Original Word: נָטַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: natar
Pronunciation: naw-TAR
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-tar')
KJV: bear grudge, keep(-er), reserve
NASB: angry, bear any grudge, caretaker, caretakers, keep, reserves, take care
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to guard
2. (figuratively) to cherish (anger)

bear grudge, keeper, reserve

A primitive root; to guard; figuratively, to cherish (anger) -- bear grudge, keep(-er), reserve.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to keep
NASB Translation
angry (2), bear any grudge (1), caretaker (1), caretakers (1), keep (1), reserves (1), take care (1), taken care (1).

[נָטַר] verb keep (less common "" of נָצַר) (Late Hebrew id.; ᵑ7 נְטַר, Syriac id.; Nabataean in proper name Lzb³²³ (compare also below), Arabic id. (object garden, etc.)); —

Qal Perfect1singular נָטָ֑רְתִּי Songs 1:6; Imperfect3masculine singular יִטּוֺר Psalm 103:9, יִנְטוֺר Jeremiah 3:5; read וַיִּטֹּר also Amos 1:11 (for ᵑ0 יִטְרֹף) Ol^{Ps 103:9} We Now GASm Dr; 2 masculine singular תִּטִּר Leviticus 19:18; 1singular אֶטּוֺר Jeremiah 3:12; Participle active נוֺטֵר Nahum 1:2; feminine נֹטֵרָה Songs 1:6; masculine plural נֹטְרִים Songs 8:11,12; —

1 keep, maintain (that is, wrath), of ׳י Jeremiah 3:5,12; Nahum 1:2 (with לְ for), Psalm 103:9; of Edom Amos 1:11 (reading וַיִּטֹּר לָעַד אַמּוֺ and he kept his anger perpetually, see above).

2 keep, guard a vineyard Songs 1:6,6 (in figurative), absolute Songs 8:11, object מִּרְיוֺ Songs 8:12.

Semantic Range and Core Idea

The verb denotes the act of “keeping” or “holding on to” something. In literal contexts it pictures a watchman or caretaker who guards a vineyard; in figurative usage it describes the retention of anger, a grudge, or wrath. Thus the single root binds together two ideas—guarding a valuable trust and clinging to resentment—reminding the reader that what one chooses to hold shapes both character and destiny.

Occurrences in Canonical Context

1. Leviticus 19:18 – Prohibition of “bearing a grudge” within Israel’s covenant community, set against the positive command to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
2. Psalm 103:9 – Celebration of the LORD who “will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever.”

3–6. Song of Songs 1:6; 8:11–12 – Four references to keepers of vineyards: a forced labor situation (1:6) and contractual stewards under Solomon (8:11–12), contrasted with the bride’s personal “vineyard.”
7. Jeremiah 3:5 – Judah’s presumption that God will “keep His anger to the end,” exposing hardened rebellion.
8. Jeremiah 3:12 – Divine assurance: “I will not be angry forever,” opening a path of repentance for the Northern Kingdom.
9. Nahum 1:2 – A judicial scene where the LORD “reserves wrath for His enemies,” emphasizing certain but delayed retribution.

Literary and Theological Themes

• Divine Restraint versus Divine Reserve

The Psalms and Jeremiah stress the LORD’s gracious reluctance to maintain anger, while Nahum reveals that wrath, though delayed, is still meticulously “kept” for the unrepentant. The tension between mercy and justice is held together without contradiction.

• Covenant Ethics of Forgiveness

Leviticus 19:18 grounds interpersonal forgiveness in God’s covenant name: “I am the LORD.” Israel was to mirror the divine character by refusing to store up resentment. The same verse becomes the foundation for Jesus’ “second great commandment” (Matthew 22:39).

• Stewardship Imagery

In Song of Songs the keeper of a vineyard is entrusted with fruit that belongs to another. The bride’s confession, “my own vineyard I have neglected,” illustrates the risk of misdirected labor, while the closing dialogue (8:11–12) distinguishes Solomon’s commercial enterprise from the bride’s personal, guarded gift of love.

• Warning Against Presumptuous Sin

Jeremiah 3:5 exposes a theological fallacy: assuming God’s patience means permissiveness. The prophet answers, “You have done all the evil you could,” underscoring that continued rebellion will eventually meet the wrath described in Nahum.

Historical and Cultural Background

Vineyard-keeping was a common occupation in the agrarian economy of ancient Israel. Watchmen guarded the crop from both animals and thieves (Isaiah 5:2). This concrete image furnishes a vivid metaphor for spiritual vigilance or, negatively, for hoarding anger as though it were a possession to be protected. The legal language of “keeping” wrath also appears in contemporary Akkadian texts describing kings who store up retribution for treaty breakers, aligning with Nahum’s depiction of Assyria’s impending doom.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Counseling and Discipleship – The root warns believers against nurturing bitterness; pastors can pair Leviticus 19:18 with Ephesians 4:26–27, urging prompt reconciliation.
• Preaching on Divine Attributes – Psalm 103:9 and Nahum 1:2 provide balanced material for teaching both God’s patience and His settled opposition to evil.
• Stewardship Teaching – Song of Songs invites reflection on personal priorities: Are believers tending the “vineyard” of their own souls and callings, or merely working in others’ fields?
• Evangelism – Jeremiah 3:12 models an appeal that couples the threat of judgment with the promise of mercy, culminating in the call to return.

Intertextual Echoes and Fulfillment

By refusing to “keep” anger, God makes possible the New Covenant in Christ, where wrath is poured out at the cross (Romans 3:25–26) rather than kept for the penitent. Conversely, Revelation 14:10 portrays stored wrath for the unrepentant, paralleling Nahum. The stewardship motif finds its ultimate expression in John 15, where believers are branches under the care of the true Vine, Jesus Christ, called to “abide” rather than merely “keep” for themselves.

Summary

The nine appearances of this verb form a theological arc:
• God commands His people not to guard grudges (Leviticus 19:18).
• He reveals His own slowness to cling to anger (Psalm 103:9; Jeremiah 3:12).
• He warns that unrepentant sin will nevertheless meet carefully stored judgment (Jeremiah 3:5; Nahum 1:2).
• He employs vineyard stewardship as both a literal occupation and a metaphor for personal responsibility (Song of Songs).

Taken together, these texts exhort believers to entrust vengeance to God, practice vigilant self-care in holiness, and rest in the assurance that divine patience never compromises divine justice.

אֶטּ֖וֹר אטור הֲיִנְטֹ֣ר הינטר וְנוֹטֵ֥ר ונוטר יִטּֽוֹר׃ יטור׃ לְנֹטְרִ֥ים לַנֹּטְרִ֑ים לנטרים נָטָֽרְתִּי׃ נֹטֵרָ֣ה נטרה נטרתי׃ תִטֹּר֙ תטר ’eṭ·ṭō·wr ’eṭṭōwr etTor hă·yin·ṭōr hayinTor hăyinṭōr lan·nō·ṭə·rîm lannoteRim lannōṭərîm lə·nō·ṭə·rîm lenoteRim lənōṭərîm nā·ṭā·rə·tî naTareti nāṭārətî nō·ṭê·rāh noteRah nōṭêrāh ṯiṭ·ṭōr titTor ṯiṭṭōr venoTer wə·nō·w·ṭêr wənōwṭêr yiṭ·ṭō·wr yitTor yiṭṭōwrInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts