כָּתַר kâthar — to enclose
Translated in the KJV as beset round, compass about, be crowned, inclose round, suffer.
a primitive root; to enclose; hence (in a friendly sense) to crown, (in a hostile one) to besiege; also to wait (as restraining oneself).
kâthar in each stem
Pi'el
Perfect (qatal) 2Imperative 1
Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf.
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
Hiph'il
Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Participle (active) 1
The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
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 ›