to hold back: to restrain, stop, or shut something in so it cannot move, flow, or get out
At its core this word is about holding something in. The same action covers a wide spread of situations, which is why English Bibles reach for so many different words to translate it. God can hold back the rain by shutting the sky, so that no water falls. A person can be held back, kept from leaving, or shut up in prison. A deadly plague can be brought to a halt, stopped in its tracks. And a person can hold themselves in, keeping back their words, their tears, or their strength.
What ties these together is the picture of a barrier or a closing. Whether it is the sky that will not open, a man who is not free to go, or a force of destruction that is checked, the word names the act of keeping something pent up rather than letting it loose.
Two uses sit at the edges of this range and deserve attention. When the womb is said to be held shut, it means a woman cannot have children, and the Bible says God is the one who opens or closes it. And when a person is said to hold onto strength or power, the word can shade into keeping a grip on authority, even ruling, which is one reason an early king is described with this verb.