Lexical Summary
betach: Security, safety, confidence, trust
Original Word:בֶּטח
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:betach
Pronunciation:BEH-takh
Phonetic Spelling:(beh'takh)
KJV: assurance, boldly, (without) care(-less), confidence, hope, safe(-ly, -ty), secure, surely
NASB:securely, security, safety, secure, unsuspecting, confidence, safely
Word Origin:[fromH982 (בָּטַח - trust)]
1. (properly) a place of refuge
2. (abstract) safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust)
3. (often, adverb with or without preposition) safely
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
assurance, boldly, without care, confidence, hope, safely secure, surely
Frombatach; properly, a place of refuge; abstract, safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverb with or without preposition) safely -- assurance, boldly, (without) care(- less), confidence, hope, safe(-ly, -ty), secure, surely.
see HEBREWbatach
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
batachDefinitionsecurity
NASB Translationconfidence (1), safely (1), safety (6), secure (2), securely (21), security (8), unawares (1), unsuspecting (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. —
Genesis 34:25 41t.;
Isaiah 32:17quietness and security =
Isaiah 30:15 (but probably both infinitives) elsewhere always adverb; —
securely,
Leviticus 25:18,19;
Leviticus 26:5;
Judges 18:7;
1 Kings 5:5;
Psalm 4:9;
Proverbs 3:29;
Isaiah 47:8;
Jeremiah 32:37;
Jeremiah 49:31;
Ezekiel 28:26;
Ezekiel 34:25,28;
Ezekiel 38:8,11,14;
Ezekiel 39:6,26;
Zephaniah 2:15;
Zechariah 14:11;
Deuteronomy 12:10;
1 Samuel 12:11;
Deuteronomy 33:12;
Psalm 16:9;
Jeremiah 23:6;
Jeremiah 33:16;
Deuteronomy 33:28;
Proverbs 1:33;
Job 24:23;
Ezekiel 34:27;
Judges 8:11;
Proverbs 3:23;
Proverbs 10:9;
Job 11:18;
Hosea 2:20;
Isaiah 14:30;
Psalm 78:53;
Micah 2:8;
Cush (dwelling)
securelyEzekiel 30:9 (pregnant construction, strike out Co);
and they came upon the city (dwelling)
securelyGenesis 34:25 (J).
Topical Lexicon
OverviewStrong’s Hebrew 983 carries the idea of settled safety, confidence, or trustful security. In Scripture it is always an outcome—never self-generated but bestowed or presumed—so its theological weight lies in the source of that security. Of the roughly forty-two appearances, the contexts fall naturally into blessing, warning, and eschatological promise.
Patterns of Usage
1. Security that flows from covenant obedience (Deuteronomy 12:10;Leviticus 25:18-19).
2. Domestic tranquility under righteous rule (1 Kings 4:25;Proverbs 1:33; 3:23).
3. National safety promised for a restored Israel (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16;Ezekiel 34:25-28).
4. False or self-confident security opposed by the prophets (Isaiah 47:8;Zephaniah 2:15).
5. Personal repose given by the Lord amid danger (Psalm 4:8; 16:9).
Covenant Blessings and Consequences
When Israel was to “rest and live in safety” (Deuteronomy 12:10), the word signaled the tangible, day-to-day result of covenant faithfulness: settled borders, undisturbed homes, and worry-free worship. The converse appears in prophetic indictments, where the same term exposes complacency. Isaiah confronts Babylon, “you who dwell securely” (Isaiah 47:8), underscoring that security apart from the Lord becomes illusion. Thus the word becomes a diagnostic tool revealing the spiritual pulse of nations and individuals.
Domestic Tranquility
Proverbs employs the noun in the sphere of neighborly relations: “Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you in safety” (Proverbs 3:29). The moral fabric of a community either preserves or undermines betach. Personal integrity fosters it—“He who walks in integrity walks securely” (Proverbs 10:9)—linking ethics, wisdom, and peace.
Personal Refuge in the Psalms
The Psalmist repeatedly turns betach into liturgy. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). Even in death-tinged contexts the same security reigns: “My body also rests secure” (Psalm 16:9). Here the noun serves doxology, proof that the believer’s deepest quietness is not circumstantial but relational.
Historical Vignettes
• Judges records Laish “living quietly and securely” (Judges 18:7, 10, 27) before Dan’s surprise attack. The sudden loss of betach dramatizes vulnerability when security lacks divine sanction.
• Gideon routed Midian while the enemy camp “felt secure” (Judges 8:11), illustrating how false confidence blinds to real threat.
• Solomon’s reign pictures the golden age: “Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25). The image becomes a prophetic prototype for messianic peace (Micah 4:4;Zechariah 3:10, though these later passages use related vocabulary).
Prophetic Promises of Restoration
Jeremiah and Ezekiel repeatedly employ the term in oracles of hope. “They will dwell in their own land in safety” (Jeremiah 32:37). Ezekiel’s shepherd oracle climaxes, “They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them” (Ezekiel 34:28). The phrase becomes shorthand for the full covenant package: forgiveness, restored land, righteous leadership, and the presence of God.
Ezekiel 38–39 uses betach to set the stage for Gog’s invasion: Israel’s divinely given security becomes the very magnet for hostile forces, ultimately showcasing the Lord’s deliverance. Thus end-time security is neither naïve nor precarious; it is designed to display God’s glory when threatened.
False Security Denounced
Isaiah, Zephaniah, and Obadiah turn the noun into an indictment. The self-indulgent city that says “I am, and there is none besides me” (Isaiah 47:8) epitomizes arrogance.Zephaniah 2:15 reprises the taunt against Nineveh: a metropolis that “dwells securely” yet is destined for desolation. False betach is therefore a moral, not merely military, miscalculation.
Messianic Overtones
Jeremiah 23:6 joins the term to the royal title “The LORD Our Righteousness,” promising a future king under whom “Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety.” The security hoped for in earlier histories converges on the righteous Branch, foreshadowing the peace Christ secures through His atonement and future reign.
Theology of Safety
Betach affirms that true security is:
• God-given: rooted in His covenant faithfulness.
• Holistic: encompassing land, home, body, and soul.
• Ethical: maintained by righteousness and integrity.
• Eschatological: fully realized in the Messianic kingdom.
Ministry Significance
1. Pastoral Care: Betach invites believers to rest in God’s sovereignty amid personal trials.Psalm 4:8 offers counselees a prayer for insomnia borne of anxiety.
2. Preaching: Contrasting Solomon’s peaceful reign with Babylon’s doomed complacency equips sermons on false refuge versus gospel security.
3. Discipleship: Proverbs’ linkage of wisdom and safety encourages practical holiness as the daily path to peace.
4. Missions: The restored security of God’s people serves as an evangelistic picture of the ultimate shalom offered in Christ.
Representative Passages
•Deuteronomy 12:10 – “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you and you live in safety.”
•Psalm 4:8 – “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
•Proverbs 1:33 – “But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
•Jeremiah 23:6 – “In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety. And this is His name by which He will be called: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’”
•Ezekiel 34:28 – “They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them. They will dwell in safety, and no one will frighten them.”
Summary
Strong’s 983 portrays security as a gift from God, grounded in covenant, maintained through righteousness, forfeited by pride, and perfected under Messiah. It encourages believers to anchor their confidence not in circumstance but in the unchanging character and promises of the Lord.
Forms and Transliterations
בֶּ֑טַח בֶּ֔טַח בֶּ֤טַח בֶּֽטַח׃ בֶֽטַח׃ בטח בטח׃ וָבֶ֖טַח ובטח לָ֝בֶ֗טַח לָ֠בֶטַח לָ֭בֶטַח לָבֶ֑טַח לָבֶ֔טַח לָבֶ֖טַח לָבֶ֗טַח לָבֶ֣טַח לָבֶ֥טַח לָבֶֽטַח׃ לָבֶטַח֒ לבטח לבטח׃ be·ṭaḥ ḇe·ṭaḥ Betach beṭaḥ ḇeṭaḥ lā·ḇe·ṭaḥ lāḇeṭaḥ laVetach vaVetach Vetach wā·ḇe·ṭaḥ wāḇeṭaḥ
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