StrongerBible

betaḥ

בֶּטַח

HebrewH0983safely, securely, ...

Appears 42 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 34:25Lev 25:18Lev 25:19Lev 26:5Deu 12:10Deu 33:12Deu 33:28Jdg 8:11Jdg 18:71Sa 12:111Ki 4:25(5:5)Job 11:18
Root family
Word studyBEH-takhnoun

What betaḥ means

safety: the settled condition of being secure and unafraid

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

This is a noun built from the verb meaning to trust, and across the Hebrew Bible it almost always works like the adverb "safely" or "securely." It describes the real, settled state of a people or person who is genuinely protected and so can live without fear.

It clusters with the everyday verbs of ordinary life: dwelling, lying down, walking, resting. To "dwell in safety" is the picture of a settled life where homes are built, vineyards are planted, and no enemy disturbs the night. So the word names more than the absence of danger; it names the calm that follows from being kept.

In the prophets this becomes one of the great pictures of restoration. When God promises to bring his scattered people home, he promises that they will live in safety, with no one to make them afraid. The security is grounded in God's protection, which is why the same families of words that mean trust and safety overlap so closely here.

Nuances

1ain safety, securely: living settled and unafraid under real protection
Lev 25:18Lev 25:19Lev 26:5Deu 12:10Deu 33:12Deu 33:281Sa 12:111Ki 4:25(5:5)Job 11:18Job 24:23Psa 4:8Psa 16:9
1boff guard, careless: feeling safe and so caught unaware, whether the confidence is foolish or simply misplaced
Gen 34:25Jdg 8:11Jdg 18:7Isa 47:8Jer 49:31Ezk 30:9Ezk 38:11Mic 2:8Zep 2:15

What scholars say about betaḥ

Standard lexica (BDB; HALOT; DCH) treat the substantive as derived from the verb meaning to trust, and note that it functions overwhelmingly as an adverbial accusative, "in security," most often with verbs of dwelling such as yashav and shakan. They distinguish a positive value (genuine, God-given security, prominent in the Holiness Code and the restoration oracles of Jeremiah and Ezekiel) from a negative or ironic value (false, unsuspecting confidence), seen in narratives of surprise attack (Genesis 34:25; Judges 8:11; 18:7) and in the complacent self-talk of doomed powers (Isaiah 47:8; Zephaniah 2:15). The form with prefixed lamed (lavetach) is the common adverbial expression. The sense of the term itself is not in dispute; debate attaches only to the rendering of a few difficult verses.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. בֶּטַחlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. בֶּטַחlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. בֶּטַחlexicon
  • A. Jepsen, "בָּטַח," TDOT 2:88-94theological-dictionary

All attested forms of בֶּטַח

m s absolute

בֶּטַח

Gen 34:25, Lev 25:18, Lev 25:19, Lev 26:5, Deu 12:10, Deu 33:12, Deu 33:28, Jdg 8:11