The Hebrew verb bazaz means to plunder, to spoil, to seize as prey, or to take goods by force. It is the language of warfare and conquest — the victorious army stripping the defeated of their possessions. The related noun baz (H961) means 'plunder' or 'prey.'
Scripture's treatment of bazaz reveals the sovereignty of God in human conflict. When Israel was permitted to plunder enemies, it was divine provision. But Achan's unauthorized taking from Jericho (Joshua 7) showed that even plunder is subject to God's authority.
The prophets use bazaz imagery to describe what God would do to unfaithful Israel: she would become 'plunder' herself (Isaiah 42:22). This reversal — God's own people becoming prey — is a devastating warning about covenant unfaithfulness.