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

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.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to search
NASB Translation
ascertained (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).

[חָקַר] verb search (Late Hebrew id., Niph`al passive, Aramaic חֲקַר) —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular suffix וַחֲקָרוֺ consecutive Proverbs 18:17; חֲקָרָהּ Job 28:27; וְחָֽקַרְתָּ֫ Deuteronomy 13:15 etc.; Imperfect יַחְקֹר Job 13:19; יַחֲקָרֿ Psalm 44:22; יַחְקְרֶנּוּ Proverbs 28:11; אֶחְקֹר 1 Samuel 20:12; תַּחְקְרוּן Job 32:11; נַחְקֹ֑רָה Lamentations 3:40 etc.; Imperative חָקְרֵ֫נִי Psalm 139:23; חִקְרוּ Judges 18:2; Infinitive חֲקֹר 2 Samuel 10:3 2t.; לַחְקוֺר Proverbs 23:30; לְחָקְרָהּ Judges 18:2; —

1 search (for), followed by accusative Proverbs 23:30; Job 32:11; absolute וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֫ וְחָקַרְתָּ֫ וְשָׁאַלְתָּ֫ הֵיטֵיב Deuteronomy 13:15; literal Ezekiel 39:14 (i.e. for bones unburied).

2. a. search through, explore, literally, object הארץ Judges 18:2 ("" רַגֵּל) Judges 18:2, 1 Chronicles 19:3 ("" id.); city העיר 2 Samuel 10:3 ("" id.), of mining Job 28:3; search out a subject or matter Job 5:27; Job 28:27; Proverbs 25:2; Psalm 44:22.

b. search a man, find out his sentiments (AV sound him) 1 Samuel 20:12.

c. of ׳י searching man, with accusative Psalm 139:1 ("" ידע), Psalm 139:23 ("" id.) Job 13:9, compare Jeremiah 17:10 (object לֵב).

d. of examining thoroughly, so as to expose weakness in a case Job 29:16; Proverbs 18:17, compare Proverbs 28:11; so of self-examination דרכים ׳ח Lamentations 3:40 ("" חפשׂ).

Niph`al Perfect נֶחְקַר 1 Kings 7:47; 2Chronicles 4:18; Imperfect יֵחָקֵר Jeremiah 46:23; יֵחָֽקְרוּ Jeremiah 31:37 be searched out, found out, ascertained, 1 Kings 7:47; 2Chronicles 4:18 (weight of the bronze used in temple utensils), of forest Jeremiah 46:23; searched out, Jeremiah 31:37 subject מוסדיֿ ארץ

Pi`el Perfect חִקֵּר Ecclesiastes 12:9 he sought out many proverbs (מְשָׁלִים; "" אִזֵּן).

Overview

חָקַר (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 in Deuteronomy 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.

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 yêḥāqêrInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts