Hebrew word · H1243

בַּקָּרָה

kevakarat

seeking

The verb (in its intensive form) means to examine closely, inspect, inquire into, attend to. The priest 'examines' whether a disease has spread (Lev 13:36). An owner is forbidden to 'inquire' whether a tithed animal is good or bad (Lev 27:33). A rash vower makes 'inquiry' afterwards (Prov 20:25).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a seeking, a care, concern

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 34:12

Range of meaning

The verb (in its intensive form) means to examine closely, inspect, inquire into, attend to. The priest 'examines' whether a disease has spread (Lev 13:36). An owner is forbidden to 'inquire' whether a tithed animal is good or bad (Lev 27:33). The psalmist longs to 'inquire' or gaze in God's temple (Ps 27:4). A rash vower makes 'inquiry' afterwards (Prov 20:25). The noun baqqārâ occurs only here and means 'a searching / looking-over.'

Against the English

English 'seek' or 'look for' suggests only hunting for something missing. Some versions say 'cares for' or 'looks after,' which catches the attentiveness but loses the searching. The Hebrew holds both: the shepherd tracks down the strays and checks the condition of each animal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Aramaic uses the same root for searching official records (Ezra 4:15, 19; 5:17; 6:1). In Hebrew it is used for the examinations of priests and stock-owners. The Dead Sea community later used the related title mᵉvaqqēr, 'the Overseer/Examiner,' for its leader, who is pictured as caring for members 'as a shepherd his flock' (Damascus Document 13:9). That is probably an echo of this chapter.

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 34:12 כְּבַקָּרַת֩ like [the] seeking of

    As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

    Here: A noun found only here in the Bible, from the verb used for a priest examining a skin disease or an owner checking his animals. It opens the comparison: the shepherd's careful going-over of his flock is the model for what God will do.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.