Original Word: אָחָז
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Achaz
Pronunciation: ah-KHAHZ
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-khawz')
KJV: Ahaz
NASB: Ahaz
Word Origin: [from H270 (אָחַז - seized)]

1. possessor
2. Achaz, the name of a Jewish king and of an Israelite

Ahaz

From 'achaz; possessor; Achaz, the name of a Jewish king and of an Israelite -- Ahaz.

see HEBREW 'achaz

Word Origin
from achaz
Definition
"he has grasped," two Isr.
NASB Translation
Ahaz (41).

אָחָז proper name, masculine (he hath grasped, abbreviation for יהואחז (q. v.) compare Assyrian Ia-u-—a-zi (i.e. Ahaz) COT on 2 Kings 16:8)

1 king of Judah, son of Jotham, father of Hezekiah 2 Kings 15:38; 2 Kings 16:1,2,5,7,8; 13t. 2Kings; Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 7:1,3,10,12; Isaiah 14:28; Isaiah 38:18; 1 Chronicles 3:13; 2Chronicles 27:9 8t. 2 Chronicles; Hosea 1:1; Micah 1:1.

2 son of Micah, & great-grandson of Jonathan 1 Chronicles 8:35,36; 1 Chronicles 9:42 ( + 1 Chronicles 9:41 compare ᵐ5^L ᵑ9).

Overview of Biblical Usage

אָחָז (Strong’s 271) appears about forty-one times and depicts the act of taking firm hold—whether of an object, a person, a territory, an emotion, or a covenant obligation. The contexts range from the literal grip of a hand to the figurative grip of terror, from territorial acquisition to spiritual steadfastness. In every setting the verb accents decisiveness: what is seized is meant to be kept.

Physical Grasping and Capture

1. Objects and animals. Genesis 22:13 pictures the ram “caught in a thicket by its horns,” a vivid pre-Golgotha foreshadowing of substitutionary atonement. Exodus 4:4 records Moses grasping the serpent’s tail in obedient faith.
2. People. Samson is “seized” by the Philistines (Judges 16:21); the Levite’s concubine is seized by wicked men (Judges 19:25); Joab’s and Abner’s young warriors “seized each one his opponent by the head” (2 Samuel 2:16). The word underscores both the cruelty of fallen humanity and the justice that eventually overtakes it.
3. Weapons, snares, and forces of nature. Job 18:9: “A snare seizes him by the heel”; Job 38:13: dawn “may seize the ends of the earth.” Creation itself can take hold of the wicked at God’s command.

Possession and Settlement

אָחָז often refers to acquiring or holding land: Genesis 34:10; Genesis 47:27; Joshua 22:9. In each case the verb stresses that settlement is God-given and therefore accountable to Him. Israel is meant to “take hold” of the inheritance without letting go of covenant faithfulness.

Emotion and Fear Seizing

The verb frequently describes fear, anguish, or trembling suddenly gripping people:
• Exodus 15:14: “Anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.”
• Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 50:43.

Conversely, righteous indignation can seize the believer: “Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law” (Psalm 119:53). Emotions, though invisible, can grab the soul as tangibly as any hand.

Covenantal Fidelity: Holding Fast to the LORD

Isaiah 56:2,4,6 twice exhorts foreigners and eunuchs to “hold fast My covenant,” showing that steadfast grip on divine promises transcends ethnicity or status. Song of Songs 3:4 places the same root in the language of love: “I held him and would not let him go,” an emblem of wholehearted devotion mirrored in the believer’s relationship to Christ.

Prophetic and Eschatological Dimensions

Prophets employ אָחָז to portray the inevitability of coming judgment. The dread that “seizes” Babylon’s king (Jeremiah 50:43) or Babylon’s infants “seized” in Psalm 137:9 highlights both the certainty and severity of divine recompense. Yet Hosea 11:4 balances judgment with grace: “I led them with cords of kindness… I bent down to feed them,” implying a benevolent grasp that rescues rather than destroys.

Representative Passages

Genesis 22:13; Exodus 4:4; Judges 16:21; 2 Samuel 2:16; Job 21:6; Psalm 48:6; Psalm 119:53; Isaiah 13:8; Isaiah 56:6; Jeremiah 6:24.

Messianic and New Testament Parallels

The Septuagint commonly translates אָחָז with κρατέω, the verb later used of crowds “taking hold” of Jesus (Matthew 26:57) and of believers “holding fast” what they have in Him (Revelation 3:11). The theme culminates in John 10:28 where no one can “snatch” (ἁρπάζω) Christ’s sheep from the Father’s hand, a divine counterpoint: God’s grip is sovereign and unbreakable.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Perseverance. Believers are urged to lay hold of eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12), echoing Isaiah’s call to hold fast the covenant.
• Stewardship. Possessions and positions entrusted by God must be held responsibly, not possessively, as Israel’s land tenure demonstrates.
• Emotional mastery. When terror or indignation seizes the heart, Scripture directs the soul back to Him whose right hand “shall hold me fast” (Psalm 139:10).
• Evangelism and discipleship. The Church is to “grasp” people with the gospel and not release them to the snares of the world, modeling the persistent love of the Good Shepherd.

Summary

אָחָז portrays more than mere grabbing—it is the determined appropriation of what God assigns, whether land, law, love, or life itself. In the hands of the wicked the verb exposes violence; in the hands of the faithful it reveals devotion; and in the hands of God it guarantees security.

אָ֠חָז אָחָ֑ז אָחָ֔ז אָחָ֖ז אָחָ֛ז אָחָ֜ז אָחָ֡ז אָחָ֣ז אָחָ֥ז אָחָ֧ז אָחָֽז׃ אָחָז֙ אחז אחז׃ וְאָחָֽז׃ וְאָחָז֙ ואחז ואחז׃ לְאָחָ֖ז לאחז ’ā·ḥāz ’āḥāz aChaz Achoz lə’āḥāz lə·’ā·ḥāz leaChaz veaChaz wə’āḥāz wə·’ā·ḥāzInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts