Hebrew word · H103

אָגַר

'oger

to gather

Gather or collect produce. It occurs only in Deut 28:39 (gathering grapes), Prov 10:5 and here.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to gather

1a) (Qal) to gather

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 6:8

Range of meaning

Gather or collect produce. It occurs only in Deut 28:39 (gathering grapes), Prov 10:5 and here.

Against the English

'Gathers' is accurate. YLT's 'hath gathered' copies the Hebrew completed form too mechanically, as if the gathering were a single past event.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 10:5 uses the same verb with the same two seasons, though the other way round: the wise son gathers in summer, the shameful son sleeps in harvest. The two proverbs are clearly related teaching.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:39 תֶאֱגֹ֔ר you will gather

    You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 6:8 אָגְרָ֥ה it gathers

    it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.

    Here: A rare verb (only three times in the Old Testament) for gathering produce in. Its form is the completed one ('she has gathered'). Hebrew poetry often switches between this form and the ongoing form of the first line just for variety, so both lines describe the ant's regular habit.

  2. Proverbs 10:5 אֹגֵ֣ר [one who] gathers

    He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

    Here: An ongoing action: 'one who is gathering in.' This is not casual picking. It means bringing produce in and putting it into storage. The same verb is used for the ant in Proverbs 6:8 and for gathering grapes in Deuteronomy 28:39.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.