Lexical Summary
atsar: To restrain, to hold back, to stop, to withhold
Original Word:אָצַר
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:atsar
Pronunciation:ah-tsar
Phonetic Spelling:(aw-tsar')
KJV: (lay up in) store, + (make) treasure(-r)
NASB:laid up in store, appointed, hoard, stored
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to store up
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
lay up in store, make treasurer
A primitive root; to store up -- (lay up in) store, + (make) treasure(-r).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto lay up, store up
NASB Translationappointed (1), hoard (1), laid up in store (2), stored (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Mishna
id., Aramaic ,
, Arabic
confine, restrict) —
Perfect3plural2 Kings 20:17;Isaiah 39:6;ParticipleAmos 3:10; —store up) treasure2 Kings 20:17 =Isaiah 39:6; objectAmos 3:10, i.e. treasure gained by violence robbery.
Imperfect be stored up, of the merchandise of TyreIsaiah 23:18.
Imperfect (compare Köi, 391) (denominative from )Nehemiah 13:13and I appointed treasurer, followed by accusative of person + .
Topical Lexicon
Overviewאָצַר depicts the deliberate storing or hoarding of goods, treasure, or even intangible realities. Its five canonical occurrences span royal annals, post-exilic reforms, major prophecy, and social critique. Together they reveal that whatever is “stored up” is never outside the gaze or governance of God; He inspects the contents, the motives, and the ultimate destination of every treasury.
Occurrences and Narrative Context
•2 Kings 20:17 andIsaiah 39:6 record the same oracle to Hezekiah: the wealth “stored up” by successive generations would be carried to Babylon. The term is linked to royal treasuries, accumulated over centuries, yet vulnerable when covenant fidelity lapses.
•Nehemiah 13:13 shows a righteous use of treasuries: “I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite in charge of the storehouses…” Integrity safeguards offerings dedicated to temple service and the needs of the Levites.
•Isaiah 23:18 foretells that Tyre’s profit “will not be stored or hoarded; her profit will supply food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.” The sea-trading city’s gains are redirected from self-enrichment to worship.
•Amos 3:10 indicts Samaria’s elites who “store up violence and destruction in their citadels.” The same verb that can describe gold or grain here exposes accumulated injustice awaiting divine reckoning.
Theological Themes
1. Divine Ownership. Whether pagan (Tyre), covenantal (Judah), or apostate (Samaria), all stores are subject to the Lord. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1).
2. Accountability of Treasurers. From Nehemiah’s trustworthy stewards to Hezekiah’s compromised dynasty, leaders are measured by how they handle entrusted resources.
3. Transience of Earthly Wealth. Babylon’s plunder of Judah proves that treasures outside God’s purposes are temporary.
4. Ethical Dimension of Storage. Amos reveals that what people “store up” can be moral capital—either righteousness or violence.
Principles of Stewardship and Accountability
• Fidelity precedes security. Judah’s hoarded wealth could not shield it from exile, whereas Nehemiah’s vigilant oversight preserved offerings for ministry.
• Transparent administration honors God and blesses people (Nehemiah 13:13;2 Corinthians 8:20-21).
• Hoarding for self invites judgment; storing for service invites blessing (compareLuke 12:33-34).
Prophetic Warnings Against Misplaced Treasures
Both Isaiah and Amos employ אָצַר to confront societies that trusted in stored goods or ill-gotten gain. The prophetic pattern is clear: what is stockpiled apart from covenant obedience becomes evidence in God’s courtroom and spoil for foreign powers.
Practical Ministry Application
• Church treasurers and mission boards must pursue the Nehemiah model—competent, accountable hands distributing resources to advance worship and care for servants of the gospel.
• Believers should regularly examine what they are “storing up” (Matthew 6:19-21). Spiritual disciplines of generosity convert temporal assets into eternal dividends.
• Social justice concerns are inseparable from stewardship; like Amos, ministries should expose and rectify systems that “store up violence.”
Christological and Eschatological Reflection
Jesus portrays Himself as the greater Treasurer who “has been made for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Final judgment is pictured as the disclosure of all that has been stored, whether good or evil (Romans 2:5). Thus אָצַר anticipates both the riches of grace in Christ and the wrath reserved for unrepentant hoarding.
Related Passages
Proverbs 2:7;Proverbs 10:14;Matthew 6:19-21;Luke 12:15-21;1 Timothy 6:17-19;James 5:1-5;Revelation 18:11-17.
Forms and Transliterations
אָצְר֧וּ אצרו הָאֽוֹצְרִ֛ים האוצרים וָאוֹצְרָ֣ה ואוצרה יֵֽאָצֵ֖ר יאצר ’ā·ṣə·rū ’āṣərū atzeRu hā’ōwṣrîm hā·’ō·wṣ·rîm haotzRim vaotzRah wā’ōwṣrāh wā·’ō·wṣ·rāh yê’āṣêr yê·’ā·ṣêr yeaTzer
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