Lexical Summary
bachan: To test, examine, try, prove
Original Word:בָּחן
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:bachan
Pronunciation:bah-khan'
Phonetic Spelling:(baw-khan')
KJV: examine, prove, tempt, try (trial)
NASB:test, tried, tested, tests, try, assay, examine
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to test (especially metals)
2. (generally and figuratively) to investigate
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
examine, prove, tempt, try trial
A primitive root; to test (especially metals); generally and figuratively, to investigate -- examine, prove, tempt, try (trial).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto examine, try
NASB Translationassay (2), examine (2), proved (1), test (7), tested (3), tests (3), tried (5), tries (2), try (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (compare Aramaic , Syriac
,
try, examine; Arabic
I. VIII.
test, compare W
SG 65) —
Perfect suffixJob 23:10,Psalm 17:3 7t.;ImperfectPsalm 11:5 5t.;Imperative suffixPsalm 26:2 2t.;InfinitiveZechariah 13:9;ParticipleJeremiah 11:20 5t. ("" , ); —
examine, scrutinize, tryPsalm 11:5;Psalm 139:23;Job 7:18;His eyelids try the children of men (search them through and through)Psalm 11:4.
prove, test, try.
Job 23:10;and I will try them as one tries goldZechariah 13:9.
Zech 26:2; Zech 66:10; Zech 81:8;Jeremiah 9:6; their waysJeremiah 6:27; thePsalm 17:3;Jeremiah 12:3;Proverbs 17:3;1 Chronicles 29:17; reinsJeremiah 17:10; heart and reinsPsalm 7:10;Jeremiah 11:20 (=Jeremiah 20:12).
Jer 95:9;Malachi 3:10,15.
Job 12:11 =Job 34:3.
ImperfectJob 34:36;Genesis 42:15,16,to be tried, proved.
Ezekiel 21:18the trial has been made ( Ges MV Ew Ke, but noun Symm HaEv.; readwith grace, favour, Hi Co).
Topical Lexicon
Core Idea and ThemesDerived from a verb that portrays careful scrutiny, the word consistently speaks of deliberate examination carried out either by God, by human agents on God’s behalf, or by individuals who apply discerning judgment to themselves or to their surroundings. The contexts fall naturally into three inter-related spheres: (1) Divine examination of the inner person; (2) Refining tests that purge and purify; (3) Judicial or prophetic assessment of people, words, or circumstances.
Divine Examination of Hearts and Minds
The majority of occurrences describe the Lord searching what lies beneath outward appearance. This is a distinctly covenantal activity; He tries those who belong to Him in order to vindicate or to expose.
•Psalm 7:9: “the righteous God searches hearts and minds.”
•Psalm 11:4–5: “His eyes examine them… The LORD tests the righteous.”
•Proverbs 17:3 ties the truth home with a proverb: “A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD tests hearts.”
• Jeremiah repeatedly anchors prophetic warnings in this attribute (Jeremiah 11:20; 12:3; 17:10; 20:12). The prophet’s confidence that the wicked will be judged and the righteous established rests on God’s unfailing power to test motives.
•1 Chronicles 29:17 marks the same reality in worship: “I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness.”
Pastoral significance: because the Lord sees and tests what is hidden, superficial religiosity is stripped away. Assurance and conviction both flow from this truth; it comforts the faithful and unsettles the hypocritical.
Refining through Suffering and Circumstance
Testing is often pictured with metallurgical imagery, highlighting purification rather than mere evaluation.
•Psalm 66:10: “For You, O God, have tested us; You refined us like silver.”
•Job 23:10: “But He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
•Judges 7:4 illustrates the same principle dramatically, when Gideon’s troops are “tested” by God so that only the fit remain for battle.
Such passages assure the believer that hardship is purposeful. Trials are neither arbitrary nor malicious; they serve to burn away dross and reveal genuine faith (compare1 Peter 1:6-7, where the New Testament picks up this line of thought).
Prophetic and Priestly Assessment of the Community
The prophets embody God’s testing work among the people.
•Jeremiah 6:27: the prophet is appointed as a “tester” of his generation, charged with determining “their way.”
•Jeremiah 9:7: the Lord declares that He will “refine and test” His people because of rampant deceit.
The ministry of examining doctrine, conduct, and communal life is therefore not optional but mandated. In the contemporary church this undergirds faithful preaching and church discipline.
Human Ability to Discern Truth
A handful of occurrences highlight the faculty of discernment planted in humanity.
•Job 12:11 andJob 34:3 compare the ear’s appraisal of words to the palate’s tasting of food, teaching that believers are to exercise tested judgment when they hear claims about God.
• InPsalm 139:23 David consciously invites divine examination—“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns”—demonstrating an attitude of willing self-scrutiny.
For ministry, this stresses the role of self-examination before the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11:28) and the call to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1).
Redemptive-Historical Trajectory
Old Testament testing anticipates the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, whose forty-day wilderness ordeal answers Israel’s failures and proves Him flawless (Matthew 4). In Him believers receive both the model of trust under trial and the assurance that every test is under sovereign control (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16).
Practical Applications for Discipleship
1. Worship: incorporate prayers that invite God’s searching eye (Psalm 26:2;Psalm 139:23-24).
2. Suffering: teach that trials refine rather than ruin (Job 23:10;Psalm 66:10).
3. Leadership: leaders are called to evaluate doctrine and practice (Jeremiah 6:27;Titus 1:9).
4. Personal Holiness: cultivate habits of self-examination and repentance.
Summary
Across roughly thirty Old Testament instances the word charts a coherent biblical pattern: God lovingly yet relentlessly examines, refines, and authenticates His people; He equips prophets and wise men to extend that testing ministry; and He calls every believer to submit willingly to His searching gaze. Confidence in His righteous testing sustains worship, fortifies endurance, and guards the purity of the covenant community.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶבְחָֽנְךָ֨ אבחנך בְּ֝חָנ֗וּנִי בְּ֝חָנֵ֗נִי בְּ֝חָנַ֗נִי בְּחָנֵ֣נִי בְחַנְתָּ֥נוּ בָּ֘חַ֤נְתָּ בָּחֲנ֛וּ בֹ֔חַן בֹּחֵ֣ן בֹּחֵ֥ן בחן בחנו בחנוני בחנני בחנת בחנתנו וְיִבָּֽחֲנוּ֙ וּבְחַנְתִּ֑ים וּבְחַנְתִּ֖ים וּבְחָנ֤וּנִי וּבָחַנְתָּ֖ וּבָחַנְתָּ֥ וּבֹחֵ֖ן וּבֹחֵ֣ן ובחן ובחנוני ובחנת ובחנתים ויבחנו יִ֝בְחֲנ֗וּ יִ֫בְחָ֥ן יִבָּחֵ֣ן יבחן יבחנו כִּבְחֹ֣ן כבחן תִּבְחָ֑ן תִּבְחָנֶֽנּוּ׃ תִּבָּחֵ֑נוּ תבחן תבחנו תבחננו׃ ’eḇ·ḥā·nə·ḵā ’eḇḥānəḵā bā·ḥă·nū bā·ḥan·tā baChanta bachaNu bāḥantā bāḥănū bə·ḥā·na·nî bə·ḥā·nê·nî bə·ḥā·nū·nî ḇə·ḥan·tā·nū bechaNani bechaNeni bechaNuni bəḥānanî bəḥānênî ḇəḥantānū bəḥānūnî ḇō·ḥan bō·ḥên boChen ḇōḥan bōḥên evchaneCha kiḇ·ḥōn kiḇḥōn kivChon tib·bā·ḥê·nū tiḇ·ḥā·nen·nū tiḇ·ḥān tibbaChenu tibbāḥênū tiḇḥān tiḇḥānennū tivChan tivchaNennu ū·ḇā·ḥan·tā ū·ḇə·ḥā·nū·nî ū·ḇə·ḥan·tîm ū·ḇō·ḥên ūḇāḥantā ūḇəḥantîm ūḇəḥānūnî ūḇōḥên uvachanTa uvechanTim uvechaNuni uvoChen vechanTanu veyibbachaNu Vochan wə·yib·bā·ḥă·nū wəyibbāḥănū yib·bā·ḥên yiḇ·ḥă·nū yiḇ·ḥān yibbaChen yibbāḥên yiḇḥān yiḇḥănū yivChan yivchaNu
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