Hebrew word · H1921

הָדַר

tehdar

to honor

This exact noun occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The root h-d-r normally means "honour, splendour, majesty" (hādār, "glory"; hādar, "to honour"). Older lexicons (BDB) connect this form to a sense of "swelling" or "being raised" and suggest "swelling places", meaning hills or rising ground.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to honour, adorn, glorify, be high

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to swell

1a1a) swelling (pass participle)

1a2) to honour, pay honour to, show partiality

1a3) to adorn

1a3a) adorned (pass participle)

1b) (Niphal) to be honoured

1c) (Hithpael) to honour oneself, claim honour

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 Isaiah 45:2

Range of meaning

This exact noun occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The root h-d-r normally means "honour, splendour, majesty" (hādār, "glory"; hādar, "to honour"). Older lexicons (BDB) connect this form to a sense of "swelling" or "being raised" and suggest "swelling places", meaning hills or rising ground. Many modern scholars think the original reading was הֲרָרִים, "mountains". The Hebrew letters d (ד) and r (ר) look very much alike and were easily confused in copying.

Against the English

KJV and YLT: "crooked places". WEB and NASB: "rough places". BSB, NIV and NLT: "mountains". ESV: "exalted places". Vulgate: "the glorious ones of the earth". The spread of renderings shows that translators are dealing with an uncertain word.

How it drifted

KJV's "crooked places" seems to have been shaped by Isaiah 40:4 ("the crooked shall be made straight") and by the verb yāšar, "make straight". Once you read "make straight", "crooked" seems the natural object. The English then took on a moral and personal sense (life's "crooked places") that the Hebrew noun does not have.

Used elsewhere in the period

1QIsaᵃ (the Great Isaiah Scroll, about 125 BC) reads והררים, "and mountains". The Septuagint has ὄρη ὁμαλιῶ, "I will level mountains". The Vulgate (Jerome, about AD 400) took the word from the root "honour" and wrote gloriosos terrae humiliabo, "I will humble the glorious ones of the earth". Isaiah 40:4 uses the same image of mountains brought low with the same verb root (yšr).

From the study of Isaiah 63:1

Range of meaning

A passive participle from hādar "to honour, adorn". It means "honoured, made splendid, majestic". The related noun hādār ("splendour, majesty") describes kings and God: "splendour and majesty (hôd wᵊhādār) are before him" (Psalm 96:6), "clothed with splendour and majesty" (Psalm 104:1).

Against the English

KJV/WEB "glorious in his apparel"; BSB "robed in splendor"; ESV "splendid"; NASB "majestic"; YLT "honourable". All are close. "Honourable" (YLT) catches the honour-and-shame sense, and "majestic" the royal one.

Used elsewhere in the period

This passive form is rare. The royal and divine use of hādār is well established in the Psalms and in Isaiah 2:10, 19, 21 ("the splendour of his majesty").

From the study of Leviticus 19:32

Range of meaning

Qal (the basic verb form): to honor, show favor or deference, treat as weighty. It is related to the noun hadar, 'splendor, majesty, adornment' (Ps 104:1, 'clothed with splendor and majesty'). The idea is giving someone visible dignity, not just holding a private opinion of them.

Against the English

'Honor' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV) is right. NIV and NLT's 'show respect' catches the outward side but loses the link with splendor. No English version can keep the echo with verse 15.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 23:3: 'do not favor (tehdar) a poor man in his lawsuit'; Lev 19:15: 'do not honor the face of the great' (lo tehdar pene gadol), both in court settings. Lam 5:12: 'the faces of elders were not honored' (pene zeqenim lo nehdaru), the same verb and the same phrase, as a sign of a society in ruins. Prov 20:29 links hadar with gray hair.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 23:3 תֶהְדַּ֖ר you must show partiality

    And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 19:15 תֶהְדַּ֖ר you will honor

    You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

    Here: "You shall honour, defer to, make much of." It is from the same root as hadar, "splendour": treating someone's importance as if it added weight to their case.

  2. Leviticus 19:32 וְהָדַרְתָּ֖ and you will honor

    You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

    Here: 'And you shall honor.' The root is tied to hadar, 'splendor, majesty'. To 'hadar the face' of someone is to treat them as weighty and splendid and to give them visible precedence.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 25:6 תִּתְהַדַּ֥ר you claim honor

    Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men;

    Here: The only place in the Bible where this verb appears in this reflexive form: 'make yourself splendid', 'parade your own dignity'. The picture is outward display, putting yourself forward as someone of importance, not only a private feeling of pride.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 45:2 וַהֲדוּרִ֖ים and [the] mountainous land<s>

    “I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

    Here: This form appears only here, and its meaning is uncertain. It most likely means rising ground or mountains that get in the way of a march. The Qumran scroll and the Greek simply read "mountains". Either way it stands for barriers in the conqueror's path.

  2. Isaiah 63:1 הָד֣וּר [is] adorned

    Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”

    Here: "Honoured / majestic": a passive participle of the verb behind hādār "splendour, royal majesty". The stained clothes are not a disgrace. They are the robes of a victorious king.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 5:12 נֶהְדָּֽרוּ׃ they have been honored

    Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect.

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