Lexicon

H2388 - chazaq

Strong's: H2388 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: khaw-ZAK Part of speech: verb (primitive root) OT occurrences: ~290 times (a common, high-frequency verb) Core range: to be/grow strong, to strengthen, to prevail, to harden, and (with an object) to seize, grasp, take firm hold of, overpower.

Semantic range

Chazaq runs across a wide field of "strength" senses: to be or grow strong (2 Samuel 10:12), to strengthen or repair (2 Kings 12:5-6), to prevail over (2 Chronicles 8:3), to harden (repeatedly of Pharaoh's heart, Exodus 4:21; 7:13). With a personal object and the preposition be-, it means to seize, grip, overpower someone, often by superior force.

The "force / overpower" sense in the sexual-violence texts

The forcible-seizure sense of chazaq is apologetically important because it marks rape in two key texts:

Deuteronomy 22:25 (the rape case in the open field): "the man seizes her (wehechezik-bah, Hiphil of chazaq) and lies with her." Here chazaq denotes overpowering force, and the law declares the woman innocent, "there is no sin in her worthy of death."
2 Samuel 13:11, 14 (Amnon and Tamar): "he took hold of her (wayyachazeq-bah)" and, being "stronger than she" (the same root idea), "he violated her" (anah). The forcible-seizure verb underlines that this was rape.

The chazaq / taphas distinction (argued, not lexically settled)

A recognized scholarly reading (Jeffrey Tigay, Carolyn Pressler, Paul Copan) contrasts Deuteronomy 22:25's chazaq ("seize, overpower" = rape) with Deuteronomy 22:28's taphas (H8610, "grasp, lay hold" = a lesser seizure, read as seduction rather than violent rape). On this reading, 22:25-27 is the rape law (only the man dies; she is innocent) and 22:28-29 is the seduction case, which is why the objection that "the Bible makes a rape victim marry her rapist" misreads the verb.

Honest caveat: this distinction is argued, not undisputed lexical fact. Taphas can denote forcible seizure elsewhere, so the rape-versus-seduction reading rests on the verb pairing plus the surrounding legal logic (place, the cry for help, the anah "violate" language of the parallel case), not on the isolated dictionary meanings of the two verbs. It is a strong contextual argument, and it should be presented as such. See the Rape Only Condemned When Unmarried Objection Defeater.

Apologetic load

Rape is lexically marked and condemned. Where the text means violent, non-consensual sex, it can and does say so (chazaq + anah), and it acquits the victim (Deuteronomy 22:26). See Biblical Marriage Consent Objection Defeater.
The verb-pairing defeater. The chazaq (Deut 22:25) versus taphas (Deut 22:28) contrast is the lexical hinge of the Rape Only Condemned When Unmarried Objection Defeater, deployed with the caveat above.
A caution against over-reading single words. Because chazaq is a broad, common verb, the apologetic weight rests on context and pairing, not on the word in isolation, a useful discipline against proof-texting from a lexicon.

Notable verses

Exodus 4:21; 7:13, God/Pharaoh "hardens" (chazaq) the heart
Deuteronomy 22:25, the man "seizes/forces" the betrothed woman (rape case)
Joshua 1:6-9, "be strong (chazaq) and courageous"
2 Samuel 13:11, 14, Amnon "takes hold of" and overpowers Tamar
2 Chronicles 8:3, Solomon "prevailed against" Hamath