עָתַר
𐤏𐤕𐤓
ʻâthar
H6280 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To pray persistently, to entreat or plead earnestly, often with the nuance of urging or importunity; sometimes, to respond favorably to entreaty or to be moved by earnest appeal. The verb fundamentally indicates a process of seeking to influence or persuade, particularly through intensive prayer or supplication. In causative or passive forms, it can also mean to be moved by entreaty or to grant a request, especially in response to prayer.
Semantic Range
to pray earnestly, to entreat or plead, to be moved by entreaty, to grant a request, to respond favorably to prayer, (rare or obsolete) to be abundant
Root / Etymology
From the Hebrew root עתר, which is related to the idea of abundance (originally, perhaps thickening or crowding). In the piel stem, it regularly takes on the meaning of 'to pray earnestly, entreat,' while the niphal and hithpael forms shift toward the sense of being entreated or receiving favor. The connection to abundance may have influenced the sense of repeated, intensified prayer, as though petitioning 'in abundance.' The Strong's gloss 'deceitful' is without strong lexical basis and is not supported in primary biblical usage.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In biblical usage, עָתַר is most often found in contexts of prayer or intense pleading, especially in petitioning YHWH to remove affliction (e.g., barrenness, calamity, plagues). It occurs in narratives involving the patriarchs (e.g., Isaac's prayer for Rebekah, Genesis 25:21), where it denotes earnest and persistent supplication. The term appears both for human prayer toward deity and for deity's positive response (i.e., being 'entreated' or moved by prayer; e.g., Genesis 25:21; Exodus 8:8-9, 28). The sense of 'responding favorably to prayer' is context-dependent and is usually passive or causative. Its use is concentrated primarily in narrative prose and is less common in poetry or ritual texts. The linkage to abundance is largely restricted to the underlying root and does not inform the typical lexical sense in the Hebrew Bible. Later translations have sometimes rendered the verb as 'pray,' 'entreat,' or 'be moved by entreaty.' The older English gloss 'deceitful' found in Strong's is incorrect and reflects confusion with unrelated terms.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) abundant; deceitful, multiply.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
עתר (ʿ-ṭ-r) — abundance, entreaty, earnest pleading, persistent prayer
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6279 | עָתַר | I will cause to entreat |
| H6281 | עֶתֶר | and Ether |
| H6282 | עָתָר | my dense masses |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6280-01 |
וְ/הַעְתַּרְתֶּ֥ם | vehaetaretem | HC/Vhq2mp |
and you have multiplied | and you granted entreaty | 1 |
H6280-02 |
וְ֝/נַעְתָּר֗וֹת | venaetarot | HC/VNsfpa |
but deceitful | ones being entreated | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6280-01 |
Ezekiel 35:13 | וְ/הַעְתַּרְתֶּ֥ם | vehaetaretem | HC/Vhq2mp |
and you have multiplied | and you granted entreaty |
H6280-02 |
Proverbs 27:6 | וְ֝/נַעְתָּר֗וֹת | venaetarot | HC/VNsfpa |
but deceitful | ones being entreated |