H982 — בָּטַח (batach)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H982
Original: בָּטַח
Transliteration: batach
Pronunciation: baw-takh
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 117 unique verses (135 tokens) across 16 books
First Occurrence: Deu 28:52 — "And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to hie for refuge (but not so precipitately as H2620 chasah); figuratively, to trust, be confident or sure: — be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless (one, woman), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	~95	trust, confide, be confident, be secure
Hiphil	5	cause to trust, make (someone) trust

The Qal dominates overwhelmingly (~95% of verbal uses), appearing in all conjugations: perfect, imperfect, participle, imperative, infinitive construct, and infinitive absolute. The Hiphil (causative) occurs only 5 times — 2Ki 18:30, Isa 36:15 (Rabshakeh: "neither let Hezekiah make you trust"), Psa 22:10 ("thou didst make me hope upon my mother's breasts"), Jer 28:15 and 29:31 (false prophets causing people to trust in lies).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
trust / Trust	18	15.4%
trusteth / that trusteth	9	7.7%
trusted / they trusted	10	8.5%
I trust / do I trust	4	3.4%
trustest / trustedst	6	5.1%
put (my/your/their) trust	6	5.1%
confident / is confident	2	1.7%
secure / be secure	3	2.6%
bold	1	0.9%
careless (ones/women)	3	2.6%
hope / had hoped	2	1.7%
sure	1	0.9%
Other phrases	~52	~44%

Trust-family translations (trust, trusted, trusteth, etc.) account for ~85% of all occurrences. The "secure/careless" translations reflect the stative sense of settled confidence.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	45	1.8
Isaiah	19	1.5
Jeremiah	16	1.2
Proverbs	10	1.1
2 Kings	8	1.1
Judges	5	0.8
Job	4	0.4
Ezekiel	2	0.2
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Micah	1	1.0
Amos	1	0.7
Hosea	1	0.5
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Chronicles	1	0.1
1 Chronicles	1	0.1

Psalms alone accounts for 38% of all occurrences. The word is concentrated in poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, Job) and prophetic literature (Isaiah, Jeremiah). It is entirely absent from the Pentateuch except for a single occurrence in Deuteronomy, and absent from the historical books except for the Hezekiah narrative (2Ki 18-19) and scattered uses in Judges and Chronicles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Trusting in YHWH — Positive Command and Declaration¶

The primary and most frequent use: placing confident reliance upon God. - Psa 37:3 — "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land" - Psa 115:9-11 — "O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield" (threefold call to Israel, Aaron, God-fearers) - Pro 3:5 — "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" - Isa 26:4 — "Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength"

2. Personal Testimony of Trust¶

Individual psalmists declaring their own act of trusting, often in crisis. - Psa 56:3-4 — "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear" - Psa 13:5 — "But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation" - Psa 28:7 — "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped" - Psa 31:14 — "But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God"

3. Misplaced Trust — Prophetic Condemnation¶

Trust directed toward inadequate objects: wealth, military power, false gods, human allies. - Jer 17:5 — "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm" - Isa 31:1 — "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots" - Psa 49:6 — "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches" - Pro 11:28 — "He that trusteth in his riches shall fall" - Jer 48:7 — "For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken"

4. Trust Contrasts — Blessing vs. Curse Formulae¶

Explicit contrast between trusting in YHWH and trusting elsewhere. - Jer 17:5, 7 — "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man... Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD" - Psa 118:8-9 — "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes" - Psa 146:3 — "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help"

5. Security / Dwelling Safely — Stative Sense¶

The word carries a secondary sense of settled, undisturbed security (rendered "secure," "careless," "safely"). - Jdg 18:7 — "how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure" - Pro 31:11 — "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her" - Isa 32:9-11 — "ye women that are at ease... ye careless daughters... ye careless ones" (participial form) - Pro 14:16 — "the fool rageth, and is confident"

6. The Hezekiah Narrative — Extended Case Study¶

The densest concentration outside Psalms: the Rabshakeh's challenge to Hezekiah's trust. - 2Ki 18:5 — "He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him" - 2Ki 18:19-22 — "What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?... thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt" - 2Ki 19:10 — "Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee" - Isa 36:4-7 — Parallel account with identical language

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהוָֹה (YHWH)	H3068	43x (37%)	"trust in the LORD" — overwhelmingly the intended object
עַל (al)	H5921	30x (26%)	"trust upon/in" — marks the object of trust
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	24x (21%)	"trust in God" — parallel to YHWH
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	12x (10%)	kings as false trust-objects or subjects of trust
לֵב (leb)	H3820	11x (9%)	"with all thine heart" (Pro 3:5), "his heart trusted" (Psa 28:7)
חִזְקִיָּה (Hezekiah)	H2396	8x (7%)	the Hezekiah narrative cluster
אָדָם (adam) / אִישׁ (ish)	H120/H376	14x (12%)	humans as contrasted trust-objects

Synonyms¶

H2620 חָסָה (chasah) — to flee for refuge, take shelter; more physical/immediate than batach; 36 verses
H539 אָמַן (aman) — to believe, be faithful, be firm; emphasizes stability and reliability rather than confident reliance
H8172 שָׁעַן (shaan) — to lean upon, support oneself; physical metaphor for dependence; 20 verses
H8159 שָׁעָה (shaah) — to look at, regard, gaze; trust through attentive regard
H3176 יָחַל (yachal) — to wait, hope; trust oriented toward the future
H4043 מָגֵן (magen) — shield; related imagery (YHWH as shield for those who trust)
H4268 מַחֲסֶה (machaceh) — refuge, shelter; nominal complement of chasah

Antonyms¶

H3372 יָרֵא (yare) — to fear, be afraid; trust and fear stand in explicit opposition (Psa 56:3-4, Isa 12:2)
H6342 פָּחַד (pachad) — to dread, be in terror
H954 בּוּשׁ (bush) — to be ashamed; the outcome when trust is misplaced (Psa 22:5, 25:2)
H4131 מוֹט (mot) — to totter, slip; the one who trusts "shall not be moved" (Psa 125:1)
H5800 עָזַב (azab) — to forsake, abandon; opposite of the relational commitment in trust

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אָמַן (aman)	H539	"trust," "believe"	aman = believe to be true/reliable; batach = confidently rely upon
חָסָה (chasah)	H2620	"trust," "put trust in"	chasah = flee for refuge (crisis-driven); batach = settled confidence
ἐλπίζω (elpizo)	G1679	"trust," "hope"	NT Greek equivalent via LXX; elpizo adds future-oriented hope dimension
πείθω (peitho)	G3982	"trust," "persuade"	Primary LXX rendering; peitho adds persuasion/obedience dimension

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
πείθω (peitho) G3982	61x	27.23	Primary — "persuade, be persuaded, trust"
ἐλπίζω (elpizo) G1679	45x	25.20	Secondary — "hope, expect, trust"
ἐλπίς (elpis) G1680	8x	9.64	Noun form — "hope"
βοηθός (boethos) G998	6x	8.95	"helper" — interpretive rendering
ὠφελέω (opheleo) G5623	3x	7.19	"benefit" — free rendering

The LXX splits batach between two primary Greek verbs: πείθω (perfect passive πέποιθα = "I am confident/I trust") and ἐλπίζω ("I hope/trust"). This split reflects two dimensions of batach: settled confidence (peitho) and expectant reliance (elpizo).