Close in on him
Surrounded him; besieged him.
(“And Pharaoh said to the children of Israel, ‘They are trapped in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them’” - Exodus 14:3, and likewise: “The hinges of your doors are shut over the entrance / and because of your fear I cannot go out or come in” - Yekhezkel HaBavli (18th century) / Man’s struggle with his soil, and likewise: “Suddenly you dragged her by force, and suddenly she closed in on her / she trod the waves opposite her, threw [her] here and sent [her] back” - Shaul Tchernichovsky / Grandpa Sets Sail for Odessa)
Translation
Expression (Hebrew)
סֶגֶר עָלָיו
Definition (Hebrew)
הִקִּיף אוֹתוֹ. צַר עָלָיו.
("וְאָמַר פַּרְעֹה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נְבֻכִים הֵם בָּאָרֶץ סָגַר עֲלֵיהֶם הַמִּדְבָּר"- שְׁמוֹת יָד ג, וְכֵן:"צִירֵי דַּלְתוֹתֶיךָ סְגוּרִים עֲלֵי מָבוֹא/ וּמִפַּחְדְּךָ לֹא אוּכַל לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא"- יְחֶזְקֵאל הַבָּבְלִי (הַמֵּאָה הי"ח)/ וִכּוּחַ הָאָדָם עִם אַדְמָתוֹ, וְכֵן:"פִּתְאוֹם סַחַבְתָּהּ בְּכֹחַ, וּפִתְאוֹם סָגְרָה עָלֶיהָ/דָּרְכָה בַּגַּלִּים מִמּוּלָהּ, זָרְקָה לְכָאן וְהֶחֱזִירָה"- שָׁאוּל טְשֶׁרְנִיחוֹבְסְקִי/ סַבָּא מַפְלִיג לְאוֹדֵסָה)