“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NASB
Uphold– “Surely,” (ʾap) is a word of force. We saw it in the first part of this verse. Now God reiterates the emotional impact. “Help” comes with an exclamation point (in Hebrew this is the word ʾap). Now God provides a double exclamation. “Surely I will uphold.” “Uphold” is the enhancement of “help.” It is the Hebrew tāmak. “The basic idea of this West Semitic root is ‘grasping securely,’ hence, it is found in parallel with verbs like ʾāḥaz, ‘seize’ (e.g. Prov 3:18). The root is most frequently used in contexts that deal with moral matters or spiritual truths.”[1] Perhaps as importantly, “The verb is also used of God’s sovereign ordering of the affairs of history.”