Proverbs 25:28:8Prov.25.28.W8TAB
מַעְצָ֣ר
matsar
“restraint”
- Transliteration
- ma-TSAR
- Extended
- mah-TSAR
- IPA
- /maʕˈtsaːr/
Meaning by language
- English
- restraint
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Ayin | deep guttural stop, voiced pharyngeal | |
| Sheva | silent sheva — no sound; closes the syllable | |
| Tsade | ts as in cats | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Resh | r guttural, like the French r |
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Now you try — trace the word:
The word
Word in context
- word
ma-TSAR
- phraseyour reading level
ma-TSAR le-ru-KHO
- clause
ISH a-SHER EN ma-TSAR le-ru-KHO
- sentence
IR pe-ru-TSA EN kho-MA ISH a-SHER EN ma-TSAR le-ru-KHO
Exegesis
The second clause opens with ish {אִישׁ | ’îš} ‘man’ and relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ’ăšer} ‘who’, then repeats ein {אֵין | ’ēn} ‘there is no’ with matsar {מַעְצָר | ma‘ṣār} ‘restraint’ governing the construct phrase lə-rû-ḥô {לְרוּחוֹ | lə-rû-ḥô} ‘to his spirit’. This chiastic parallelism underscores the simile comparing external defenses to inner self-control. The repetitive use of ein emphasizes absence, and the prepositional construct marks possession. The English comparative ‘is like’ conveys the Hebrew metaphor.
Root and etymology
Rootayin–tsade–resh
“to restrain”
In context — Proverbs 25:28
A city broken down , without a wall, is like a man who has no restraint over his spirit.
About this coordinate
Proverbs 25:28:8 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 8 of Proverbs 25:28, so the Hebrew word מַעְצָ֣ר (matsar) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Prov.25.28.W8, which extends further down to each syllable (Prov.25.28.W8.S1) and character.