דָּרַשׁ

From the study of Deuteronomy 4:29

Range of meaning

To inquire or consult, especially to ask God for a word through a prophet or priest (1 Kgs 22:8; 2 Kgs 22:13); to resort to or go regularly to a sanctuary (Deut 12:5, 'you shall seek the place'); to care about or attend to; to require or demand. In the religious sense it amounts to turning to a deity as one's god, and it is used the same way of turning to other gods (2 Kgs 1:2).

Against the English

BSB and KJV repeat 'seek', and ESV, NASB and WEB use 'search after/for'. Neither shows that dārash is the word for consulting and turning to a god for guidance and worship. It sits next to 'return' and 'listen to his voice' in v. 30.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for inquiring of YHWH throughout Kings and Chronicles. In Chronicles, 'seeking YHWH' becomes a key phrase for loyal worship (2 Chr 15:2, 12, 15, which includes 'with all their heart'). In the Dead Sea Scrolls a related figure is the 'interpreter of the Torah' (dôrēsh ha-tôrâ, CD 6:7), and the word midrash comes from the same root. The Septuagint here uses ἐκζητέω (ekzēteō), 'seek out diligently'.

From the study of Deuteronomy 12:30

Range of meaning

To seek, look into, ask about, care for. In religious use it means to seek or consult a deity (often through a prophet or oracle), and more broadly to turn to a god and worship there. With the preposition le- it can mean 'ask about' or 'resort to'.

Against the English

'Inquire' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV) is a fair rendering. A modern reader may hear only curiosity or research, while the Hebrew verb belongs to the vocabulary of seeking a god.

How it drifted

In English, 'inquire' has become a mostly intellectual word. In Hebrew, darash was a verb of religious pursuit as well as investigation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 12:5: 'you shall seek (tidreshu) the place the LORD your God will choose'. Deut 18:11 uses it of 'one who consults (doresh) the dead'. 1 Sam 28:7 has Saul seeking a medium 'that I may inquire through her'. 2 Kings 1:2-3 has King Ahaziah sending to 'inquire of' Baal-zebub of Ekron. Amos 5:4-5: 'Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel.'

From the study of Isaiah 55:6

Range of meaning

To seek out, inquire, consult, investigate, require or demand, care for. With a deity as its object it means to turn to that god, consult him (often through a prophet, priest or oracle), and so to worship him and depend on him. It is the opposite of relying on other powers.

Against the English

English "seek" fits, but today it suggests an inward, personal search for a God who is hard to find, or the modern idea of the spiritual "seeker." The Hebrew is more concrete and more about loyalty. To seek Yahweh is to come to him, consult him, and choose him over the alternatives.

How it drifted

Modern devotional language (the "spiritual seeker" or "seeking God" as private self-discovery) has made the word about an inner quest. In the biblical period it was a public act of loyalty: going to someone for guidance or help.

Used elsewhere in the period

Consulting Yahweh through a prophet: "to inquire (lidrosh) of Yahweh" (1 Kgs 22:8; 2 Kgs 3:11). Set against consulting mediums: "should not a people inquire of their God?" (Isa 8:19). Isaiah condemns those who rely on Egypt and "do not seek Yahweh" (31:1). Amos 5:4–6: "Seek me and live." Deut 4:29, also addressed to Israel in exile: "from there you will seek Yahweh your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart." Chronicles uses "seeking Yahweh" as shorthand for faithful worship (2 Chr 15:2, 12). After the Bible the root came to mean searching out the meaning of Scripture (Ezra 7:10; later "midrash").