To fasten upon; hence, to seize , be strong (figuratively, courageous , causatively strengthen , cure , help , repair , fortify ), obstinate ; to bind , restrain , conquer
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' It covers the spectrum from simple physical strength (a firm grip, a reinforced wall) to the moral courage required to face an overwhelming task. In the Piel stem, it means to strengthen or encourage someone; in the Hiphil, to make strong, seize, or hold fast.
Reader summary
Full entry for חָזַק (H2388) · Open the biblical lexicon
' It covers the spectrum from simple physical strength (a firm grip, a reinforced wall) to the moral courage required to face an overwhelming task. In the Piel stem, it means to strengthen or encourage someone; in the Hiphil, to make strong, seize, or hold fast.
The BSB source-word alignment has 291 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Be strong (25), made repairs (22), repaired (9), to repair (6), hardened (5).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 19:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Nehemiah (42), 2 Chronicles (39), Isaiah (21), 2 Samuel (18).
חָזַק (chazaq) is the Hebrew verb most commonly translated 'be strong' or 'strengthen.' It covers the spectrum from simple physical strength (a firm grip, a reinforced wall) to the moral courage required to face an overwhelming task. In the Piel stem, it means to strengthen or encourage someone; in the Hiphil, to make strong, seize, or hold fast.
The word appears at every great moment of transition and commission in the OT. When Moses charges Joshua before the entire assembly, when Joshua commissions the tribal leaders, when God speaks to Joshua after Moses dies — the repeated command is chazaq: 'Be strong and courageous.' The word creates a frame for covenantal obedience: the courage called for is not self-confidence but trust in the God who goes before.
But chazaq also describes Pharaoh's hardened heart (Exod 4:21 and throughout the plague narrative). This is the same word used for Israel's courageous call — and the contrast is theologically intentional. The strength that responds to God's commission and the stubbornness that resists God's demand are both described by chazaq. Strength, in biblical terms, is always morally directional: it can be strength toward God or strength against him.
Chazaq is the word the OT uses to name the courage that obedience requires. It is not the courage of the fearless but the courage of those who act despite fear because they trust the one who commands. The four-fold repetition in Josh 1 is the canonical pattern: many major commissioning moments, especially calls to do something beyond human capacity in dependence on YHWH, use this word.
The pastoral application is that in these commissioning contexts, chazaq comes with a basis. 'Be strong' is not a bare moral imperative; it is grounded in the character and presence of God.
Chazaq moves from the commissioning vocabulary of Moses and Joshua (the courage required to enter the promised land in obedience) through the political idiom of royal narratives to the prophetic call to strengthen the faint-hearted in light of coming salvation. The NT parallel is not a direct lexical connection but a theological one: Paul's 'be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might' (Eph 6:10) is the same structure — imperative courage grounded in divine presence and power, not human self-sufficiency.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Physical grasping that extends metaphorically to moral/spiritual strength, courage, and God's covenantal grip on His people.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 290 lexical occurrence verses.
חָזַק is a primitive root - no further derivation.
The repeated verb underscores that restoration involves strengthening what was weakened. Spiritually, God strengthens His covenant people through shared obedience. Nehemiah 3:1-32
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Chazaq opens the theology of courage as a theological virtue rather than a psychological trait. The OT commissioning formula does not tell people to manufacture courage from within; it tells them to be strong because YHWH is with them. This reframes pastoral care in crisis situations: the question is not 'how do we make people braver' but 'how do we ground them in the God who accompanies them.'
It also opens the uncomfortable Pharaoh discussion: the same word for commissioning courage is used for hardening against God.
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