Hebrew word · H680

אָצַל

vaiyatzel

to reserve

A rare verb meaning to set aside, reserve, withhold, or draw off a portion. It is probably related to ʾēṣel, 'beside', so the basic idea is putting something to one side. Esau asks, 'Have you not set aside (ʾāṣaltā) a blessing for me?' (Gen 27:36).

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

What it means

1) to lay aside, reserve, withdraw, withhold

1a) (Qal) to reserve, set apart, withhold

1b) (Niphal) to be withdrawn

1c) (Hiphil) to withdraw

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 Numbers 11:25

Range of meaning

A rare verb meaning to set aside, reserve, withhold, or draw off a portion. It is probably related to ʾēṣel, 'beside', so the basic idea is putting something to one side. Esau asks, 'Have you not set aside (ʾāṣaltā) a blessing for me?' (Gen 27:36). Qohelet says, 'I did not withhold (lōʾ ʾāṣaltî) from them' (Eccl 2:10). A passive form in Ezek 42:6 means 'was narrowed / reduced'.

Against the English

BSB, WEB and KJV say 'took (of)'. YLT says 'keepeth back'. Several modern versions say 'took some of'. 'Took' is fine but flat. The Hebrew pictures a portion being set aside out of a larger whole and given to others.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its use with the spirit is limited to Num 11:17, 25. The Septuagint translates it with aphaireō, 'take away from'. Rabbinic interpretation (Sifre Numbers) and Philo (On the Giants 24–25) both used this verb to ask whether Moses lost anything. Their answer was that he did not, comparing him to a flame that lights other lamps and stays as bright as before.

From the study of Ecclesiastes 2:10

Range of meaning

To set aside, reserve, withdraw or take away part of something. Rare: Gen 27:36 (a blessing "reserved"); Num 11:17, 25 (God "takes some of" the spirit on Moses to put on the elders); Ezek 42:6 (passive, "set back, narrowed").

Against the English

KJV "kept not from them," BSB "did not deny myself," YLT "kept not back." All are close. The nuance of "reserving, holding something in reserve" is mostly lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

HALOT and BDB both give "withdraw, reserve, set apart" for this root. The related noun 'etsel ("beside, near") suggests the picture of setting something to one side.

From the study of Numbers 11:17

Range of meaning

A rare verb. It means to set aside, reserve, withhold or draw off a portion. Gen 27:36: "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" Eccl 2:10: "I did not withhold from my eyes." Ezek 42:6 uses a passive form for building space that is "set back." Related words: ʾetsel, "side, beside," and ʾatsil, "chief, noble" (Exod 24:11, the leaders of Israel who saw God at Sinai). Some scholars link these words to the idea of being "set apart."

Against the English

BSB, ESV and NLT say "take some of." KJV and WEB say "take of." YLT says "kept back." "Take" can sound as though something is removed from Moses and he ends up with less. The verb is better pictured as separating out a share for others. Whether Moses loses anything is a real question, and the verb alone does not settle it (see debates).

Used elsewhere in the period

In Num 11:25 the same verb appears in a different form (wayyatsel): "he drew off some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders." The Septuagint renders it aphelō, "I will take away." Philo (On the Giants 24–25) argues that the spirit is not cut off from Moses: it is like a fire that lights a thousand torches and stays as it was. Rabbinic tradition (Sifre Numbers 93, followed by Rashi) uses the image of a lamp lighting other lamps.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 27:36 אָצַ֥לְתָּ have you reserved

    So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 11:17 וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י and I will share

    And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

    Here: "And I will draw off / set aside." A rare verb. It pictures separating out a portion of something for another use. God is the one who acts, not Moses.

  2. Numbers 11:25 וַיָּ֗אצֶל and he shared

    Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

    Here: A rare verb: God 'drew off' or 'set apart' a portion of something. It picks up God's promise in v. 17 ('I will draw off some of the spirit'). It pictures part of Moses' endowment being set aside and shared out.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:10 אָצַ֖לְתִּי I withheld

    Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

    Here: "I held back, kept in reserve." A rare verb. In Genesis 27:36 Esau asks, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" Qohelet set nothing aside and kept nothing in reserve. He spent it all on what his eyes asked for.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 42:6 נֶאֱצַ֗ל it was shortened

    For they were arranged in three stories, and unlike the courts, they had no pillars. So the upper chambers were set back further than the lower and middle floors.

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