יָקָר

1 Samuel 3:1 יָקָר֙ rare

And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.

Here: The adjective for something valuable because it is hard to come by. Here the weight falls on scarcity: a word from God was a rare commodity.

2 Samuel 12:30 יְקָרָ֔ה precious

Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

1 Kings 5:17 יְקָר֛וֹת costly

And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.

1 Kings 7:9 יְקָרֹת֙ costly

All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard.

1 Kings 7:10 יְקָר֖וֹת costly

The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.

1 Kings 7:11 יְקָר֛וֹת costly

Above these were costly stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

1 Kings 10:2 יְקָרָ֑ה precious

She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

Here: "Precious." It means costly and valued: gems, and possibly fine building stone too (the same phrase is used of Solomon's costly stones in 5:17; 7:9–11).

1 Kings 10:10 יְקָרָ֑ה precious

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Here: Stone that is rare and valued. The word stresses cost and scarcity rather than sparkle, and these would have been polished rather than faceted stones.

1 Kings 10:11 יְקָרָֽה׃ precious

(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.

1 Chronicles 20:2 יְקָרָ֔ה precious

Then David took the crown from the head of their king. It was found to weigh a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

1 Chronicles 29:2 יְקָרָ֛ה precious

Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God—gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and slabs of marble—all in abundance.

Here: 'Costly, valuable, weighty.' The word is about high value and rarity. It is related to the word for 'honour' (yeqar).

2 Chronicles 3:6 יְקָרָ֖ה precious

He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim.

2 Chronicles 9:1 יְקָרָ֑ה precious

Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.

Here: Rare and valuable. 'Precious stone' means gems, the kind of stone used in the temple (3:6).

2 Chronicles 9:9 יְקָרָ֑ה precious

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

2 Chronicles 9:10 יְקָרָֽה׃ precious

(The servants of Hiram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.

2 Chronicles 32:27 יְקָרָ֗ה precious

Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles.

Job 28:16 יָקָ֣ר precious

It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.

Job 31:26 יָקָ֥ר splendid

if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

Here: 'Precious, splendid.' The word is used for jewels and costly things, and for honor. Here it describes the moon's glory, either as an adjective ('the precious moon') or as a description of how it moves ('moving in splendor').

Psalm 36:7 יָּקָ֥ר precious

How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!

Here: Of great worth, the way gems or rare things are valuable. God's loyal love is treated as the most valuable thing there is. The doubled yod comes from the way it is joined to mah; it doesn't change the meaning.

Psalm 37:20 כִּיקַ֣ר [will be] like a splendid [thing] of

But the wicked and enemies of the LORD will perish like the glory of the fields. They will vanish; like smoke they will fade away.

Here: 'Like the splendour of' or 'like the choicest part of'. It names what looks best and most valuable, the thing at its peak, which is exactly what is about to disappear.

Psalm 45:9 בְּיִקְּרוֹתֶ֑יךָ [are] among noble [women] your

The daughters of kings are among your honored women; the queen stands at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir.

Here: A feminine plural adjective used as a noun, 'your precious (women)': the prized, high-status women of the king's household. The word is about value and rank, not moral character.

Psalm 116:15 יָ֭קָר [is] precious

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Here: Put first for emphasis. It means something of high value, so costly that you do not give it up easily: rare, heavy, dear. It does not mean pleasing or welcome.

Proverbs 1:13 יָקָ֣ר prized

We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.

Here: Describes the wealth as costly, high-value, hard to come by. The root carries the idea of 'weight' and worth. Proverbs uses the same word for wisdom, which is 'more precious than jewels' (3:15).

Proverbs 3:15 יְקָ֣רָה [is] precious

She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.

Here: Comes first in the sentence for emphasis: 'Precious is she!' The root means weighty in value, rare and costly. It is the language of things that are expensive because they are scarce.

Proverbs 6:26 יְקָרָ֣ה precious

For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

Here: 'Costly, precious': a word from the world of value and price, like rare jewels (Prov 3:15). It answers the 'loaf of bread': one price is trivial, the other is beyond price.

Proverbs 12:27 יָקָ֣ר precious

A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.

Here: 'Precious' in the economic sense: of high value, prized, not wasted. It is used of costly stones and of wisdom, which is 'more precious than jewels' (Proverbs 3:15).

Proverbs 17:27 יְקַר [a person] noble of

A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.

Here: The written consonants give yeqar, 'precious, rare, sparing'. The scribal reading-tradition says qar, 'cool' (H7119), with 'and'. The supplied data takes its lemma from the written form, but its pronunciation 've.kar' follows the read form. 'Cool of spirit' is the opposite of the 'hot' man of Proverbs 15:18.

Proverbs 24:4 יָקָ֣ר precious

through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

Here: 'Precious' because it is weighty, costly or scarce. It describes the wealth as high-value, the kind of goods that are hard to come by.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 יָקָ֛ר [is] weighty

As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

Isaiah 28:16 יִקְרַת֙ preciousness of

So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

Here: "Of preciousness": valuable, costly, the kind of large dressed stone used for royal and temple foundations.

Jeremiah 15:19 יָקָ֛ר [the] precious

Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you return, I will restore you; you will stand in My presence. And if you speak words that are noble instead of worthless, you will be My spokesman. It is they who must turn to you, but you must not turn to them.

Here: What is rare and valuable, a word used for gems and costly things. Here it means speech of real worth.

Lamentations 4:2 הַיְקָרִ֔ים <the> precious

How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!

Here: 'The precious ones.' The word is used for jewels and costly things. Related words in other Semitic languages carry the ideas of 'heavy' and 'valuable', which sets up the weighing image that follows.

Ezekiel 27:22 יְקָרָה֙ precious

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

Ezekiel 28:13 יְקָרָ֤ה precious

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

Here: Rare, valuable, highly prized. Ezekiel 27:22 uses the same phrase for gems traded through Tyre, so the hearers would think of the city's luxury trade.

Daniel 11:38 יְקָרָ֖ה costly

And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.

Here: Describes the stone as valuable and rare.

Zechariah 14:6 יְקָר֖וֹת splendid [ones]

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost.

Here: As the Hebrew stands, 'splendid ones' (feminine plural), most likely the shining heavenly bodies (compare Job 31:26, the moon 'moving in splendor'). The ancient translations, though, read a word meaning 'cold' here. See the studies and textual notes.