Strengthen)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT          LXX (Greek OT)         Greek NT
───────────        ───────────────         ────────
חָזַק (chazaq)  →  κρατέω (krateo)     →  κρατέω (krateo)
H2388, 266x        46x as translation      46x in NT
"seize, be strong"  of chazaq              "seize, hold fast"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H2388	חָזַק (chazaq)	266v	seize, be strong, strengthen, harden, repair
H2389	חָזָק (chazaq)	56v	adj: strong, hard, fierce
H2391	חֵזֶק (chezeq)	5v	strength
H2393	חֶזְקָה (chezqah)	6v	force, strength, repair

Key OT passages: - Josh 1:6 — "Be strong and of a good courage" (Qal imperative — divine exhortation) - Dan 10:18–19 — "he strengthened me... be strong, yea, be strong" (Piel + Qal — angel restoring Daniel) - Exod 7:13 — "And he hardened Pharaoh's heart" (Qal — obstinacy)

See: H2388-chazaq.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Count	PMI	Notes
chazaq (H2388)	κρατέω (G2902)	46x	21.90	Primary — "seize, hold fast" sense
chazaq (H2388)	κατισχύω (G2729)	44x	21.48	"Prevail, overpower" sense
chazaq (H2388)	κραταιόω (G2901)	28x	18.37	"Strengthen, make firm" sense
chazaq (H2388)	ἀνδρίζομαι (G407)	18x	18.28	"Act manly, be courageous" sense
chazaq (H2388)	ἐνισχύω (G1765)	23x	17.26	"Invigorate" sense
chazaq (H2388)	σκληρύνω (G4645)	11x	12.04	"Harden" sense (Pharaoh)

Semantic distribution in translation: The Hebrew word's broad range required five different Greek verbs in the LXX. The physical "seize/grasp" sense maps to krateo; the "prevail/overpower" sense maps to katischyo; the intransitive "be strong" sense maps to krataioo; the "be courageous" sense maps to andrizomai; and the "harden" sense maps to skleruno. No single Greek word captures the full range.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G2902	κρατέω (krateo)	46v	seize, hold fast, retain
G2904	κράτος (kratos)	12v	strength, power, dominion
G2900	κραταιός (krataios)	1v	mighty, powerful
G2901	κραταιόω (krataioo)	4v	strengthen, be strong

Key NT passages: - Matt 9:25 — "he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose" (physical seizing, as in OT) - Col 2:19 — "not holding the Head, from which all the body... having nourishment" (holding fast to Christ) - 2 Thess 2:15 — "stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught" (retaining doctrine) - Rev 2:25 — "that which ye have already hold fast till I come" (perseverance)

See: G2902-krateo.md

Hebrew Reverse Mapping¶

Other Hebrew words also translated by krateo in the LXX:

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Notes
חָזַק (chazaq)	H2388	46x	Primary — dominant source
אָחַז (ʼachaz)	H270	9x	Seize with accessory
פֶּלֶךְ (pelek)	H6418	7x	District/spindle

Chazaq is overwhelmingly the primary Hebrew source behind krateo, accounting for the majority of LXX co-occurrences.

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The physical "seize/grasp" sense carries directly from OT chazaq (Hiphil) through LXX krateo into NT krateo: angels seize Lot (Gen 19:16), Jesus takes the girl by the hand (Matt 9:25, Mark 1:31), soldiers seize Jesus (Matt 26:48–50) - The "hold fast/retain" sense persists: Job holds fast his integrity (Job 27:6), believers hold fast traditions (2 Thess 2:15) and the faith (Heb 4:14)

What shifts: - The OT's dominant "be strong/be courageous" exhortation sense (Josh 1:6, Dan 10:19) was NOT carried by krateo in the LXX — that sense went to krataioo (G2901), andrizomai (G407), and enischyo (G1765) instead. The NT krateo narrows to the "seize" and "hold fast" meanings. - The "harden heart" sense mapped to skleruno (G4645) in the LXX rather than krateo, so this semantic thread bypasses krateo entirely in the NT (see Heb 3:8, 13, 15 quoting Ps 95 using skleruno). - The "repair/restore" sense (Nehemiah) has no NT continuation through krateo at all.

Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source) Last updated: 2026-05-12