What does אָחַר (ʾāḥar) mean in the Bible?
אָחַר (ʾāḥar): Physical position of remaining behind shifts to temporal delay, implying reluctance or slowness in action.
Hebrew · H309
אָחַר
To loiter (i.e. be behind); by implication to procrastinate
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אָחַר H309
Pronunciation ʾāḥar
What does אָחַר (ʾāḥar) mean in the Bible?
אָחַר (ʾāḥar): Physical position of remaining behind shifts to temporal delay, implying reluctance or slowness in action.
Full entry for אָחַר (H309) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H309?
The BSB source-word alignment has 17 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include delay (5), hesitate (2), and have remained there (1), be delayed (1), be slow to keep it (1).
Where does אָחַר (ʾāḥar) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 24:56. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (3), Psalms (3), Deuteronomy (2), Isaiah (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It delay 5× Psalms 40:17, Psalms 70:5, Ecclesiastes 5:4, Daniel 9:19
hesitate 2× Genesis 34:19, Deuteronomy 7:10
and have remained there 1× Genesis 32:4
be delayed 1× Isaiah 46:13
be slow to keep it 1× Deuteronomy 23:21
but he took longer 1× 2 Samuel 20:5
delay me 1× Genesis 24:56
has delayed 1× Judges 5:28
hold back 1× Exodus 22:29
late 1× Psalms 127:2
Those who linger 1× Proverbs 23:30
who linger 1× Isaiah 5:11
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 24:56 תְּאַחֲר֣וּ to delay me Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural Genesis 32:4 וָאֵחַ֖ר to and have remained there Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular Genesis 34:19 אֵחַ֤ר to hesitate Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular Exodus 22:29 תְאַחֵ֑ר to hold back Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Deuteronomy 7:10 יְאַחֵר֙ to hesitate Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Deuteronomy 23:21 תְאַחֵ֖ר to be slow to keep it Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Judges 5:28 אֶֽחֱר֔וּ to has delayed Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural 2 Samuel 20:5 וַיֵּיחַר to but he took longer Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Psalms 40:17 תְּאַחַֽר׃ to delay Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Psalms 70:5 תְּאַחַֽר׃ to delay Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 24:56
Aligned rows 17
Books represented 11
Genesis 3 Exodus 1 Deuteronomy 2 Judges 1 2 Samuel 1 Psalms 3 Proverbs 1 Ecclesiastes 1 Isaiah 2 Daniel 1 Habakkuk 1
Source forms
תְאַחֵ֑ר 2x ṯə·’a·ḥêr Exodus 22:29, Isaiah 46:13
תְּאַחַֽר׃ 2x tə·’a·ḥar Psalms 40:17, Psalms 70:5
אֵחַ֤ר 1x ’ê·ḥar Genesis 34:19
אֶֽחֱר֔וּ 1x ’e·ḥĕ·rū Judges 5:28
וָאֵחַ֖ר 1x wā·’ê·ḥar Genesis 32:4
וַיֵּיחַר 1x way·yē·ḥar 2 Samuel 20:5
יְאַחֵר֙ 1x yə·’a·ḥêr Deuteronomy 7:10
יְאַחֵֽר׃ 1x yə·’a·ḥêr Habakkuk 2:3
Parsing patterns
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 6x Exodus 22:29, Deuteronomy 23:21, Psalms 40:17, Psalms 70:5
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 7:10, Habakkuk 2:3
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct 2x Psalms 127:2, Isaiah 5:11
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 1x 2 Samuel 20:5
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular 1x Genesis 32:4
Preposition-l, Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural 1x Proverbs 23:30
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural 1x Genesis 24:56
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person feminine singular 1x Isaiah 46:13
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Physical position of remaining behind shifts to temporal delay, implying reluctance or slowness in action.
Strong's H309
Lexical occurrences 17 verses Word forms 1 form 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Proverbs 23:29-35 Source Gloss
to loiter (i.e. be behind); by implication to procrastinate
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Physical position of remaining behind shifts to temporal delay, implying reluctance or slowness in action.
to loiter (i.e. be behind); by implication to procrastinate BDB: to remain behind Usage: continue, defer, delay, hinder, be late (slack), stay (there), tarry (longer).
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 14
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 14×
Jussive Dan 9:19 · Eccl 5:3 · Ps 40:18 · Ps 70:6 · Gen 24:56 5×
Imperfect Deut 7:10 · Hab 2:3 · Deut 23:22 · Exod 22:28 · Isa 46:13 5×
Participle active Isa 5:11 · Ps 127:2 2×
Perfect Gen 34:19 · Judg 5:28 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to linger or remain behind in drinking wine, procrastinating departure
Showing 1 selected witness from 17 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אָחַר is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain