Original Word: גָּזַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: gazar
Pronunciation: gah-ZAR
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-zar')
KJV: cut down (off), decree, divide, snatch
NASB: cut off, divide, cut down, decree, decreed, divided, slice off
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to cut down or off
2. (figuratively) to destroy, divide, exclude, or decide

cut down off, decree, divide, snatch

A primitive root; to cut down or off; (figuratively) to destroy, divide, exclude, or decide -- cut down (off), decree, divide, snatch.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to cut, divide
NASB Translation
cut down (1), cut off (6), decree (1), decreed (1), divide (2), divided (1), slice off (1).

גָּזַר verb cut, divide (Arabic , Late Hebrew גָּזַר cut, determine, circumcise; Ethiopic Aramaic גְּזַר, ) —

Qal Perfect גָּזַר Habakkuk 3:17; Imperfect וַיִּגְזֹר Isaiah 9:19; 2masculine singular תִּגְזַר Job 22:28; וַיִּגְזְרוּ 2 Kings 6:4; Participle active גֹּזֵר Psalm 136:13; —

1 divide, cut in two, followed by accusative 1 Kings 3:25 (לִשְׁנָ֑יִם ׳ג) compare 1 Kings 3:26 (object not expressed).

2 divide the Red Sea (accusative) Psalm 136:13 followed by לִגְזָרִים.

3 cut down הָעֵצִים 2 Kings 6:4.

4 cut off (piece of meat to eat, but object not expressed "" אכל) Isaiah 9:19.

5 cut off, i.e. destroy, exterminate Habakkuk 3:17 (with accusative; indefinite subject), followed by מִן local

6 decree (Aramaism, compare Biblical Aramaic) Job 22:28 with accusative

Niph`al Perfect נִגְזַר2Chronicles 26:21; Esther 2:1, נִגְזָ֑רְתִּי Lamentations 3:24, נִגְזָ֑רוּ Psalm 88:6, נִגְזַרְנוּ Ezekiel 37:11; Isaiah 53:8; —

1 be cut off, separate, excluded from (מִן) temple 2 Chronicles 26:21, from (מִן) Yahweh's hand Psalm 88:5 (of the slain), from (מִן) the land of the living Isaiah 53:8 (of the suffering servant of ׳י).

2 be cut off = destroyed Lamentations 3:54; Ezekiel 37:11.

3 be decreed, Esther 2:1 followed by עַל against (compare Qal 6).

Root Imagery and Scope

גָּזַר is built on the picture of a decisive stroke—an axe falling, a body parted, a decree issued. In Scripture that stroke may be literal (wood felled, meat sliced), legal (a royal verdict), redemptive (sea divided), or existential (a soul feeling severed from life or hope). The thirteen occurrences trace a movement from the physical to the profoundly spiritual, revealing a God who both parts and unites, both judges and saves.

Cutting and Dividing in Human Affairs

1 Kings 3:25–26 records Solomon’s famous test: “He then ordered, ‘Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.’” The threatened cutting exposes the true mother’s heart and showcases wisdom that protects life rather than destroys it. In 2 Kings 6:4 gazar describes the mundane act of chopping trees by the Jordan—reminding us that covenant life involves ordinary labor done under prophetic guidance. Isaiah 9:20 extends the image into moral chaos: Israel “slice[s] meat on the right but [is] still hungry,” consuming even “the flesh of his own arm,” a graphic warning that unchecked sin ultimately devours the sinner himself.

Redemptive Separation and Divine Deliverance

Psalm 136:13 celebrates the LORD who “divided the Red Sea in two.” The verb magnifies salvation by picturing the waters cleft so that covenant people walk a path no human arm could open. Gazar here affirms both power and covenant love: the stroke that judges Egypt simultaneously preserves Israel.

Judicial Decree and Royal Authority

In Persian court life the word shifts from knife to edict. Esther 2:1 recalls what had been “decreed” against Vashti, underscoring the irrevocable nature of royal law. Job 22:28 stretches the thought to righteous living: “Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.” The believer who aligns his resolutions with God’s will speaks with a derivative authority; heaven backs the decree that mirrors divine purpose.

Alienation, Lament, and Eschatological Hope

Suffering saints often feel cut off. Psalm 88:5 laments, “I am set apart with the dead … cut off from Your care.” Lamentations 3:54 echoes, “I am cut off!” Ezekiel 37:11 captures national despair: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.” Yet the valley of dry bones becomes the stage for resurrection, showing that the God who divides seas can also knit severed hopes back together. Habakkuk 3:17 paints agrarian loss—“the flock disappears from the fold”—yet the prophet resolves to rejoice, trusting that apparent severance is not final.

Messianic Fulfillment

Isaiah 53:8 stands at the heart of Scripture’s use of gazar: “For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people.” The Servant’s violent separation secures the believer’s eternal inclusion. Every earlier occurrence—whether judicial, salvific, or tragic—finds resolution in the Messiah whose own life is divided that His people might never be.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

• God’s decisive acts can feel like loss before they manifest as deliverance; pastors should help believers reinterpret “cut-offs” (illness, exile, lament) in the light of Red Sea partings and empty tombs.
• Wise leadership, like Solomon’s, exposes hearts without shedding innocent blood. Justice must aim at preservation, not destruction.
• Personal resolutions matter. When aligned with God’s will they carry weight beyond human ability (Job 22:28), inviting prayer that decrees God’s promises over life and ministry.
• The church serves a generation that cries with Ezekiel’s bones, “We are cut off!” Proclamation of the risen Christ answers that despair with living hope.

Summary of Occurrences

Physical cutting: 1 Kings 3:25; 2 Kings 6:4; Isaiah 9:20

Deliverance by division: Psalm 136:13

Legal or royal decree: Esther 2:1; Job 22:28

Isolation or death: 2 Chronicles 26:21; Psalm 88:5; Lamentations 3:54; Ezekiel 37:11; Habakkuk 3:17

Messianic prophecy: Isaiah 53:8

Gazar thus spans axe and edict, exile and exodus, cross and resurrection—each stroke driving home the faithfulness of the God who both cuts and heals.

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