StrongerBible

oz

עֹז

HebrewH5797“strength, stronghold, ...”

Appears 92 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 15:2Exo 15:13Lev 26:19Jdg 5:21Jdg 9:511Sa 2:102Sa 6:141Ch 13:81Ch 16:111Ch 16:271Ch 16:282Ch 6:412Ch 30:21Ezr 8:22Job 12:16Job 26:2Job 37:6Job 41:22(14)Psa 8:2(3)Psa 21:1(2)Psa 21:13(14)Psa 28:7Psa 59:9(10)Psa 59:16(17)Psa 59:17(18)Psa 62:7(8)Psa 63:2(3)Psa 66:3Psa 68:28(29)Psa 68:34(35)Psa 74:13Psa 77:14(15)Psa 78:26Psa 78:61Psa 81:1(2)Psa 84:5(6)Psa 86:16Psa 89:10(11)Psa 89:17(18)Psa 90:11Psa 99:4Psa 105:4Psa 110:2Psa 118:14Psa 132:8Psa 140:7(8)Psa 150:1Pro 10:15Pro 18:11Pro 21:22
Names & words formed with this
Word studyResearch-gradeOZEnoun

What oz means

strength exerted on behalf of someone or against opposition: the power to prevail and protect, overwhelmingly God's

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

This is the Bible's word for strength understood as power that engages, the force one brings to bear against an enemy or wields to help another. It is not simply the strength a body happens to have on hand; it is strength as it confronts opposition or shelters the weak. That is why the poets reserve it above all for God: it names the might by which he fights for his people, the strength he gives his king, and the power his worshipers ascribe back to him.

Because this kind of strength is what keeps a person safe, the word reaches naturally toward the idea of a refuge. When a psalm calls the LORD someone's strength, it often means he is the strong place they run to, set beside words for shelter, fortress, and high tower. And because raw power, displayed, is also glorious, the word keeps company with terms for splendor and majesty, so that strength here can shade into the dignity that strength commands.

A few harder uses turn the same idea against proud humans: the boastful might of a nation or temple that is about to be shattered, or strength worn as defiant boldness. These are not a separate word but the dark side of one idea, power as it is exerted, now severed from its true source and so set up for judgment. The whole range holds together because in Israel's theology having power and being a safe place are finally the same claim about God.

Nuances

1aphysical or human strength: the might of a person, a fortified tower, an animal, or the force one acts with
Jdg 5:21Jdg 9:512Sa 6:141Ch 13:82Ch 30:21Job 26:2Job 41:22(14)Pro 24:5Pro 31:17Ecc 8:1
1bGod's might in action: the power by which he fights, rules, and overcomes his enemies
Psa 62:11Psa 66:3Psa 68:34(35)Psa 74:13Psa 77:14(15)Psa 89:10(11)Psa 90:11Psa 93:1Psa 110:2Psa 138:3Isa 51:9Mic 5:4(3)
1cstrength God bestows: the power he hands to his king and his people
1Sa 2:10Psa 21:1(2)Psa 21:13(14)Psa 29:11Psa 68:28(29)Psa 68:35Psa 86:16
1dstrength ascribed to God in worship: power named and given back to him in praise
1Ch 16:111Ch 16:28Psa 8:2(3)Psa 29:1Psa 68:33Psa 81:1(2)Psa 96:7Psa 105:4Psa 150:1
1estrength as a safe place: a stronghold or refuge to run to, above all the LORD himself
Psa 28:8Psa 30:7Psa 46:1Psa 59:9(10)Psa 59:16(17)Psa 59:17(18)Psa 61:3Psa 62:7(8)Psa 71:7Psa 84:5(6)Psa 140:7(8)Pro 10:15
1fthe LORD confessed as my strength: God himself named as the personal power one leans on
Exo 15:2Psa 28:7Psa 118:14Isa 12:2Isa 49:5Jer 16:19
1gstrength as majesty: power that shows itself as splendor, paired with glory and beauty
1Ch 16:27Job 12:16Psa 89:17(18)Psa 96:6Pro 31:25Isa 45:24Isa 52:1Jer 48:17Hab 3:4
1hthe strength embodied in the ark and sanctuary: the visible token of God's might present with his people
2Ch 6:41Psa 63:2(3)Psa 78:61Psa 132:8
1iproud human strength about to be broken: the boastful might of a nation or temple that God brings down
Lev 26:19Jer 51:53Ezk 19:11Ezk 19:12Ezk 19:14Ezk 24:21Ezk 26:11Ezk 30:6Ezk 30:18Ezk 33:28Amo 3:11

What scholars say about oz

The standard lexica treat עֹז as a single noun built on the geminate root meaning to be strong, with about ninety occurrences nearly half of them in the Psalter. Its core is strength as it confronts opposition or is exerted on behalf of another, and its range stretches by metonymy into majesty (paired with splendor and glory, as in Psalm 96:6 and Proverbs 31:25), into a stronghold or refuge (in tight parallelism with words for shelter and fortress), and into the visible token of strength (the ark as the strength given into captivity, Psalm 78:61). BDB lists the full range under one polysemous noun and rejects praise as a genuine meaning, preferring strength or stronghold for the disputed Psalm 8:2. HALOT makes the most aggressive move, positing two homonyms, strength and refuge, but TDOT, NIDOTTE, DCH, and TLOT keep it a single word and read the refuge sense as an inner-Hebrew extension, a reading supported by comparative Semitic evidence in which the strength sense is firm across the family and the refuge sense appears as a derivative only in Northwest Semitic such as Syriac. James Barr's critique of multiplying roots tells against Mitchell Dahood's wholesale derivation of many occurrences from a separate refuge-root.

Where scholars disagree about oz

Whether עֹז is one polysemous word ranging from strength through majesty to stronghold, or two unrelated homonyms, one meaning strength and another meaning refuge.

  • majorityOne ancient polysemous word whose refuge sense is an inner-Hebrew extension of strength, supported by the comparative Semitic evidence in which strength is the firm common meaning and refuge appears only as a later Northwest-Semitic derivative.; S. Wagner, 'עָזַז', TDOT, vol. 11, pp. 1-14; R. Wakely, 'עזז', NIDOTTE, vol. 3, no. 6437; BDB, p. 738, s.v. עֹז
  • minorityTwo distinct words should be listed, עֹז I strength and עֹז II strong defense or refuge, the second chiefly where the word stands parallel to terms for shelter, fortress, and shield.; HALOT, vol. 2, pp. 805-807, s.v. עֹז I and עֹז II
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • BDB, p. 738, s.v. עֹזlexicon
  • HALOT, vol. 2, pp. 805-807, s.v. עֹז I and עֹז IIlexicon
  • DCH, vol. 6, s.v. עֹזlexicon
  • S. Wagner, 'עָזַז', TDOT, vol. 11, pp. 1-14dictionary
  • R. Wakely, 'עזז', NIDOTTE, vol. 3, no. 6437dictionary
  • J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968), pp. 173, 320-322monograph
  • M. Dahood, Psalms I-III, Anchor Bible 16, 17, 17A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966-1970)commentary
  • S. E. Loewenstamm, 'The Lord Is My Strength and My Glory', Vetus Testamentum 19 (1969): 464-470article
  • W. H. C. Propp, Exodus 1-18, Anchor Bible 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1999), pp. 508-512commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of עֹז

m s absolute

עֹז, בְעוֹז, בַּעוֹז, עוֹז

Jdg 5:21, Jdg 9:51, 1Sa 2:10, 2Sa 6:14, 1Ch 13:8, 1Ch 16:27, 1Ch 16:28, 2Ch 30:21

m s construct

עֻזֶּךָ, עֻזְּךָ, עָזְּךָ

2Ch 6:41, Psa 21:13, Psa 59:16, Psa 68:28, Psa 77:14, Psa 132:8, Psa 63:2, Psa 66:3

m s construct

עֻזּוֹ

1Ch 16:11, Ezr 8:22, Job 37:6, Psa 59:9, Psa 68:34, Psa 78:26, Psa 78:61, Psa 105:4

m s construct

עֻזִּי, עָזִּי

Psa 28:7, Psa 59:17, Psa 62:7, Isa 49:5, Jer 16:19, Exo 15:2, Psa 118:14, Isa 12:2

m s construct

עֹז

Psa 90:11, Psa 99:4, Psa 140:7, Pro 21:22, Ecc 8:1, Mic 5:4

m s construct

עֻזָּהּ

Jer 51:53, Ezk 19:12, Ezk 30:6, Ezk 30:18, Ezk 33:28

m s construct

עֻזֵּךְ

Isa 52:1, Ezk 26:11, Amo 3:11

m s construct

עֻזְּכֶם

Lev 26:19, Ezk 24:21

m s construct

עוּזֵּנוּ

Psa 81:1

m s construct

עֻזָּמוֹ

Psa 89:17