Hebrew word · H5201

נָטַר

titor

to keep

To keep, guard, watch over: a vineyard keeper (Song 1:6; 8:11–12). Used without a stated object it means to keep anger, to hold a grudge (Jer 3:5, 12; Ps 103:9; Nah 1:2, where YHWH 'keeps' wrath for his enemies).

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to keep, keep guard, reserve, maintain

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to keep, maintain

1a2) to keep, guard

Aramaic equivalent: ne.tar (נְטַר "to keep" H5202)

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 Leviticus 19:18

Range of meaning

To keep, guard, watch over: a vineyard keeper (Song 1:6; 8:11–12). Used without a stated object it means to keep anger, to hold a grudge (Jer 3:5, 12; Ps 103:9; Nah 1:2, where YHWH 'keeps' wrath for his enemies).

Against the English

'Bear a grudge' (KJV, BSB, WEB) captures the idiom well. YLT's 'nor watch the sons of thy people' is literal but misleading, since it suggests spying rather than stored resentment.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in parallel with naqam in Nah 1:2. The LXX renders it here with mēniō, 'to cherish wrath', the word behind the 'wrath' (mēnis) of Achilles in Homer.

From the study of Psalm 103:9

Range of meaning

To keep or guard. It is used literally of a vineyard keeper (Song 1:6; 8:11–12). Used of anger it means to hold on to anger, keep a grudge, stay resentful. In that sense the object 'anger' is usually left out because the idiom was so familiar (Lev 19:18, 'you shall not take vengeance or keep [a grudge]'; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2, 'he keeps [wrath] for his enemies'; Amos 1:11 has 'kept his wrath' with the object stated). Linguistically, nāṭar is the Aramaic-type twin of the ordinary Hebrew nāṣar, 'to guard, keep.'

Against the English

'Keep [his anger]' (KJV, ESV) is accurate and literal. 'Harbor his anger' (BSB, NIV) catches the picture of deliberately nursing it. 'Stay angry' (WEB) and 'remain angry' (NLT) are clear but lose the picture of anger as something held and guarded, the way a watchman guards a vineyard. YLT's 'watch' is a wooden rendering that hides the idiom completely.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 3:12 is a close parallel: 'For I am loyal (ḥāsîd), declares the LORD; I will not keep [anger] forever (lōʾ ʾeṭṭôr ləʿôlām)'. It has the same verb, the same time word and the same missing object. Jer 3:5 asks the question this psalm answers: 'Will he keep (yinṭōr) [anger] forever (ləʿôlām)? Will he guard (yišmōr) it to the end (lāneṣaḥ)?' The Septuagint renders it mēniei, 'he will harbor wrath.' Mēnis is the classic Greek word for lasting, smouldering resentment.

From the study of Jeremiah 3:12

Range of meaning

To keep or guard, as a vineyard is kept (Song 1:6; 8:11–12). With anger understood, it means to hold a grudge or keep resentment stored for later (Lev 19:18, 'you shall not bear a grudge'; Nah 1:2; Ps 103:9).

Against the English

KJV and WEB, 'I will not keep anger for ever', keep the verb. BSB, NIV and ESV, 'I will not be angry forever', give the sense but lose the picture of anger held under guard. YLT's 'I watch not to the age' is wooden.

Used elsewhere in the period

The closest parallel is Ps 103:9: 'He will not always contend, nor will he keep [anger] forever (le-olam yittor)'. That is the same verb with the same unstated object. Within Jeremiah, 3:5 puts the question in the mouth of the people of Judah, who presume on it while they keep doing evil: 'Will he keep [it] forever?' 3:12 gives the answer, 'I will not keep [it] forever', but addressed to Israel with the condition 'Return'.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 19:18 תִטֹּר֙ you will keep

    Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

    Here: Literally 'keep' or 'guard', as a watchman guards a vineyard. With anger as the understood object it means to keep resentment in storage, nursing it for later. Hence 'bear a grudge'.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 103:9 יִטּֽוֹר׃ he will keep

    He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever.

    Here: 'He will keep it.' The object is left unstated. In Hebrew idiom 'keeping' with no object means holding on to anger or resentment, nursing a grudge (Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12). KJV prints its supplied '[his anger]' in italics to show the word is not in the Hebrew.

Song of Songs · 4

  1. Song of Songs 1:6 נֹטֵרָ֣ה נָטָֽרְתִּי׃ [one who] keeps, I have kept

    Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected.

    Here: A feminine participle, 'a (female) keeper' or 'watchwoman'. Keeping a vineyard meant guarding and tending it: watching for thieves and animals, often from a booth or tower (Isa 1:8; 5:2). The same verb comes back at the end of the verse.

  2. Song of Songs 8:11 לַנֹּטְרִ֑ים to <the> [those who] keep

    Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.

    Here: 'To the keepers / guards': people who look after and protect the vines, here working as tenants. It is the same verb the woman used in 1:6 ('they made me keeper of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept'), so the word ties this verse back to her story.

  3. Song of Songs 8:12 לְנֹטְרִ֥ים [belong] to [those who] keep

    But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 3:5 הֲיִנְטֹ֣ר ¿ will he maintain

    Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ This you have spoken, but you keep doing all the evil you can.”

  2. Jeremiah 3:12 אֶטּ֖וֹר I will maintain

    Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.

    Here: 'I will keep/guard.' With anger understood but not stated, it means to nurse a grudge or hold resentment in reserve (Lev 19:18; Ps 103:9). The word pictures anger kept under guard and stored away.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 1:2 וְנוֹטֵ֥ר and [is] maintaining

    The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.

    Here: A participle meaning 'keeping, holding on to'. It is used of guarding a vineyard (Song 1:6) and of holding on to anger, that is, bearing a grudge (Lev 19:18; Ps 103:9; Jer 3:5, 12). The object, anger, is left unsaid but is clear from the context. The anger is kept in store for its proper target, not let loose at random.

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