׂרַף (saraph)	H8313	"burn," "burnt"	saraph = consume by fire, destroy; qatar = turn to fragrant smoke as worship
בָּעַר (ba'ar)	H1197	"burn," "kindle"	ba'ar = kindle/consume fire destructively; qatar = ritualized smoking on altar
יָקַד (yaqad)	H3344	"shall burn," "burning"	yaqad = be burning (state of combustion); qatar = cause to smoke sacrificially

Key distinction: qatar always involves turning something to smoke as a religious act — whether burning fat on the altar or incense on a censer. The other Hebrew "burn" words describe fire consuming something. Qatar produces fragrant smoke ascending to God; saraph/ba'ar produce destruction.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
θυμιάω (thymiaō) G2370	40	7.63	Primary — "to burn incense"; strong bridge
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion) G2379	46	4.94	"altar" — collocate rather than direct rendering
ἀναφέρω (anapherō) G399	25	5.30	"to offer up" — rendering for Hiphil altar-burning
εὐωδία (euōdia) G2175	16	6.12	"fragrance" — collocate in "sweet savour" phrases
θυμίαμα (thymiama) G2368	13	5.38	"incense" — noun collocate

Primary bridge: G2370 θυμιάω with 40 co-occurrences and PMI 7.63 is the dominant LXX translation, especially for the Piel incense-burning sense.