תָּפַשׂ

From the study of Isaiah 36:1

Range of meaning

To lay hold of, grasp, seize, take in the hand (a weapon, a harp, a person). It is used of arresting people and of capturing a city by force (Deut 20:19; Josh 8:8; 2 Kgs 14:13). By extension it can mean to handle or wield, and in Prov 30:9, to 'lay hold of' or abuse God's name.

Against the English

'Took them' (KJV, ESV), 'captured them' (BSB, WEB), 'seizeth them' (YLT). All of these are accurate. The Hebrew carries a physical sense of a hand closing on something.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for capturing cities in Josh 8:8 (Ai) and 2 Kgs 14:13 (Jehoash seizing Amaziah). The Assyrian annals use Akkadian kašādu, 'conquer, reach', for the same campaign, so the Hebrew and Assyrian accounts agree on the outcome.

From the study of Proverbs 30:9

Range of meaning

Tafas means to seize, grasp, catch, arrest (Gen 39:12; 1 Kgs 18:40), capture a city, or handle a tool or instrument (Gen 4:21, the lyre; Amos 2:15, the bow; Jer 2:8, 'those who handle the law'). With 'name' as its object it is found only here.

Against the English

KJV adds 'in vain' (in italics) to echo the third commandment. ESV, NASB and BSB have 'profane', NIV and WEB 'dishonor', YLT keeps the literal 'laid hold of'. Each version picks one interpretation of a phrase the Hebrew leaves vivid but open.

Used elsewhere in the period

Israelite law tied theft to oaths. A person accused over missing goods had to swear 'before God' (Exod 22:7–11), and Lev 6:1–5 [Heb 5:20–24] treats lying about stolen property and swearing falsely as one offence. Zech 5:3–4 puts 'the thief' and 'the one who swears falsely by my name' under the same curse. The Septuagint ('swear by the name') and the Vulgate ('perjure') both read the phrase this way.

From the study of Amos 2:15

Range of meaning

The verb tāp̄aś means to seize, grip, take hold of. It is used for capturing people and cities (Josh 8:23; 2 Kgs 14:13), for grasping an object, and in the participle for a person whose role is to handle something: 'those who handle the lyre and pipe' (Gen 4:21), 'those who handle the law' (Jer 2:8), 'those who handle the oar' (Ezek 27:29). With a weapon it names the trained user of that weapon.

Against the English

BSB and NIV turn it into a single noun, 'archer', which is accurate. KJV, WEB and ESV keep the picture of 'he who handles the bow'. YLT's 'handler of the bow' is the most literal. Nothing is lost by 'archer' apart from the faint sense of a professional's firm grip on his weapon.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah uses the same phrase in a battle poem: 'Ludim, who grasp and bend the bow' (Jer 46:9, tōp̄śê dōrəḵê qāšeṯ). Ezekiel 38:4 has 'all of them grasping swords'. The participle-plus-weapon pattern is standard Hebrew military vocabulary.