Hebrew word · H5425

נָתַר

lenater

to free

In its simple form נָתַר means to spring up, leap or start (locusts leaping, Lev 11:21; the heart leaping in alarm, Job 37:1). In the causative form it also means 'to loosen, set free': releasing prisoners (Ps 105:20; 146:7) and undoing bonds (Isa 58:6).

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

What it means

1) to loose, let loose, undo, be free, be loose

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to unfasten, loosen

1a2) to set free, unbind

Aramaic equivalent: ne.tar (נְתַר "to strip" H5426)

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 Habakkuk 3:6

Range of meaning

In its simple form נָתַר means to spring up, leap or start (locusts leaping, Lev 11:21; the heart leaping in alarm, Job 37:1). In the causative form it also means 'to loosen, set free': releasing prisoners (Ps 105:20; 146:7) and undoing bonds (Isa 58:6).

Against the English

KJV has 'drove asunder', which takes the 'loosen, undo' sense and pictures nations coming apart. BSB and NASB have 'startled'. WEB and NIV have 'made tremble'. ESV has 'shook'. YLT has 'shaketh off'.

How it drifted

KJV's 'drove asunder' leans on the 'loosen' sense. Most modern scholars think the picture here is nations made to leap or jolt in fright, matching the earth shaking.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has 'nations melted away' (διετάκη), and the Vulgate has 'dissolvit gentes', 'he dissolved the nations'. Both read it as nations falling apart.

From the study of Psalm 146:7

Range of meaning

There are two roots spelled this way. The one used here means 'to loose, untie'. In the causative stem (the Hiphil) it means 'to set loose, release, unfasten'. It is used of a king releasing a prisoner (Ps 105:20, Joseph), of loosening the straps of a yoke (Isa 58:6), and of God 'loosening' a hand (Job 6:9). The supplied data correctly marks the 'free' sense (H5425B).

Against the English

'Sets free' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB), 'frees' (WEB, NLT) and 'looseth' (KJV) all work. KJV's 'looseth' keeps the physical picture of untying bonds best.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 105:20: 'The king sent and released him (wayyattîrēhû), the ruler of peoples set him free'. Isaiah 58:6: 'to loosen (hattēr) the bonds of the yoke'. The Greek Septuagint renders it lyei, 'loosens'.

From the study of 2 Samuel 22:33

Range of meaning

In the causative form: to set free, release, loosen. It is used of releasing prisoners (Psalm 105:20, "the king sent and released him"; Psalm 146:7, "the LORD sets prisoners free") and of loosening bonds (Isaiah 58:6). A different root of the same spelling means "to leap, startle" (Job 37:1; Leviticus 11:21, of leaping insects).

Against the English

BSB "makes my way clear" is a fair rendering of "set loose / unobstructed". KJV, WEB and ESV ("perfect", "blameless") effectively translate the Psalm 18 verb "made/gave" and pass over Samuel's distinct verb. NIV "keeps my way secure" is a paraphrase.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Psalm 18 parallel reads wayyittēn, "and he gave/made". The two words differ in one letter (Hebrew r vs n at the end of the stem), which suggests that one of them arose by copying error, or that one is a deliberate variation. The Greek translation of Samuel renders the clause with a verb of shaking or setting loose, which seems to reflect Samuel's verb rather than the Psalm's.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 11:21 לְנַתֵּ֥ר to hop

    However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.

    Here: 'To leap'. This form of the verb occurs only here in the Bible. It names what the legs are for, and that function is the test for a permitted insect.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:33 וַיַּתֵּ֥ר and he set free

    God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way clear.

    Here: "And he set free / let loose." The verb usually describes releasing a prisoner or loosening bonds. Here it probably means God untied David's way, so his path was unhindered and clear. The verb is rare and hard in this setting, and Psalm 18 has "he made" instead (see Debates).

Job · 2

  1. Job 6:9 יַתֵּ֥ר may he loosen

    that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!

  2. Job 37:1 וְ֝יִתַּ֗ר so it may leap

    “At this my heart also pounds and leaps from its place.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 105:20 וַיַּתִּירֵ֑הוּ and he set free him

    The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free.

  2. Psalm 146:7 מַתִּ֥יר [is] setting free

    He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,

    Here: 'Is loosing': untying or unfastening what binds someone. It is the verb used when Pharaoh 'released' Joseph from prison (Ps 105:20) and for 'loosening the straps of the yoke' (Isa 58:6).

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 58:6 הַתֵּ֖ר to unfasten

    Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

    Here: To untie, release. The same verb is used for releasing prisoners (Ps 105:20; Ps 146:7, 'the LORD sets prisoners free'). Here it means undoing the straps of a yoke.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 3:6 וַיַּתֵּ֣ר and he has made jump

    He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.

    Here: 'And he made (the nations) leap.' They jump, startle and tremble the way a body flinches at a sudden shock. The same root is used for leaping locusts (Lev 11:21) and a pounding heart (Job 37:1).

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