בָּלַם bâlam — to muzzle
Translated in the KJV as be held in.
a primitive root; to muzzle.
bâlam in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Simple · active — the plain action; the subject does it
Infinitive construct 1
לִבְל֑וֹם Ps 32:9 Infinitive construct
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›