Hebrew word · H3322

יָצַג

yutzag

to set

To set or place something somewhere, to station it, often in a visible spot (Gen 30:38, rods set before the flocks; Gen 33:20; Judg 6:37, a fleece laid out; Amos 5:15, "establish justice in the gate").

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to place, set, establish

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to set, place

1a2) to present

1a3) to exhibit

1b) (Hophal) to be stopped, be stayed, be detained

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 Hosea 2:3

Range of meaning

To set or place something somewhere, to station it, often in a visible spot (Gen 30:38, rods set before the flocks; Gen 33:20; Judg 6:37, a fleece laid out; Amos 5:15, "establish justice in the gate").

Against the English

KJV/YLT "set" is literal but flat. BSB "expose" and NASB "expose" capture the public display. WEB/NIV-type "make her bare" moves the idea into the comparison and loses the sense of being put out in view.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible the hiphil form is used for placing something deliberately where it stands out. The idea of public display of shame is shared by Ezek 16:37 ("I will uncover your nakedness to them") and Nah 3:5–6 ("I will make you a spectacle").

From the study of Judges 7:5

Range of meaning

To set, place or station something somewhere. To leave someone or something at a location (Gen 33:15; 43:9). To set up or display (Gen 30:38; Hos 2:3).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'set him by himself' and ESV 'set by himself' keep the physical placing. BSB/NIV 'separate… from…' turn it into a general sorting instruction. That is clear, but it loses the picture of each man being stationed in a group.

Used elsewhere in the period

Judges 6:37: 'I am setting (matsig) a fleece of wool on the threshing floor.' Gideon uses this same verb for his own test of God. Also Jacob 'set' the peeled rods before the flocks (Gen 30:38).

From the study of Judges 8:27

Range of meaning

To set, place or station something or someone in a particular position, often deliberately and in view. It is used of Jacob setting out his peeled rods (Genesis 30:38), presenting people before Pharaoh (Genesis 47:2), and establishing justice at the city gate (Amos 5:15).

Against the English

'Put' (KJV, WEB) is accurate but flat. 'Placed' (BSB) is similar. YLT's 'setteth it up' comes closest to the sense of installation.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is used for installing cult objects: the Philistines set the ark beside Dagon (1 Samuel 5:2), and David's men set the ark in its place inside the tent (2 Samuel 6:17). It also runs through Gideon's own story: he sets out the fleece to test God (Judges 6:37), and the men who lap water are set apart (7:5).

Where it appears

Genesis · 4

  1. Genesis 30:38 וַיַּצֵּ֗ג and he placed

    Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

  2. Genesis 33:15 אַצִּֽיגָה־ let me place

    “Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

  3. Genesis 43:9 וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יו and I will set him

    I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

  4. Genesis 47:2 וַיַּצִּגֵ֖ם and he presented them

    And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 10:24 יֻצָּ֑ג it will be detained

    Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 28:56 הַצֵּ֣ג to place

    The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter

Judges · 3

  1. Judges 6:37 מַצִּ֛יג [am] placing

    then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

    Here: A causative participle, "am setting out / about to set." It describes an action about to happen, as if he is already laying the fleece down while he speaks.

  2. Judges 7:5 תַּצִּ֤יג you will set

    So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”

    Here: 'You shall set (him)': put physically in a separate place. Gideon used the same verb in 6:37 when he 'set' the fleece on the threshing floor to test God. Now God has Gideon 'set' men apart as God's own test.

  3. Judges 8:27 וַיַּצֵּ֨ג and he placed

    From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

    Here: He set it in position. The same verb describes placing the ark in a shrine (1 Samuel 5:2; 2 Samuel 6:17), so this reads as installation in a fixed place and not as storage.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 5:2 וַיַּצִּ֥יגוּ and they placed

    carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 6:17 וַיַּצִּ֤גוּ and they set

    So they brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

    Here: To set something down firmly in a fixed position. After years of wandering and danger, the ark is put in place to stay.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:1 וַיַּצִּ֣יגוּ and they set

    So they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

Job · 1

  1. Job 17:6 וְֽ֭הִצִּגַנִי and he has set me

    He has made me a byword among the people, a man in whose face they spit.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 51:34 הִצִּיגַ֙נִי֙ he set down me

    “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.

    Here: 'He set me down.' The picture is of a diner who has finished eating and puts the emptied dish aside.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 2:3 וְהִ֨צַּגְתִּ֔יהָ and I will exhibit her

    Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

    Here: "And I will set her out." The verb means placing something where it stands in view (Gen 30:38; Judg 7:5). Here it carries the idea of public exposure: she is put out where everyone can see.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 5:15 וְהַצִּ֥יגוּ and set up

    Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

    Here: The verb form means "cause to stand" or "set firmly in place", used for setting down an object or posting something where it stays. Justice has been knocked down (5:7). Stand it back up and keep it there.

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