Hebrew word · H6282

עָתָר

va'atar

odour

Uncertain. (1) "Fragrance, odour": BDB and most modern commentators link it to Aramaic and Arabic ʿiṭr, "perfume." (2) "Abundance, thickness": linked to ʿateret "abundance" (Jeremiah 33:6) and the Niphal of ʿ-t-r "to be profuse" (Proverbs 27:6).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

suppliant, worshipper

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 Ezekiel 8:11

Range of meaning

Uncertain. (1) "Fragrance, odour": BDB and most modern commentators link it to Aramaic and Arabic ʿiṭr, "perfume." (2) "Abundance, thickness": linked to ʿateret "abundance" (Jeremiah 33:6) and the Niphal of ʿ-t-r "to be profuse" (Proverbs 27:6). (3) The same consonants form the common verb ʿatar, "to plead, entreat" (as in Zephaniah 3:10, "my suppliants").

Against the English

BSB and NIV have "fragrant"; WEB has "smell"; KJV "thick"; YLT "abundance"; ESV "smoke." Each version picks one possible meaning and drops the others.

Used elsewhere in the period

The noun occurs only here. The Greek translation seems to render the phrase as the "vapour" of the incense, and the Latin as a "vapour" or "cloud," so the ancient translators were already making their best guesses.

From the study of Zephaniah 3:10

Range of meaning

From the root ʿ-t-r, 'to plead, make supplication' (Qal/Hiphil). Isaac pleads for Rebekah (Genesis 25:21), and Moses pleads for the plagues to stop (Exodus 8:8–9). The Niphal form means 'let oneself be entreated, respond to pleading' (2 Samuel 24:25). As a noun for people, 'suppliant', it appears only here. A related or identical noun in Ezekiel 8:11 means the rising 'fragrance' or cloud of incense. Some lexicons connect the root to an Arabic word for sacrificing an animal, which would give a sacrificial colouring, but that link is uncertain.

Against the English

KJV 'suppliants' and YLT 'supplicants' keep the pleading sense. BSB, WEB, ESV and NIV say 'worshipers', which is broader and loses the picture of petitioners coming before a ruler to ask for something.

How it drifted

'Worshiper' is not wrong. But modern English links it with attending services and singing, while the Hebrew pictures people making requests and approaching with entreaty, possibly with incense or sacrifice.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is common in prayer narratives (Genesis 25:21; Exodus 8–10; Judges 13:8; Job 33:26). The Septuagint here apparently read the root as a verb ('I will receive'). This shows that early readers also found the noun unusual.

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 8:11 וַעֲתַ֥ר and [the] fragrance of

    Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

    Here: A very rare word. It most likely means "fragrance, scent" (compare Aramaic ʿitra, "perfume"). Some take it as "abundance, thickness" (hence KJV "thick"). It also sounds like the root ʿ-t-r, "to plead in prayer".

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 3:10 עֲתָרַי֙ worshippers my

    From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me an offering.

    Here: 'Those who plead with me', from the verb ʿatar, to entreat or petition God. This is the only place it appears as a noun for people. It shows them as petitioners approaching a king, not simply as attenders of a service.

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