What does עַז (ʿaz) mean in the Bible?
Az describes a strong or forceful quality, sometimes fierce, vehement or harsh. Exodus applies it to the east wind by which the LORD drives back the sea.
Hebrew · H5794
עַז
Az describes a strong or forceful quality, sometimes fierce, vehement or harsh. Exodus applies it to the east wind by which the Lord drives back the sea.
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עַזH5794
Pronunciationʿaz
What does עַז (ʿaz) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for עַז (H5794) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5794?
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (2), a strong (2), from my powerful (2), [pacifies] great (1), a ruthless (1).
Where does עַז (ʿaz) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 49:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (5), Proverbs (3), Genesis (2), Judges (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Az describes a strong or forceful quality, sometimes fierce, vehement or harsh. Exodus applies it to the east wind by which the Lord drives back the sea. Genesis applies it to Simeon and Levi's anger, which Jacob condemns along with their cruelty. Proverbs portrays a rich person answering a poor person harshly and contrasts ants' little strength with their wise preparation.
Psalm 59 describes fierce opponents while the speaker denies causing their attack. Song of Songs compares love's strength with death within a poem that also refuses to price love. These settings prevent a simple equation between strength and goodness. A forceful wind can serve deliverance, forceful anger can be cursed and a creature without much strength can still act wisely.
Teaching should identify the quality, its bearer and the surrounding evaluation. The adjective supports discernment about power and speech while withholding permission for cruelty, contempt, possessive control or a verdict that vulnerability reflects inferior worth.
How the Bible Uses It
Selected strong-quality witnesses describe a delivering wind, condemned anger, threatening opponents, harsh speech, wise ants of little strength and the strength of love in poetry.
- Exod.14.21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
The strong east wind is part of the Lord's action dividing the sea, within a narrated deliverance rather than a personal weather promise.
- Gen.49.7
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Jacob curses Simeon and Levi's strong anger and cruel wrath; forcefulness receives moral condemnation instead of admiration.
- Ps.59.3
See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O Lord.
The praying speaker describes fierce conspirators and denies culpability for their attack, preserving accusation and appeal in the lament.
- Prov.18.23
The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
The rich person's harsh answer contrasts with the poor person's plea, bringing the unequal use of speech into view.
- Prov.30.25
The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
Ants have little strength yet store food in season, within a sequence of small creatures commended for wisdom.
- Song.8.6
Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.
Love is compared with death's strength within the poem's appeal for a seal and its refusal to reduce love to money.
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. . .2×Nehemiah 9:11, Isaiah 56:11
a strong2×Isaiah 25:3, Isaiah 26:1
from my powerful2×2 Samuel 22:18, Psalms 18:17
[pacifies] great1×Proverbs 21:14
a ruthless1×Deuteronomy 28:50
an insolent1×Daniel 8:23
and a fierce1×Isaiah 19:4
and out of the strong1×Judges 14:14
are strong1×Numbers 13:28
Fierce men1×Psalms 59:3
harshly1×Proverbs 18:23
in power1×Genesis 49:3
is as strong1×Song Of Solomon 8:6
it is strong1×Genesis 49:7
it was fortified1×Numbers 21:24
of the mighty1×Ezekiel 7:24
strength1×Proverbs 30:25
stronger1×Judges 14:18
the strong1×Amos 5:9
through the surging1×Isaiah 43:16
with a strong1×Exodus 14:21
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 49:3עָֽז׃toin powerAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 49:7עָ֔זtoit is strongAdjective - masculine singularExodus 14:21עַזָּה֙towith a strongAdjective - feminine singularNumbers 13:28עַ֣זtoare strongAdjective - masculine singularNumbers 21:24עַ֔זtoit was fortifiedAdjective - masculine singularDeuteronomy 28:50עַ֣זtoa ruthlessAdjective - masculine singular constructJudges 14:14וּמֵעַ֖זtoand out of the strongConjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Adjective - masculine singularJudges 14:18עַ֖זtostrongerAdjective - masculine singular2 Samuel 22:18עָ֑זtofrom my powerfulAdjective - masculine singularNehemiah 9:11עַזִּֽים׃to. . .Adjective - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 49:3
Aligned rows24
Books represented14
Genesis2Exodus1Numbers2Deuteronomy1Judges22 Samuel1Nehemiah1Psalms2Proverbs3Song Of Solomon1Isaiah5Ezekiel1Daniel1Amos1
Source forms
עָ֑ז5x‘āz2 Samuel 22:18, Psalms 18:17, Proverbs 30:25, Isaiah 25:3
עַ֣ז2x‘azNumbers 13:28, Deuteronomy 28:50
וּמֵעַ֖ז1xū·mê·‘azJudges 14:14
עַ֔ז1x‘azNumbers 21:24
עַ֖ז1x‘azJudges 14:18
עַז֙1x‘azIsaiah 19:4
עָ֔ז1x‘āzGenesis 49:7
עַז־1x‘az-Daniel 8:23
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular12xGenesis 49:3, Genesis 49:7, Numbers 13:28, Numbers 21:24
Adjective - masculine plural4xNehemiah 9:11, Psalms 59:3, Isaiah 43:16, Ezekiel 7:24
Adjective - feminine singular3xExodus 14:21, Proverbs 21:14, Song Of Solomon 8:6
Adjective - feminine plural1xProverbs 18:23
Adjective - masculine plural construct1xIsaiah 56:11
Adjective - masculine singular construct1xDeuteronomy 28:50
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Adjective - masculine singular1xJudges 14:14
Noun - masculine singular construct1xIsaiah 26:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Replace contemptuous speech with clear truthful communication that respects the less powerful listener.
- Do not measure a person's dignity or wisdom by visible strength and social force.
Avoid claiming...
- Harsh leadership is not made holy by the adjective for strength.
- Song's comparison cannot establish a right to control another person's body or choices.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Describes forceful intensity—whether fierce anger, harsh treatment, or greedy appetite—rooted in raw strength
Source Gloss
strong , vehement , harsh
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Describes forceful intensity—whether fierce anger, harsh treatment, or greedy appetite—rooted in raw strength
strong, vehement, harsh BDB: strong Usage: fierce, greedy, mighty, power, roughly, strong.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
עַז is built from this root:
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Genesis 49 exposes strength without righteousness. Jacob remembers Simeon and Levi's violence and condemns their strong anger and cruel wrath. The adjective cannot make intensity virtuous when the surrounding verdict names harm. Proverbs 18 brings a quieter exercise of power into view: the poor person pleads, while the rich person answers harshly. A teacher should attend to the speaker's responsibility and the person receiving those words.
Proverbs 30 then denies a different shortcut. Ants possess little strength, yet their preparation is wise, so visible power is not the only measure of effective action. Exodus 14 uses a strong wind in the Lord's particular deliverance at the sea, and Psalm 59 voices a plea under fierce opposition. Song of Songs locates strength in love and compares it with death; its poetry does not authorize monitoring, threats or coerced affection.
Together these passages ask readers to distinguish useful force, violent temper, contemptuous speech and committed love, rather than making harshness the expected sign of spiritual authority.
Anchor passage
Gen.49.7
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus attributes the sea's division to the Lord's delivering action.
- Jacob condemns strong anger when it expresses violent cruelty.
- Psalm 59 permits appeal to God under fierce opposition.
- Proverbs exposes harsh speech within unequal social and economic power.
- Small ants illustrate wisdom without possessing great physical strength.
- Song presents love as enduring and beyond purchase with wealth.
The selected adjective has masculine, feminine and plural forms matching different described qualities or subjects. A strong wind, strong anger, harsh answers and little-strength creatures require contextual English expressions rather than one uniform evaluative gloss.
From Old to New Testament
Romans 12:9-21 calls for sincere love, shared grief, peace as far as possible and refusal of personal revenge. Its directions supply a distinct Christian ethical comparison for strong anger and harsh speech; they do not turn Song's love poetry into permission for coercive jealousy.