The Hebrew verb gazar means to cut, cut off, or divide. Metaphorically, it extends to mean to decree or determine — as if a decision has been decisively 'cut.' It is the root behind the noun 'decree' in prophetic literature.
Gazar appears in contexts of both physical cutting (like cutting meat in a covenant ritual) and divine determination. In Lamentations 3:54, the waters 'closed over my head, and I thought I was cut off.' Yet the very next verse turns to hope. The divine use of gazar is most striking in Daniel 9:26, where it is said that the Anointed One 'will be cut off' — a stunning prophecy of the Messiah's death. This word thus carries both judgment and redemptive purpose.