Lexical Summary
chaqar: To search, to investigate, to examine, to explore
Original Word:חָקַר
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:chaqar
Pronunciation:khaw-kar'
Phonetic Spelling:(khaw-kar')
KJV: find out, (make) search (out), seek (out), sound, try
NASB:search, searched, examines, found, investigated, ascertained, find
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. (properly) to penetrate
2. (hence) to examine intimately
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
find out, make search out, seek out, sound, try
A primitive root; properly, to penetrate; hence, to examine intimately -- find out, (make) search (out), seek (out), sound, try.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto search
NASB Translationascertained (1), examines (2), find (1), found (2), investigated (2), make a search (1), pondered (1), probe (1), search (8), searched (4), searches (1), sees through (1), sounded (1), taste (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id., Niph`al passive, Aramaic ) —
Perfect3masculine singular suffix consecutiveProverbs 18:17;Job 28:27;Deuteronomy 13:15 etc.;ImperfectJob 13:19;Psalm 44:22;Proverbs 28:11;1 Samuel 20:12;Job 32:11;Lamentations 3:40 etc.;ImperativePsalm 139:23;Judges 18:2;Infinitive2 Samuel 10:3 2t.;Proverbs 23:30;Judges 18:2; —
search (for), followed by accusativeProverbs 23:30;Job 32:11; absoluteDeuteronomy 13:15; literalEzekiel 39:14 (i.e. for bones unburied).
search through, explore, literally, objectJudges 18:2 ("" )Judges 18:2,1 Chronicles 19:3 (""id.); city2 Samuel 10:3 (""id.), of miningJob 28:3;search out a subject or matterJob 5:27;Job 28:27;Proverbs 25:2;Psalm 44:22.
search a man, find out his sentiments (AVsound him)1 Samuel 20:12.
ofsearching man, with accusativePsalm 139:1 ("" ),Psalm 139:23 (""id.)Job 13:9, compareJeremiah 17:10 (object ).
ofexamining thoroughly, so as to expose weakness in a caseJob 29:16;Proverbs 18:17, compareProverbs 28:11; so of self-examinationLamentations 3:40 ("" ).
Perfect1 Kings 7:47; 2Chronicles 4:18;ImperfectJeremiah 46:23;Jeremiah 31:37be searched out, found out, ascertained,1 Kings 7:47; 2Chronicles 4:18 (weight of the bronze used in temple utensils), of forestJeremiah 46:23;searched out,Jeremiah 31:37 subject
PerfectEcclesiastes 12:9he sought out many proverbs (; "" ).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewחָקַר (chāqar) portrays a penetrating, persevering search that refuses to stop until what is hidden is uncovered. Scripture uses the verb about twenty-seven times, applying it to God’s omniscient probing, to the quest for wisdom, to judicial inquiry, and to the inescapable exposure that accompanies divine judgment.
Divine Searching and Omniscience
Jeremiah 17:10—“I, the LORD, search the heart; I test the mind, to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.”
Psalms 44:21—“Would not God have discovered this, since He knows the secrets of the heart?”
Jeremiah 31:37 underscores that even if the cosmos could be “searched out,” God’s covenant purposes stand. חָקַר thus affirms that no secret is inaccessible to the Lord.
Human Search for Wisdom
Job 28:3 pictures miners who “search the farthest recesses” for ore in darkness. The same chapter climaxes: “He established it and searched it out” (Job 28:27).Proverbs 2:4 urges, “seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure.” Wisdom yields only to the diligent seeker who fears the Lord.
Judicial and Royal Investigation
Proverbs 18:17—“The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines.”
Proverbs 25:2—“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.”
Job 29:16 shows righteous leadership: “I was a father to the needy, and I examined the case of the stranger.” In court or palace, חָקַר is the hard work of uncovering truth for the sake of justice.
Prophetic Exposure and Eschatological Judgment
Zephaniah 1:12—“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent.”
Amos 9:3—“Though they hide at the top of Carmel, there I will track them down and seize them.”
The day of the LORD will ferret out every hidden sin; there is no refuge from His probing light.
Limitations of Human Knowledge
Job 38:16, 18 challenges Job: “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?... Discern the expanse of the earth—declare, if you know all this.” Humans may search, but ultimate comprehension belongs to God alone.Proverbs 25:27 warns against “searching out one’s own glory,” directing ambition toward humility.
Historical Sketch
Earliest legal material already presumes careful inquiry (parallel verbs inDeuteronomy 13:14), but חָקַר itself surfaces from Job’s patriarchal milieu through Solomonic wisdom literature into the exilic and post-exilic prophets, showing its sustained theological weight in Israel’s canon.
Ministry and Devotional Applications
• Self-examination: “Search me, O God” (Psalms 139:23–24) becomes the believer’s prayer.
• Expository labor: Teachers are to “search out” Scripture’s deep veins of truth for the flock.
• Pastoral justice: Leaders must investigate facts thoroughly before judgment (Proverbs 18:17).
• Evangelistic warning: Nothing hidden will stay concealed (Luke 8:17); repentance is urgent.
Christological Fulfillment
Revelation 2:23 records Christ’s own claim: “I am He who searches hearts and minds.” He exercises the divine prerogative of חָקַר and, having been found spotless, can both expose and atone for sin (Hebrews 4:13–16).
Summary
Across law, wisdom, poetry, and prophecy, חָקַר calls every reader to honesty, diligence, and reverent awe before the God who “searches the heart” and promises to reward or reprove accordingly.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶחְקְרֵֽהוּ׃ אֶחְקֹ֣ר אחקר אחקרהו׃ וְֽנַחְקֹ֔רָה וְחִקֵּ֔ר וְחָקַרְתָּ֧ וְיֵחָקְר֥וּ וַחֲקָרֽוֹ׃ וּלְחָקְרָ֔הּ וחקר וחקרו׃ וחקרת ויחקרו ולחקרה ונחקרה חֲ֝קַרְתַּ֗נִי חֲק֤וֹר חֲקַרְנ֥וּהָ חֲקָרָֽהּ׃ חֲקֹ֣ר חִקְר֣וּ חָקְרֵ֣נִי חֹקֵ֥ר חוֹקֵ֑ר חוקר חקור חקר חקרה׃ חקרו חקרנוה חקרני חקרתני יֵֽחָקֵ֑ר יַֽחֲקָר־ יַחְקְרֶֽנּוּ׃ יַחְקֹ֣ר יַחְקֹֽרוּ׃ יחקר יחקר־ יחקרו׃ יחקרנו׃ לַחְקֹ֥ר לַחְקֹ֨ר לחקר נֶחְקַ֖ר נחקר תַּחְקְר֥וּן תחקרון ’eḥ·qə·rê·hū ’eḥ·qōr ’eḥqərêhū ’eḥqōr chakaRah chakarNuha chakarTani chakeReni chaKor chikRu choKer echkeRehu echKor ḥă·qā·rāh ḥă·qar·nū·hā ḥă·qar·ta·nî ḥā·qə·rê·nî ḥă·qō·wr ḥă·qōr ḥăqārāh ḥăqarnūhā ḥăqartanî ḥāqərênî ḥăqōr ḥăqōwr ḥiq·rū ḥiqrū ḥō·qêr ḥō·w·qêr ḥōqêr ḥōwqêr lachKor laḥ·qōr laḥqōr nechKar neḥ·qar neḥqar tachkeRun taḥ·qə·rūn taḥqərūn ū·lə·ḥā·qə·rāh ulechakeRah ūləḥāqərāh vachakaRo vechakarTa vechikKer venachKorah veyechakeRu wa·ḥă·qā·rōw waḥăqārōw wə·ḥā·qar·tā wə·ḥiq·qêr wə·naḥ·qō·rāh wə·yê·ḥā·qə·rū wəḥāqartā wəḥiqqêr wənaḥqōrāh wəyêḥāqərū ya·ḥă·qār- yachakor yachkeRennu yachKor yachKoru yaḥ·qə·ren·nū yaḥ·qō·rū yaḥ·qōr yaḥăqār- yaḥqərennū yaḥqōr yaḥqōrū yê·ḥā·qêr yechaKer yêḥāqêr
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