Hebrew word · H309

אָחַר

'echar

to delay

In the Piel form, to delay, linger, hold back, be late (Gen 34:19; Deut 7:10; Judg 5:28).

Appears 17 times in 17 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to delay, hesitate, tarry, defer, remain behind

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to delay, tarry (intensive)

1a2) to cause one to delay, hinder, keep back

1b) (Piel) to delay, wait, stay behind (but not in hope)

Also means: ya.char (יָחַר "to delay" H3186)

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 Psalm 70:5

Range of meaning

In the Piel form, to delay, linger, hold back, be late (Gen 34:19; Deut 7:10; Judg 5:28).

Against the English

'Do not delay' (BSB, ESV, WEB) is exact. The KJV's 'make no tarrying' is accurate but archaic.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 9:19 closes its great prayer the same way: 'O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay ('al te'achar)'. Deuteronomy 7:10 uses the verb of God not delaying repayment of his enemies.

From the study of Psalm 40:17

Range of meaning

In this intensive form: "to delay, linger, hold back, be late" (Gen 24:56; 32:4; Deut 7:10; Hab 2:3).

Against the English

"Do not delay" (BSB, WEB) is accurate. KJV's "make no tarrying" is archaic but gets the sense of lingering.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same words, al-te'aḥar, "do not delay," close Daniel's prayer: "O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive!… do not delay, for your own sake, O my God" (Dan 9:19). Ps 70:5 ends identically. Deut 7:10 uses it of God not delaying to repay those who hate him.

From the study of Daniel 9:19

Range of meaning

In this form: to delay, hold back, put off, be slow to act.

Against the English

The KJV's 'defer not' is accurate but archaic. 'Do not delay' (BSB, YLT, ESV) is exact.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 40:17 (Hebrew 40:18) ends 'You are my help and my deliverer; my God, do not delay', the same 'my God… do not delay' found here, and Ps 70:5 repeats it. Habakkuk 2:3 promises that a vision 'will not delay'. Deuteronomy 7:10 says God 'will not be slow' to repay those who hate him.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 24:56 תְּאַחֲר֣וּ you delay

    But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”

  2. Genesis 32:4 וָאֵחַ֖ר and I have delayed

    He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now.

  3. Genesis 34:19 אֵחַ֤ר he delayed

    The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 22:29 תְאַחֵ֑ר you must delay

    You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.

    Here: 'You shall not delay/hold back.' The verb is about timing and withholding: not putting off God's share while you start using the harvest yourself. The KJV's added words '[to offer]' fill in what the Hebrew leaves unsaid.

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 7:10 יְאַחֵר֙ he delays

    But those who hate Him He repays to their faces with destruction; He will not hesitate to repay to his face the one who hates Him.

    Here: To postpone or hold something back past its time. It concerns timing, not God's inner state: he does not defer the payment, as a debtor might defer a bill.

  2. Deuteronomy 23:21 תְאַחֵ֖ר you will delay

    If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

    Here: "Delay, put off." The issue is not only refusing to pay but putting it off once the thing asked for has come.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 5:28 אֶֽחֱר֔וּ have they delayed

    Sisera’s mother looked through the window; she peered through the lattice and lamented: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 20:5 וַיּ֕וֹחֶר and he was delayed

    So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 40:17 תְּאַחַֽר׃ you delay

    But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

    Here: "Linger, hold back, be late." The psalm, and with it the first half of the Psalter's second collection, ends on this word: a plea still waiting for an answer.

  2. Psalm 70:5 תְּאַחַֽר׃ you delay

    But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

    Here: 'Do not be late, do not hold back.' The psalm ends on this plea, with no closing word of praise or answer.

  3. Psalm 127:2 מְאַֽחֲרֵי־ [who] delay

    In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

    Here: A participle paired with the one before: 'those who make late, who put off.' The day is stretched at both ends.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 23:30 לַֽמְאַחֲרִ֥ים to <the> [those who] delay

    Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 5:4 תְּאַחֵר֙ you delay

    When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.

    Here: 'Delay, hang back, be late.' The fault in view is not refusing outright but putting the payment off once the crisis behind the vow has passed. The same verb appears in Deuteronomy 23:21.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 5:11 מְאַחֲרֵ֣י [those who] delay

    Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

    Here: 'The lingerers of', people who keep the party going late. It matches 'early-risers' in the first line, so the drinking lasts from first light to dark.

  2. Isaiah 46:13 תְאַחֵ֑ר it will delay

    I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.

    Here: "Will not delay / will not linger." It is the word of the psalmists' cry "O my God, do not delay" (Ps 40:17), and here God answers that kind of prayer directly.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 9:19 תְּאַחַ֑ר you delay

    O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

    Here: 'Do not hold back / do not put it off.' The words match Psalm 40:17 ('my God, do not delay'). They are pointed here because Daniel has been counting Jeremiah's seventy years (v. 2) and feels that time is up.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:3 יְאַחֵֽר׃ it will delay

    For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

    Here: 'It will not be late': measured by God's appointed time it arrives exactly on schedule, even if it seemed to linger from the human side.

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