Hebrew word · H5756

עוּז

ha'ez

to seek refuge

'Uz (H5756) is a rare verb: 'flee for safety, bring to safety' (Exod 9:19; Isa 10:31; Jer 4:6; 6:1), related to Arabic 'ādha, 'seek protection.' Ma'oz means a fortress, stronghold or place of refuge. In practice it means both a strong place and a safe place.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Hiphil) to take refuge, bring to refuge, seek refuge

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 Isaiah 30:2

Range of meaning

'Uz (H5756) is a rare verb: 'flee for safety, bring to safety' (Exod 9:19; Isa 10:31; Jer 4:6; 6:1), related to Arabic 'ādha, 'seek protection.' Ma'oz means a fortress, stronghold or place of refuge. Lexicons (HALOT, BDB) note that the noun seems to combine two roots: 'zz, 'be strong' (hence 'stronghold'), and 'wz, 'take refuge' (hence 'place of refuge'). In practice it means both a strong place and a safe place.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh' take the verb from 'zz, 'be strong.' Modern versions (BSB, ESV, NASB) take it from 'wz: 'seek shelter / take refuge in Pharaoh's protection.' NIV 'look for help to Pharaoh's protection' paraphrases.

How it drifted

The KJV followed the older understanding of the root, before comparisons with other Semitic languages identified the separate verb 'take refuge.' Its 'strengthen themselves' turns flight into self-reinforcement.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ma'oz is one of Israel's words for God: 'the Rock of your stronghold' (Isa 17:10), 'a stronghold to the poor' (Isa 25:4), 'the LORD is the stronghold of my life' (Ps 27:1), 'a stronghold in the day of trouble' (Nah 1:7). The same pair returns in v. 3: Pharaoh's ma'oz will become shame.

From the study of Jeremiah 4:6

Range of meaning

To take refuge, or in this form to bring something or oneself to safety. It is a rare verb. Exodus 9:19 uses it for getting livestock under cover before the hail; Isaiah 10:31 for a town's people fleeing an advancing army; Jeremiah 6:1 for the people of Benjamin fleeing. Arabic has a related verb, adha, "to seek refuge" (BDB).

Against the English

BSB "Seek refuge," and WEB "Flee for safety" are accurate. KJV "retire" meant "withdraw" in 1611 but now misleads. YLT "Strengthen yourselves" follows a different Hebrew root that sounds similar, azaz, "be strong."

How it drifted

The confusion over this verb is ancient as well as English: the Vulgate here has confortamini ("be strengthened"), and the Greek of Jeremiah 6:1 also goes with "be strong." In KJV, "retire" has simply shifted in meaning since 1611.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 9:19; Isaiah 10:31; 30:2; Jeremiah 4:6; 6:1. Compare the related-sounding noun maoz, "stronghold, place of refuge" (Isaiah 30:2; Nahum 1:7), whose exact derivation is disputed.

From the study of Jeremiah 6:1

Range of meaning

The verb 'uz (Hiphil form, which here means 'cause to be in safety') means to bring people or goods into a place of safety, or to take refuge. It is the language of evacuating ahead of danger.

Against the English

BSB 'run for cover', WEB/NIV/ESV 'flee for safety' and KJV 'gather yourselves to flee' all get the sense. YLT 'strengthen yourselves' follows the older Greek and Latin reading, which took the word from a related root 'azaz, 'be strong'.

How it drifted

Ancient translators confused two roots that look alike, 'uz (take refuge) and 'azaz (be strong). The 'strengthen' reading comes from that confusion, not from English drift.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 9:19 ('bring your livestock to safety' before the hail); Isa 10:31 (the people of Gebim 'flee for safety' before an advancing Assyrian army); Jer 4:6 (the identical form: 'flee for safety, do not stand still'). The noun ma'oz, 'stronghold, refuge', comes from the same circle of words.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 9:19 הָעֵז֙ bring to refuge

    So give orders now to shelter your livestock and everything you have in the field. Every man or beast that remains in the field and is not brought inside will die when the hail comes down upon them.’”

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 10:31 הֵעִֽיזוּ׃ they have taken refuge

    Madmenah flees; the people of Gebim take refuge.

  2. Isaiah 30:2 לָעוֹז֙ to take refuge

    They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.

    Here: "To take refuge." The verb means to run to a protected place to get safe. It sounds almost the same as the following noun, which gives a wordplay: 'to take refuge in the refuge of Pharaoh.' The KJV linked it to a different, similar-sounding root meaning 'be strong.'

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 4:6 הָעִ֖יזוּ take refuge

    Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.

    Here: Get yourselves to safety. It is the word for moving people and animals out of the open before a catastrophe hits, not a word for inner courage.

  2. Jeremiah 6:1 הָעִ֣זוּ׀ flee for refuge

    “Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.

    Here: A command in the plural: 'get yourselves (and what you own) to safety!' It is the word for running to a stronghold ahead of an attack, and it is the same cry heard in 4:6, but now pointed the other way.

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