cha.ser describes lacking needed provision or having an amount reduced; some forms portray depriving another of what is needed.

The predominant use describes an absent or insufficient provision, whether a person's need, food, oil, gain, or bread. Other clauses apply it to a quantity falling short or decreasing, while Piel and Hiphil forms occur where a person deprives himself or another of good or drink.

1. To be without sufficient provision · dominant

   Qal forms occur in clauses concerning what is needed or available: in Deuteronomy 15:8 the APB renders the clause about lending enough for “his need that he lacks,” and in 1 Kings 17:14 it says that the jar of oil will not lack. The same pattern covers having lacked nothing in Deuteronomy 2:7, the absence of bread and water in Ezekiel 4:17, and the assurance of no lack in Psalm 23:1 and Proverbs 31:11.

   Deuteronomy 15:81 Kings 17:14Deuteronomy 2:7Ezekiel 4:17Psalm 23:1Proverbs 31:11
2. To fall short or diminish in amount · occasional

   In Genesis 18:28, the plural Qal imperfect occurs in the question whether fifty righteous “lack five.” In Genesis 8:3 and Genesis 8:5, Qal forms occur in the account of waters that recede and continue to abate, applying the term to a decreasing quantity.

   Genesis 18:28Genesis 8:3Genesis 8:5
3. To deprive someone of good or drink · rare

   In Ecclesiastes 4:8, the Piel active participle occurs in the speaker's question about laboring while depriving himself of good. In Isaiah 32:6, the Hiphil imperfect occurs in the description of depriving the thirsty of drink.

   Ecclesiastes 4:8Isaiah 32:6

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term with “lack” or “lacking,” as in 1 Kings 17:14, Deuteronomy 15:8, and Isaiah 51:14. Elsewhere it renders the surrounding clause with expressions such as “abated,” “deprive myself of good,” and “depriving the thirsty of drink”; These renderings describe the verses rather than supplying a separate definition.