אָ֣חֲזוּ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 אָ֣חֲזוּ

   a-kha-ZU

   have seized or have grasped
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 אָ֣חֲזוּ שָֽׂעַר׃

   a-kha-ZU SA-ar

   have seized or have grasped horror or dread
3. clause🔊 וְ֝קַדְמֹנִ֗ים אָ֣חֲזוּ שָֽׂעַר׃

   ve-kad-mo-NIM a-kha-ZU SA-ar

   and the former ones or those before have seized or have grasped horror or dread
4. sentence🔊 עַל־י֭וֹמוֹ נָשַׁ֣מּוּ אַחֲרֹנִ֑ים וְ֝קַדְמֹנִ֗ים אָ֣חֲזוּ שָֽׂעַר׃

   al-YO-mo na-SHAM-mu a-kha-ro-NIM ve-kad-mo-NIM a-kha-ZU SA-ar

   at his day they are appalled the later ones or those after and the former ones or those before have seized or have grasped horror or dread

Exegesis

The second clause, coordinated by vav, mirrors this structure: veqadmonim {וְ֝קַדְמֹנִ֗ים | wə-qadmōnîm} ‘and former ones’ + achazu {אָ֣חֲזוּ | ʾāḥăzû} ‘seized’ + saar {שָֽׂעַר | śāʿar} ‘horror.’ Together, acharonim and qadmonim form a merism that conveys a universal response across time. Perfect verbs in both clauses present these reactions as settled truths, consistent with wisdom-poetry’s portrayal of the fate awaiting the wicked.

Root and etymology

consonants🔊 א־ח־זaleph–chet–zayin

“to seize, grasp”

• 🔊 אֲחֻזָּהachuzzahpossessionGenesis 17:8