### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **ʼâṭar**, represented by `{{H332}}`, is a primitive root meaning **to close up** or **shut**. It is a very rare term, appearing only **1 time** in **1 unique verse** in the entire Bible. Its singular use provides a very specific and vivid image of being sealed or trapped.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In its only biblical appearance, `{{H332}}` is found in a plea for deliverance from overwhelming circumstances. The psalmist cries out, "let not the pit **shut** her mouth upon me" [[Psalms 69:15]]. Here, the word conveys a powerful image of a pit, personified as having a mouth, closing itself over the speaker. This paints a picture of ultimate despair and finality, a state of being trapped without hope of rescue, alongside dangers like being overflowed by a waterflood or swallowed by the deep.
### Related Words & Concepts
Several words used in conjunction with **ʼâṭar** in its sole context enrich its meaning of being trapped or sealed:
* `{{H875}}` **bᵉʼêr** (pit): This word describes the location that threatens to shut its mouth. It can mean a pit or a well [[Genesis 29:2]], but in this context, it represents a place of destruction and confinement [[Psalms 55:23]].
* `{{H1104}}` **bâlaʻ** (swallow up): Used in parallel to **ʼâṭar**, this word means to destroy or swallow up. The psalmist pleads not to be swallowed by the deep just before pleading not to be shut in by the pit [[Psalms 69:15]]. It often carries the sense of complete consumption or destruction [[Lamentations 2:2]].
* `{{H4688}}` **mᵉtsôwlâh** (deep): This term refers to a deep place, often of water or mud. It describes one of the life-threatening forces from which the psalmist seeks rescue, along with the pit and the waterflood [[Psalms 69:15]]. It can signify the depths of the sea [[Micah 7:19]].
* `{{H6310}}` **peh** (mouth): The pit is personified as having a mouth that it threatens to shut. This word is used for a literal mouth but also figuratively for an opening or edge. God puts his words in the mouths of his prophets [[Jeremiah 1:9]], and here, the mouth of the pit represents an entrance to a place of finality.
### Theological Significance
The theological significance of `{{H332}}` is concentrated in its powerful imagery of finality and despair.
* **A Metaphor for Final Judgment:** The action of the pit "shutting" its mouth [[Psalms 69:15]] serves as a potent metaphor for Sheol or the grave, a place from which there is no escape. It represents a state of being irrevocably cut off from the living.
* **The Cry for Divine Intervention:** The use of **ʼâṭar** in a desperate prayer underscores the human condition's helplessness against the forces of death and destruction. The plea is an appeal to a God who has the power to prevent this final, irreversible closure.
* **Personification of Death:** By giving the pit `{{H875}}` a mouth `{{H6310}}` that can **shut** `{{H332}}`, the scripture personifies the grave as an active agent seeking to entrap and seal away a person. This vivid image heightens the sense of peril and the need for salvation.
### Summary
In summary, `{{H332}}` **ʼâṭar** provides a singular but powerful biblical image. Though used only once, its meaning, "to shut," is employed with great effect in the psalmist's cry for help [[Psalms 69:15]]. It vividly portrays the horror of being sealed in a pit, a metaphor for final destruction and separation from life. Paired with terms like "swallow up" `{{H1104}}` and "the deep" `{{H4688}}`, it conveys a desperate plea for salvation from inescapable doom, demonstrating how even the rarest of biblical words can carry profound theological weight.