a.zav describes abandoning a commitment, person, place, or possession, and the resulting state of being deserted.

The dominant use describes turning away from God, a covenant, commandments, or other gods; it also marks leaving people, places, possessions, or counsel behind and, in passive forms, the condition of cities, land, or persons left deserted. Several clauses apply the same departure or abandonment to God’s stated presence with or withdrawal from his people.

1. Turning away from God or covenant obligations · dominant

   In 1 Kings 11:33 the plural perfect occurs with bowing to other gods and not walking in the LORD’s ways; in 1 Kings 19:10 the APB renders the clause that Israel has “forsaken your covenant.” The same pattern appears with statutes and commandments in 2 Chronicles 7:19 and with the holy covenant in Daniel 11:30.

   1 Kings 11:331 Kings 19:102 Chronicles 7:19Daniel 11:30Deuteronomy 31:161 Samuel 12:10
2. Leaving behind people, places, possessions, or counsel · common

   In 2 Kings 8:6, the feminine singular perfect concerns the day a woman left her land; in 1 Kings 19:20, the sequential imperfect is followed by running after Elijah after leaving the oxen. The same verb is used when cities are abandoned in 1 Samuel 31:7 and when a king rejects the elders’ counsel in 1 Kings 12:8.

   2 Kings 8:61 Kings 19:201 Samuel 31:71 Kings 12:8Exodus 2:202 Chronicles 11:14
3. Withdrawing presence or support from someone · common

   In Deuteronomy 31:6 and Deuteronomy 31:8, an imperfect form is negated in the assurance that God will not forsake the hearers. In Deuteronomy 31:17, the sequential perfect states that God will forsake them amid the consequences described; 2 Chronicles 32:31 similarly says that God left Hezekiah in connection with testing him.

   Deuteronomy 31:6Deuteronomy 31:8Deuteronomy 31:172 Chronicles 32:311 Kings 6:131 Chronicles 28:20
4. Being left deserted or abandoned · occasional

   Passive participial and passive-stem forms describe what has been left behind: in Ezekiel 36:4 the APB speaks of “forsaken cities,” while Isaiah 18:6 says that they will be “left” for birds and beasts. Isaiah 54:6 applies the passive participle to a wife portrayed as forsaken, and Isaiah 62:12 negates that condition for a city.

   Ezekiel 36:4Isaiah 18:6Isaiah 54:6Isaiah 62:12Isaiah 27:10Isaiah 32:14

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously uses “forsaken,” “leave,” “abandoned,” “deserted,” and “rejected” in these verses. Because its English is a whole-verse translation, these renderings show the clauses’ contexts rather than fixed English equivalents for every occurrence.