What does Atsam mean?

Atsam (עָצַם, Strong's H6105) is a Hebrew word. Strong's defines it as to bind fast, i.e. close (the eyes); intransitively, to be (causatively, make) powerful or numerous; to crunch the bones. The King James Bible translates it as break the bones, close, be great, be increased, be (wax) mighty(-ier), be more, shut, be(-come, make) strong(-er).

What is the Strong's number for Atsam?

The Strong's number for Atsam (עָצַם) is H6105. It is a Hebrew word from Strong's public-domain dictionary keyed to the King James Bible.

Bible word study

Atsam (Strong’s H6105): Meaning in the Bible

Atsam (עָצַם) is the Hebrew word numbered H6105 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as to bind fast, i.e. close (the eyes); intransitively, to be (causatively, make) powerful or numerous; to crunch the bones. In the King James Bible it is translated break the bones, close, be great, be increased, be (wax) mighty(-ier).

עָצַם

ʻâtsam · Hebrew

Strong’s H6105 · aw-tsam'

Original wordעָצַם
Transliterationʻâtsam
Pronunciationaw-tsam'
Part of speechverb (v)
Strong’s numberH6105
LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

to bind fast, i.e. close (the eyes); intransitively, to be (causatively, make) powerful or numerous; to crunch the bones

Derivation. a primitive root; also denominatively (from H6106)

How the King James Bible translates it

break the bones, close, be great, be increased, be (wax) mighty(-ier), be more, shut, be(-come, make) strong(-er).

Where Atsam appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Atsam (H6105) stands behind 20 English renderings in 20 verses across 6 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Psalms (6), Jeremiah (5), Isaiah (3).

How the King James Bible renders Atsam, by count

increased4 of 20 (20 percent)
mighty4 of 20 (20 percent)
strong4 of 20 (20 percent)
more2 of 20 (10 percent)
bones1 of 20 (5 percent)
closed1 of 20 (5 percent)

Three places to read Atsam

Genesis 26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
Psalms 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
Jeremiah 15:8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Atsam in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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