Hebrew word · H2714

חֵ֫קֶר

cheker

search

A search or investigation, and also the depths that searching tries to reach: 'recesses', 'the inner limits' (Job 38:16 'the recesses of the deep'). From ḥāqar, to search out, explore, examine thoroughly (spies exploring a land, a judge probing a case).

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a search, investigation, searching, enquiry, thing to be searched out

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 Isaiah 40:28

Range of meaning

A search or investigation, and also the depths that searching tries to reach: 'recesses', 'the inner limits' (Job 38:16 'the recesses of the deep'). From ḥāqar, to search out, explore, examine thoroughly (spies exploring a land, a judge probing a case).

Against the English

'Unsearchable' (WEB, ESV), 'beyond searching out' (BSB), 'no searching of' (KJV) all fit. NIV's 'no one can fathom' shows the depth well.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same formula appears elsewhere: Psalm 145:3 'his greatness, there is no ḥeqer'; Job 5:9 and 9:10 'who does great things, and there is no ḥeqer'; Proverbs 25:3 'the heart of kings, no ḥeqer'. Psalm 147:5 is close: 'his understanding (litvunato) is beyond number.' Paul's 'unsearchable… inscrutable' in Romans 11:33 draws on this kind of language and quotes Isaiah 40:13 in the next verse.

From the study of Proverbs 25:27

Range of meaning

A searching, probing, investigation; also the thing searched, the depths of something (Job 11:7 'the deep things of God'; Job 38:16 'the recesses of the deep'). The verb ḥāqar means 'to explore, examine, dig into' (spying out land, testing a case, searching a heart).

Against the English

'Search out' (BSB, ESV) keeps the sense of probing. 'Seek' (WEB, NRSV, NJPS) loses some of the effort and digging the word suggests, making it sound like simple wanting.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 25:2–3: 'It is the glory (kəbōd) of God to conceal a matter, and the glory (kəbōd) of kings to search out (ḥăqōr) a matter… the heart of kings is unsearchable (ʾên ḥēqer).' Job 5:9; 9:10 (God does great things 'without searching', i.e., unfathomable).

From the study of Psalm 145:3

Range of meaning

The noun of ḥaqar, "to search out, explore, examine thoroughly". The verb is used of scouting a land (Judges 18:2), a judge investigating a case (Deuteronomy 13:14; Job 29:16), testing wine or metal, and God searching the heart (Psalm 139:1, 23). Ḥeqer means "a searching out" or "what searching finds", the depths or limits: "Can you find the ḥeqer of God?" (Job 11:7); "the recesses (ḥiqrei) of the deep" (Job 38:16).

Against the English

KJV/BSB/WEB/ESV "unsearchable"; YLT "there is no searching"; NIV "no one can fathom"; NLT "no one can measure". "Fathom" and "measure" bring out the picture of depth and extent well. "Unsearchable" is accurate but can sound like "closed to inquiry" or "unknowable".

How it drifted

"Unsearchable" is an older English word. A modern reader can hear it as "you can't look into it" or "it is a mystery, so don't try". The Hebrew means the opposite of forbidden: the exploring is real, but it never reaches an end.

Used elsewhere in the period

"There is no ḥeqer" is a fixed phrase: God "does great things without ḥeqer" (Job 5:9; 9:10); "there is no ḥeqer to his understanding" (Isaiah 40:28); of years, "the number of his years is without ḥeqer" (Job 36:26). In Proverbs 25:3 the phrase is royal: "heaven for height, earth for depth, and the heart of kings, no ḥeqer." The Septuagint here renders it ouk estin peras, "there is no limit/end". In Job 5:9 and 9:10 it uses anexichniastos, "untraceable", the word Paul uses in Romans 11:33 and Ephesians 3:8.

Where it appears

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 5:16 חִקְרֵי־ searchings of

    Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.

Job · 7

  1. Job 5:9 חֵ֑קֶר [is] inquiry

    the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

    Here: The act of probing or exploring something to its limits. 'There is no searching' means no one can explore them to the bottom: they are unfathomable.

  2. Job 8:8 לְחֵ֣קֶר to [the] searching of

    Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.

    Here: 'To the searching-out of.' This means both the act of probing deeply and what that probing found: knowledge reached by long investigation and testing. The sages' word for hard-won insight.

  3. Job 9:10 חֵ֑קֶר [is] inquiry

    He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.

    Here: The act of probing or examining, as a scout explores land or a judge examines a case. God's deeds are bigger than any investigation: no inquiry reaches the bottom of them.

  4. Job 11:7 הַחֵ֣קֶר ¿ [the] searching of

    Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?

    Here: The prefixed ha- turns the line into a question that expects 'no'. Ḥēqer is the act of probing and also the hidden interior you probe toward. Here it pictures God as a depth no one can reach the bottom of.

  5. Job 34:24 חֵ֑קֶר inquiry

    He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place.

    Here: An investigation or probing search, the kind of examination a judge makes before a verdict. Following v. 23 ('God need not examine a man further… for judgment'), the point is that God needs no trial or fact-finding before acting, because he already sees everything (vv. 21–22).

  6. Job 36:26 חֵֽקֶר׃ inquiry

    Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable.

    Here: The act of searching something out, and also the hidden depths a search tries to reach. "No ḥeqer" means no investigation can get to the bottom of it. It is a set phrase in Hebrew praise of God.

  7. Job 38:16 וּבְחֵ֥קֶר and in [the] depth of

    Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 145:3 חֵֽקֶר׃ [is] inquiry

    Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

    Here: From ḥaqar, "to explore, investigate, search out", as spies explore land or a judge investigates a case. "No ḥeqer" means no investigation ever reaches the bottom or the edge of it. It cannot be fully mapped.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 25:3 חֵֽקֶר׃ [is] inquiry

    As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be searched.

  2. Proverbs 25:27 וְחֵ֖קֶר and [the] search of

    It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.

    Here: 'And searching out', a probing, digging investigation. The same root appears in 25:2–3 ('the glory of kings is to search out a matter'), which ties this verse back to the opening of the section.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 40:28 חֵ֖קֶר [is] inquiry

    Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

    Here: Probing a thing until you reach the bottom. 'There is no searching' = no one can get to the end of it.

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