a.chaz denotes taking hold of persons or things, being caught or fastened, and sometimes being overtaken by pangs or securing possession.

The term most often depicts a concrete act or state of holding: hands grasp an object or person, captors seize someone, and things are caught, secured, or attached. It also describes pangs, trembling, panic, or horror overtaking people; in land-related clauses it marks taking or having possession, while several passages extend holding to a course, an idea, or justice.

1. Taking hold of or seizing a person or object · dominant

   Qal forms describe direct physical contact: in Exodus 4:4 the APB renders the command to Moses as “grasp it by the tail,” and in 2 Samuel 20:9 Joab takes hold of Amasa's beard. The same use includes seizure of persons in Judges 16:21 and capture of prey in Isaiah 5:29; passive participles can describe items that are fastened or held, as in Esther 1:6.

   Exodus 4:42 Samuel 20:9Judges 16:21Isaiah 5:29Genesis 25:26Esther 1:6
2. Overtaking with distress or fear · common

   The verb is used where an affliction takes hold of someone rather than where a hand holds an object. In Exodus 15:15 the APB renders trembling as having “seized” Moab's leaders, while Isaiah 21:3 and Jeremiah 49:24 describe pangs and distress taking hold like labor pains.

   Exodus 15:15Isaiah 21:3Jeremiah 13:21Jeremiah 49:24Job 21:6Psalm 119:53
3. Taking or holding possession of land · occasional

   Niphal forms occur in clauses about settlement and possession. In Genesis 47:27 the APB says Israel “took possession” in Goshen, and Joshua 22:9 similarly speaks of the land of their possession; the imperative in Joshua 22:19 calls for taking possession in the land where the tabernacle dwells.

   Genesis 34:10Genesis 47:27Joshua 22:9Joshua 22:19Numbers 32:30
4. Holding fast in a nonphysical relation · occasional

   Several clauses apply the action beyond a tangible object: Ecclesiastes 2:3 speaks of grasping folly, Job 17:9 of the righteous holding fast his way, and Job 23:11 of a foot holding to steps. In Deuteronomy 32:41, the APB renders the clause as a hand that “grasps justice,” though the paraphrase is not word-aligned.

   Ecclesiastes 2:3Ecclesiastes 7:18Job 17:9Job 23:11Deuteronomy 32:41

In the Anselm Paraphrase: Across these verses the APB variously uses “grasp,” “take hold,” “seize,” “fastened,” “caught,” and “take possession.” Those renderings present the verse-level action or state, but the paraphrase does not mark a one-to-one English equivalent for each occurrence.