מָהַר

From the study of Proverbs 1:16

Range of meaning

In the intensive form (Piel), to hurry, to act quickly or eagerly. It can be neutral (Abraham hurrying to welcome guests, Gen 18:6) or bad (rash or hasty action).

Against the English

KJV 'make haste' and BSB 'are swift' both fit. Neither says whether the hurry is reckless or simply eager. The Hebrew allows both, though here eagerness is the main idea.

Used elsewhere in the period

Combined with 'feet' and 'run' in Prov 6:18 and Isa 59:7. Rom 3:15 quotes the idea as 'their feet are swift to shed blood'.

From the study of Isaiah 35:4

Range of meaning

The verb māhar means 'to hurry'. In the form used here (the Niphal participle) it describes someone who is hurried: rash, impetuous, frantic, unable to wait. HALOT gives 'hasty, rash; agitated'. With lēv (heart/mind) it means a mind that races, acts without thinking or is overrun by alarm.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'fearful heart'. BSB, ESV and NASB say 'anxious heart(s)'. YLT is literal: 'the hastened of heart'. All of these capture the emotion. They lose the picture of speed and agitation: a heartbeat running away, people about to bolt.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 32:4: 'the heart of the rash (nimharîm) will understand knowledge', in Isaiah's own picture of renewal, where the hasty mind becomes able to think. Hab 1:6 calls the Babylonians a 'bitter and impetuous (nimhār) nation'. Job 5:13 says the counsel of the crafty is 'rushed through' (nimhārâ). The Septuagint here reads oligopsychoi, 'small-souled, faint-hearted'.

From the study of Psalm 16:4

Range of meaning

Hebrew has two verbs spelled m-h-r. (1) mhr I, 'to hasten, hurry' (very common, usually in the intensive form). (2) mhr II, 'to acquire a wife by paying the bride-price', related to the noun mōhar, bride-price (Gen 34:12; Exod 22:16[15]; 1 Sam 18:25). The form here is the simple form, which is unusual for 'hasten' (normally intensive) and is exactly how mhr II appears in Exod 22:16[15].

Against the English

KJV/ESV/BSB/NIV take 'hasten / run after / chase'. NASB 1995 'bartered for' and NRSV 'choose' lean toward the purchase sense; WEB 'give gifts to' also reflects it.

Used elsewhere in the period

HALOT lists Ps 16:4 under mhr II as a probable case. Israel's prophets describe idolatry as adultery or unfaithful marriage (Hos 2; Jer 3; Ezek 16), which suits the bride-price picture. The Septuagint read 'they hastened' (etachynan).