חָשַׂךְ

Genesis 20:6 וָאֶחְשֹׂ֧ךְ and I have restrained

Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

Here: To keep something back or hold someone back from going ahead. God, not Abimelech, applied the brake.

Genesis 22:12 חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ you have withheld

“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”

Here: "You have not held back / not spared." This is the evidence for the verdict: Abraham kept nothing back from God, even this son.

Genesis 22:16 חָשַׂ֖כְתָּ you have withheld

saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,

Here: To hold something back, keep it in reserve, spare it. Abraham did not keep back for himself the one thing most precious to him. It repeats the angel's words in verse 12 almost exactly.

Genesis 39:9 חָשַׂ֤ךְ he has withheld

No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

Here: 'He has held back.' The form presents a finished, settled fact: the master's generosity is complete. The same verb describes Abraham, who 'did not withhold' his son (Gen 22:12, 16).

1 Samuel 25:39 חָשַׂ֣ךְ he has restrained

On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

Here: “He held back.” Yahweh actively stopped David, through Abigail, from going through with what he had set out to do.

2 Samuel 18:16 חָשַׂ֥ךְ he restrained

Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them.

2 Kings 5:20 חָשַׂ֣ךְ he has restrained

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, by not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

Here: Elisha "held back" with Naaman. He let him off without taking payment. The word is about restraint from taking, not about rescue from harm.

Ezra 9:13 חָשַׂ֤כְתָּֽ you have withheld

After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),

Here: 'You held back': God restrained what he had every right to bring. It is the verb used for 'sparing the rod' (Prov 13:24) and for Abraham not withholding Isaac (Gen 22:12).

Job 7:11 אֶחֱשָׂ֫ךְ I will restrain

Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Here: "I will hold back" or "I will spare." It is the verb wisdom teaching uses for the prudent man who "restrains his lips" (Proverbs 10:19). Job knowingly refuses that virtue.

Job 16:5 יַחְשֹֽׂךְ׃ it will restrain

But I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.

Here: 'Would hold back / would check.' The thing held back is not named. Readers supply 'pain' or 'grief', because the same verb comes again in verse 6: 'my pain is not held back.' So Job's lips could check his friends' pain, but his own speaking cannot check his.

Job 16:6 יֵחָשֵׂ֣ךְ it will be restrained

Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved, and if I hold back, how will it go away?

Job 21:30 יֵחָ֣שֶׂךְ he is spared

Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.

Here: 'He is held back.' In the passive the sense is that something holds him back from harm: he is kept out of it, spared. It can also mean held back for later, kept in reserve.

Job 30:10 חָ֥שְׂכוּ they have withheld

They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Job 33:18 יַחְשֹׂ֣ךְ he will keep back

to preserve his soul from the Pit and his life from perishing by the sword.

Job 38:23 חָשַׂ֥כְתִּי I have kept back

which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?

Here: "I have held back." God speaks in the first person. The verb form marks something already done: the stockpile is already in place, deliberately kept out of use until the right moment. It suggests restraint as well as storage.

Psalm 19:13 חֲשֹׂ֬ךְ keep back

Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.

Here: A command addressed to God: "hold back!" The picture is a hand on someone's arm stopping him before he goes, the way God "held back" Abimelech from sinning in Genesis 20:6.

Psalm 78:50 חָשַׂ֣ךְ he kept back

He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.

Proverbs 10:19 וְחֹשֵׂ֖ךְ and [one who] restrains

When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

Here: "But the one who holds back." It is a participle, so it describes a habit and not a single act. The verb means keeping something in reserve, as Abraham "did not withhold" his son (Gen 22:12). This is restraint, not permanent silence.

Proverbs 11:24 וְחוֹשֵׂ֥ךְ and [one who] withholds

One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

Here: 'And one who holds back.' This is the opposite of scattering: keeping a tight grip. It is the same verb as Abraham 'not withholding' his son (Gen 22:12).

Proverbs 13:24 חוֹשֵׂ֣ךְ [one who] restrains

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

Here: A participle: "the one who holds back." It describes a settled habit, not one lapse. Elsewhere it is used for holding back a hand, words or a gift (Prov 10:19; 11:24). Here it means keeping correction to yourself when it is needed.

Proverbs 17:27 חוֹשֵׂ֣ךְ [one who] restrains

A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.

Here: A participle, 'one who keeps holding back'. It describes a habit, not a single act. The same verb is used of Abraham not 'withholding' his son (Gen 22:12) and of the one who 'restrains his lips' (Prov 10:19). It means keeping back something you could let go of, not having nothing to say.

Proverbs 21:26 יַחְשֹֽׂךְ׃ he keeps back

All day long he covets more, but the righteous give without restraint.

Here: To keep something back for yourself and refuse to let it go (compare Genesis 22:12, 'you have not withheld your son'). The righteous person gives without hoarding or rationing.

Proverbs 24:11 תַּחְשֽׂוֹךְ׃ you will restrain

Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

Here: Either 'hold them back' from death (as God 'holds back' a soul from the pit in Job 33:18) or 'hold yourself back', withholding the help you could give (as in Prov 21:26). The verse may be deliberately playing on both.

Isaiah 14:6 חָשָֽׂךְ׃ anyone restrained

It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.

Isaiah 54:2 תַּחְשֹׂ֑כִי you refrain

“Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.

Here: "Do not hold back", meaning do not skimp, restrict or keep it small. Placed at the center of the verse, it governs everything around it: build big and don't economize on the space.

Isaiah 58:1 תַּחְשֹׂ֔ךְ you refrain

“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.

Here: Do not hold back, do not keep it in. What is withheld is the voice and the message, not mercy toward the hearers.

Jeremiah 14:10 חָשָׂ֑כוּ they have restrained

This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity and punish them for their sins.”

Here: 'They did not hold back'. The same verb is used where Abraham 'did not withhold' his son (Gen 22:12) and where the wise man 'restrains' his lips (Prov 10:19). They put no brake on their feet.

Ezekiel 30:18 חָשַׂ֣ךְ it will withhold

The day will be darkened in Tahpanhes when I break the yoke of Egypt and her proud strength comes to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.