Strong's Number: H3335
Original Word: yasar
Usage Notes: "to form, mold, fashion." A word common to Hebrew in all its periods, yasar is used in modern Hebrew in the sense of "to produce," or "to create." The word is found just over 60 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The first occurrence in the Old Testament is in Gen 2:7: "…God formed man of the dust of the ground," reflecting the basic meaning of "molding" something to a desired shape.
Yasar is a technical potter's word, and it is often used in connection with the potter at work (Isa 29:16; Jer 18:4, 6). The word is sometimes used as a general term of "craftsmanship or handiwork," whether molding, carving, or casting (Isa 44:9, 10, 12).
The word may be used to express the "form of plans in one's mind (Psa 94:20; kjv, "frameth"). Yasar is frequently used to describe God's creative activity, whether literally or figuratively. Thus, God "formed" not only man (Gen 2:7-8) but the animals (Gen 2:19). God also "formed" the nation of Israel (Isa 27:11; Isa 45:9, 11); Israel was "formed" as God's special servant, even from the womb (Isa 44:2, 24; Isa 49:5). While yet in the womb, Jeremiah was "formed" to be a prophet (Jer 1:5). God "formed" locusts as a special visual lesson for Amos (Amos 7:1); the great sea monster, Leviathan, was "formed" to play in the seas (Psa 104:26).
The concreteness of ancient Hebrew thinking is vividly seen in a statement such as this: "I form the light, and create darkness …" (Isa 45:7). Similarly, the psalmist confessed to God: "…Thou hast made summer and winter" (Psa 74:17). God "formed" the spirit of man (Zech 12:1), as well as the heart or mind of man (Psa 33:15). Yasar is used to express God's "planning" or "preordaining" according to His divine purpose (Isa 22:11; Isa 46:11).
Almost one half of the uses of this word in the Old Testament are found in the Book of Isaiah, with God as the subject of most of them.
