tsur · rock

What it means

tsur (צוּר) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “rock”.

A large crag. It is also an image of God as a firm refuge.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A large rock.
2. YHWH, the firm Rock of his people.
3. Hard, sharp stone, like the flint of which knives were made; and the edge of a sword.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Rock, a great crag; also flint. Said of God, “the Rock”: a firm refuge and source of salvation. Figuratively it is said of God: “the Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

• The rock at Horeb, from which water came out Exodus 17:6
• “I will put you in a cleft of the rock” Exodus 33:22
• YHWH, “The Rock” Deuteronomy 32:41 Samuel 2:2Isaiah 26:4
• “My Rock” in the Psalms 2 Samuel 22:3Psalms 19:14Psalms 95:1
• Flint knives Joshua 5:2

Historical and cultural background

The song of Moses calls YHWH “the Rock” several times (Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30-31), and the word enters into personal names such as Elizur and Zurishaddai.

How we translate it

“Rock” 66 times, “rocks” 8, “flint” 2. As a title of God it is capitalized, “The Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4): this edition translates descriptive titles such as “the Rock” and does not treat them as proper names.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• rock ×66
• rocks ×8
• flint ×2
• edge ×1
• form ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Exodus×4
• Numbers×1
• Deuteronomy×9
• Joshua×2
• Judges×3
• 1 Samuel×2
• 2 Samuel×6
• 1 Chronicles×1
• Job×7
• Psalms×26
• Proverbs×1
• Isaiah×12
• Jeremiah×2
• Nahum×1
• Habakkuk×1

• Exodus 17:6

  Look, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

• Exodus 33:21

  And YHWH said, “Look, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.

• Exodus 33:22

  And it will be, when my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

• Numbers 23:9

  For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I gaze on him. Look, a people that dwells alone, and does not count itself among the nations!

• Deuteronomy 8:15

  who led you through the great and fearsome wilderness, with burning serpent and scorpion, and parched ground where there was no water, who brought out for you water from the rock of flint,

• Deuteronomy 32:4

  The Rock: his work is blameless, for all his ways are justice. An El of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is he.

• Deuteronomy 32:13

  He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the produce of the field; he made him suck honey from the crag and oil from the flint of the rock,

• Deuteronomy 32:15

  And Jeshurun grew fat and kicked —you grew fat, you grew thick, you were covered with fat— and he forsook Eloah who made him and dishonored the Rock of his salvation.

• Deuteronomy 32:18

  The Rock that bore you you neglected, and you forgot El who gave you birth.

• Deuteronomy 32:30

  How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and YHWH had handed them over?

• Deuteronomy 32:31

  For their rock is not like our Rock; and our enemies are judges.

• Deuteronomy 32:37

  And he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

• Joshua 5:2

  At that time YHWH said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel again, a second time.”

• Joshua 5:3

  So Joshua made for himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at the Hill of the Foreskins.

• Judges 6:21

  The angel of YHWH reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the angel of YHWH went from his sight.

• Judges 7:25

  They captured the two chiefs of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued after Midian, and they brought the head of Oreb and of Zeeb to Gideon from beyond the Jordan.

• Judges 13:19

  So Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering and offered them up on the rock to YHWH; and he did a wonder while Manoah and his wife were watching.

• 1 Samuel 2:2

  There is none holy like YHWH, for there is no one besides you; and there is no Rock like our Elohim.

• 1 Samuel 24:2

  Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

• 2 Samuel 21:10

  Rizpah daughter of Aiah took the sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them from the heavens; and she did not allow the birds of the heavens to settle on them by day, or the animals of the field by night.

• 2 Samuel 22:3

  Elohim, my Rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high refuge and the place where I flee, my savior; from violence you save me.

• 2 Samuel 22:32

  For who is El besides YHWH? And who is a Rock besides our Elohim?

• 2 Samuel 22:47

  YHWH lives, and blessed be my Rock; exalted be Elohim, the Rock of my salvation,

• 2 Samuel 23:3

  The Elohim of Israel said, to me the Rock of Israel spoke: ‘One who rules over human beings, righteous, who rules in the fear of Elohim,

• 1 Chronicles 11:15

  Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock, to David, to the cave of Adullam, while the camp of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim.

• Job 14:18

  But a mountain that falls crumbles away, and a rock is removed from its place;

• Job 18:4

  He who tears himself in his anger: for your sake will the earth be forsaken, and the rock be removed from its place?

• Job 19:24

  that with a stylus of iron and lead forever in the rock they were carved.

• Job 22:24

  and lay gold on the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the rocks of the brooks,

• Job 24:8

  With the downpour of the mountains they are drenched, and for lack of refuge they hug the rock.

• Job 28:10

  In the rocks he cuts channels, and every precious thing his eye sees.

• Job 29:6

  when my steps were washed in curds, and the rock poured out beside me streams of oil.

• Psalms 18:2

  YHWH is my crag and my fortress and the one who brings me to safety; my El, my Rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high refuge.

• Psalms 18:31

  For who is Eloah besides YHWH? And who is a Rock except our Elohim?

• Psalms 18:46

  YHWH lives, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the Elohim of my salvation,

• Psalms 19:14

  May the sayings of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before you, YHWH, my Rock and my redeemer.

• Psalms 27:5

  For he will keep me in his shelter in the day of evil; he will hide me in the hiding place of his tent; on a rock he will lift me high.

• Psalms 28:1

  Of David. To you, YHWH, I call; my Rock, do not be deaf to me, lest you be silent to me and I become like those who go down to the pit.

• Psalms 31:2

  Turn your ear to me; quickly deliver me; be for me a rock that is a stronghold, a house of fortresses to save me.

• Psalms 49:14

  Like sheep for Sheol they are put; death shepherds them; and the upright will rule over them in the morning; and their form is for Sheol to consume, far from its dwelling.

And 38 more times.