Original Word: חָסֵר
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: chacer
Pronunciation: khaw-sare'
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-sare')
KJV: destitute, fail, lack, have need, void, want
NASB: lacks, lacking, who lacks, lack, lacked
Word Origin: [from H2637 (חָסֵר - lacking)]

1. lacking
2. (hence) without

destitute, fail, lack, have need, void, want

From chacer; lacking; hence, without -- destitute, fail, lack, have need, void, want.

see HEBREW chacer

Word Origin
from chaser
Definition
needy, lacking, in want of
NASB Translation
lack (2), lacked (1), lacking (4), lacks (6), who lacks (4).

חָסֵר adjective needy, lacking, in want of — ׳ח absolute Ecclesiastes 6:2; construct חֲסַר 1 Samuel 21:16 13t.; — needy, in want of משׁגעים אני ׳ח 1 Samuel 21:16 am I in want of madmen? 2 Samuel 3:29 in need of bread, so Proverbs 12:9; usually חֲסַרלֵֿב lacking understanding, sense Proverbs 6:32; Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 9:4,16; Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 12:11; Proverbs 15:21; לֵֿב׳אָדָם ח Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 24:30; תְּבוּנוֺת ׳נָּגִיד ח Proverbs 28:16; אֵינֶנּוּ חָסֵר ׳לְנַפְשׁוֺ מִכֹּל וג Ecclesiastes 6:2 neither is he lacking for his soul in aught of (מן particle) all that he desireth.

Key Idea: Absence, Deficiency, Need

חָסֵר unfailingly points to something missing, whether material provision, physical wholeness, or moral and mental soundness. It exposes the gap between human resources and God’s sufficiency and urges humble dependence on the LORD.

Usage in Historical Narratives

1 Samuel 21:15 portrays Philistine king Achish rebuking his servants: “Do I lack madmen…?” The king’s rhetorical question shows that חָסֵר can denote a perceived shortage of people, skills, or commodities.

2 Samuel 3:29 intensifies the thought: David pronounces that Joab’s household would always have someone “who is weak with disease or who is leprous or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread.” Here ‘lack’ of bread marks the lowest social and economic curse, highlighting how covenant disobedience invites destitution (compare Deuteronomy 28:48).

1 Kings 11:22 and 1 Kings 17:16 contrast earthly uncertainty with divine supply. Pharaoh asks Hadad, “What have you lacked with me…?” yet the true answer is later revealed in Elijah’s day: “The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry” (17:16). When God intervenes, חָסֵר is removed; provision becomes inexhaustible.

Spiritual Implications in Wisdom Literature

Proverbs employs חָסֵר fourteen times, always in connection with the heart and mind. Adulterers (6:32), simpletons (7:7; 9:4), contemptuous neighbors (11:12), lazy dreamers (12:11), and reckless pledgers (17:18) all “lack sense” (חָסֵר־לֵב). The vocabulary intentionally shifts the reader from external need to inner poverty: a deficit of discernment, restraint, and reverence for God.

Ecclesiastes extends the theme: a man may “lack nothing of all that he desires” (6:2) yet still fail to enjoy God’s gifts; the fool “lacks sense” even while walking down a road (10:3). Possession without gratitude, motion without wisdom—both are profound lacks.

Breadth of Application: Physical, Mental, Moral

Physical: hunger (2 Samuel 3:29; 12:9), resources (1 Kings 17:16), perceived shortage of personnel (1 Samuel 21:15).

Mental: absence of judgment, prudence, or understanding (Proverbs 6:32; 10:13; 15:21; 28:16).

Moral: adultery, folly, exploitation, and oppression arise from a heart that is חָסֵר—empty of fear of the LORD.

Echoes of Covenant Provision

Whenever the text highlights what is lacking, God’s covenant promises of sufficiency stand in the background. Psalm 34:10 (using a related verb) declares, “Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” Elijah’s miracle echoes Exodus manna; the widow’s jar testifies that Yahweh meets needs daily and precisely. Thus חָסֵר becomes a theological trigger, reminding readers that only the covenant God can bridge human deficits.

Pastoral and Ministry Insights

• Material relief must be matched with gospel instruction; true poverty is not merely economic but spiritual.
• Leadership that “lacks understanding is very oppressive” (Proverbs 28:16). Churches and households therefore prize Spirit-given wisdom over charisma or power.
• Counseling those caught in sexual sin, gambling, or rash debt should emphasize the underlying “lack of sense” and lead them to the fullness found in Christ.

Typological Foreshadowing and New Testament Applications

Jesus feeds multitudes “so that nothing would be lacking” (John 6:12), embodying the antithesis of חָסֵר. In the gospel, believers are declared “not lacking any spiritual gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7), and the Good Shepherd ensures, “I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). James urges, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5), echoing Proverbs and promising that in Christ all wants are met.

Conclusion

חָסֵר exposes the vacuum sin creates and points to the LORD as the sole supplier of what humanity lacks—bread for the body, understanding for the mind, redemption for the soul.

בַּחֲסַר־ בחסר־ וַחֲסַר־ וחסר־ חֲסַ֣ר חֲסַ֤ר חֲסַר־ חָסֵ֑ר חָסֵ֥ר חָסֵר֙ חסר חסר־ לַחֲסַר־ לחסר־ ba·ḥă·sar- bachasar baḥăsar- chaSar chaSer ḥă·sar ḥă·sar- ḥā·sêr ḥăsar ḥăsar- ḥāsêr la·ḥă·sar- lachasar laḥăsar- vachasar wa·ḥă·sar- waḥăsar-Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts