What does עֶזְרָה (ʿezĕrāh) mean in the Bible?
Help is assistance supplied when someone cannot meet a need alone. This noun does not determine whether an expected helper is reliable; Scripture makes that judgment within the passage.
Hebrew · H5833
עֶזְרָה
Help is assistance supplied when someone cannot meet a need alone. This noun does not determine whether an expected helper is reliable; Scripture makes that judgment within the passage.
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עֶזְרָהH5833
Pronunciationʿezĕrāh
What does עֶזְרָה (ʿezĕrāh) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for עֶזְרָה (H5833) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5833?
The BSB source-word alignment has 26 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to help me (5), help (4), for help (3), to help (3), aid (2).
Where does עֶזְרָה (ʿezĕrāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Judges 5:23. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (14), Isaiah (4), Job (2), Judges (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Help is assistance supplied when someone cannot meet a need alone. This noun does not determine whether an expected helper is reliable; Scripture makes that judgment within the passage. Psalm 46:1 names God as an ever-present help in trouble and goes on to picture upheaval, not the absence of danger. Psalm 60:11 asks for aid against the enemy while confessing the inadequacy of human help for that crisis.
Isaiah 31:1 condemns reliance on Egypt's horses and chariots when Judah fails to seek the Holy One of Israel. These witnesses expose misplaced ultimate trust while honoring the reality of need. They do not teach that receiving assistance from other people always opposes faith. The responsible question is whom the passage names as helper and what kind of dependence the surrounding argument calls for.
Passage contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Prayer seeks help from the Lord, while prophecy confronts political reliance that ignores Him. The same noun serves need and dependence, with the evaluation of a helper supplied by each setting.
- Ps.46.1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
God's presence as help grounds confidence even when the earth and mountains are shaken; the psalm offers a refuge within upheaval.
- Ps.60.11
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
The plea for aid belongs to an admitted military crisis and the question of God's presence with the army, not a ban on every human helper.
- Isa.31.1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the Lord.
Reliance on Egyptian military abundance is rebuked because Judah neglects the Holy One of Israel; the next verses contrast creaturely allies with God.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itto help me5×Psalms 22:19, Psalms 38:22, Psalms 40:13, Psalms 70:1
help4×2 Chronicles 28:21, Job 6:13, Psalms 46:1, Lamentations 4:17
for help3×Isaiah 10:3, Isaiah 20:6, Isaiah 31:1
to help3×Judges 5:23, Jeremiah 37:7
aid2×Psalms 60:11, Psalms 108:12
are my helper1×Psalms 40:17
be our help1×Psalms 44:26
had been my helper1×Psalms 94:17
her allies1×Nahum 3:9
my help1×Psalms 63:7
my helper1×Psalms 27:9
that I had support1×Job 31:21
the allies1×Isaiah 31:2
to my aid1×Psalms 35:2
Show sample aligned rows
Judges 5:23לְעֶזְרַ֣תtoto helpPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular constructJudges 5:23לְעֶזְרַ֥תtoto helpPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct2 Chronicles 28:21לְעֶזְרָ֖הtohelpPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularJob 6:13עֶזְרָתִ֣יtohelpNoun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularJob 31:21עֶזְרָתִֽי׃tothat I had supportNoun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularPsalms 22:19לְעֶזְרָ֥תִיtoto help mePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularPsalms 27:9עֶזְרָתִ֥יtomy helperNoun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularPsalms 35:2בְּעֶזְרָתִֽי׃toto my aidPreposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularPsalms 38:22לְעֶזְרָתִ֑יtoto help mePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularPsalms 40:13לְעֶזְרָ֥תִיtoto help mePreposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowJudges 5:23
Aligned rows26
Books represented8
Judges22 Chronicles1Job2Psalms14Isaiah4Jeremiah1Lamentations1Nahum1
Source forms
לְעֶזְרָ֔ה4xlə·‘ez·rāhIsaiah 10:3, Isaiah 20:6, Isaiah 31:1, Jeremiah 37:7
לְעֶזְרָ֥תִי4xlə·‘ez·rā·ṯîPsalms 22:19, Psalms 40:13, Psalms 70:1, Psalms 71:12
עֶזְרָ֣תָה3x‘ez·rā·ṯāhPsalms 44:26, Psalms 63:7, Psalms 94:17
עֶזְרָ֣ת2x‘ez·rāṯPsalms 60:11, Psalms 108:12
עֶזְרָתִ֣י2x‘ez·rā·ṯîJob 6:13, Psalms 40:17
בְּעֶזְרָתִֽי׃1xbə·‘ez·rā·ṯîPsalms 35:2
בְּעֶזְרָתֵֽךְ׃1xbə·‘ez·rā·ṯêḵNahum 3:9
לְעֶזְרָ֖ה1xlə·‘ez·rāh2 Chronicles 28:21
Parsing patterns
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular5x2 Chronicles 28:21, Isaiah 10:3, Isaiah 20:6, Isaiah 31:1
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular5xPsalms 22:19, Psalms 38:22, Psalms 40:13, Psalms 70:1
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular4xJob 6:13, Job 31:21, Psalms 27:9, Psalms 40:17
Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular3xPsalms 44:26, Psalms 63:7, Psalms 94:17
Noun - feminine singular construct3xPsalms 60:11, Psalms 108:12, Isaiah 31:2
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct2xJudges 5:23
Noun - feminine singular1xPsalms 46:1
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common plural1xLamentations 4:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Encourage prayer together with responsible assistance; rejecting needed care is not a measure of stronger trust.
- Examine misplaced confidence without blaming people whose resources have failed or whose circumstances remain dangerous.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. aid
Source Gloss
aid
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
aid BDB: help Usage: help(-ed, -er).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
עֶזְרָה is built from this root:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Isaiah 31 does not fault Judah for having a need. It exposes the decision to measure security by horses, chariots and numerous horsemen while leaving the Holy One of Israel out of view. The promised failure of helper and helped unmasks the limits of a strategy built on creaturely power. Psalm 46 supplies a contrasting confession: God is present as help even when familiar structures seem to collapse.
This does not authorize passivity or suspicion toward neighbors who offer care. It reorders dependence. Churches can pray for God's help, use available resources and give tangible assistance while refusing to make their resources a rival savior. Christ's saving work must remain the ground of reconciliation to God, rather than our ability to acquire dependable allies.
Anchor passage
Isa.31.1
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 46:1-3 locates refuge in God's present help while allowing the picture of the world's foundations shaking.
- Psalm 60:11-12 asks for divine aid in a military crisis and ties valor to God's presence.
- Isaiah 31:1-3 confronts reliance on Egypt that neglects God and distinguishes fleshly power from His sovereignty.
- Psalm 22:19 seeks the Lord's nearness and swift help within an extended lament rather than denying distress.
- Psalm 63:7 remembers received help as a reason for gladness under God's protecting wings.
- Hebrews 4:16 invites believers to seek timely help at the throne of grace because of their great High Priest.
The assistance noun identifies what is sought or supplied. Clauses naming God, a military ally or human limitation determine its trustworthiness; dependence cannot be evaluated from the noun in isolation.
From Old to New Testament
Israel's prayers seek help from the Lord while Isaiah challenges reliance that ignores Him. Hebrews 4:14-16 grounds confident approach for help in Jesus' priesthood. This is a canonical comparison of dependence and access to God, not a claim that the Hebrew help noun itself contains the doctrine of Christ's priesthood.
Passage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application