נָכַר

Genesis 27:23 הִכִּיר֔וֹ he recognized him

Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

Genesis 31:32 הַֽכֶּר־ investigate

If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

Genesis 37:32 הַכֶּר־ investigate

They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”

Genesis 37:33 וַיַּכִּירָ֤הּ and he recognized it

His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

Genesis 38:25 הַכֶּר־ investigate

As she was being brought out, Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Please examine them. Whose seal and cord and staff are these?”

Genesis 38:26 וַיַּכֵּ֣ר and he recognized [them]

Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

Genesis 42:7 וַיַּכִּרֵ֑ם וַיִּתְנַכֵּ֨ר and he recognized them, and he acted as a stranger

And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”

Genesis 42:8 וַיַּכֵּ֥ר הִכִּרֻֽהוּ׃ and he recognized, they recognized him

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Deuteronomy 1:17 תַכִּ֨ירוּ you will pay regard to

Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

Here: 'You shall not recognize': to take notice of who someone is and let that count. Plural, addressed to the whole body of judges.

Deuteronomy 16:19 תַכִּ֖יר you will pay regard to

Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Here: 'Recognize'. Together with 'faces' it is an idiom for letting who a person is decide the case, instead of what they did.

Deuteronomy 21:17 יַכִּ֗יר he will acknowledge

Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.

Deuteronomy 32:27 יְנַכְּר֖וּ they should misconstrue

if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”

Here: 'Misread it' or 'get it wrong'. The root's usual meaning is 'recognize', and it is also the root of the word for 'foreigner'. Here it means failing to recognize who actually brought about Israel's defeat.

Deuteronomy 33:9 הִכִּ֔יר he recognized

He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

Here: 'He did not recognize/acknowledge' his brothers. The word is used for recognizing a relative (Gen 37:33; 42:7–8) and in the phrase 'recognize faces', meaning to show favoritism in judgment (Deut 1:17; 16:19). Levi refused to let kinship sway him.

Judges 18:3 הִכִּ֔ירוּ they recognized

And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

Ruth 2:10 לְהַכִּירֵ֔נִי to pay regard to me

At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”

Here: To recognize, pay attention to, acknowledge: Boaz has singled her out instead of overlooking her. Its root letters n-k-r are the same as in the last word, 'foreigner,' which sets up the verse's wordplay.

Ruth 2:19 מַכִּירֵ֖ךְ [the one who] paid regard to you

Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.

Ruth 3:14 יַכִּ֥יר he recognized

So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her. Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

1 Samuel 23:7 נִכַּ֨ר he has alienated

When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”

1 Samuel 26:17 וַיַּכֵּ֤ר and he recognized

Then Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.

2 Samuel 3:36 הִכִּ֔ירוּ they paid regard

All the people took note and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them.

1 Kings 14:5 מִתְנַכֵּרָֽה׃ [will be] acted as a stranger

But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”

1 Kings 14:6 מִתְנַכֵּרָ֔ה acting as a stranger

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

1 Kings 18:7 וַיַּכִּרֵ֙הוּ֙ and he recognized him

Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

1 Kings 20:41 וַיַּכֵּ֤ר and he recognized

Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

Ezra 3:13 מַכִּירִים֙ [were] recognizing

The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.

Nehemiah 6:12 וָאַכִּ֕ירָה and I recognized !

I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Nehemiah 13:24 מַכִּירִ֖ים [were] knowing

Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah.

Job 2:12 הִכִּירֻ֔הוּ they recognized him

When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.

Here: 'They recognized him.' With the negative it reads 'they did not recognize him': the disease of 2:7 had so changed Job that his oldest friends could not tell who he was. The Hebrew says this outright. 'Barely recognize' is the translator's softening.

Job 4:16 אַכִּ֬יר I recognized

It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:

Job 7:10 יַכִּירֶ֖נּוּ it will acknowledge him

He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.

Job 21:29 תְנַכֵּֽרוּ׃ do you recognize?

Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?

Job 24:13 הִכִּ֥ירוּ they pay regard to

Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.

Here: 'They have not recognized / acknowledged.' It means recognizing something as familiar or owning it as having a claim on you, not simply lacking information. Verse 17 uses the same verb: they do 'recognize' the terrors of deep darkness. They know darkness well and refuse to know light.

Job 24:17 יַ֝כִּ֗יר he is acquainted with

For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!

Job 34:19 נִכַּר־ he regards

who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

Here: An intensive form of the verb meaning 'give recognition to, single out'. With 'before' it means preferring one party to another, as a biased judge 'recognizes' the important man in court.

Job 34:25 יַ֭כִּיר he is acquainted with

Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

Psalm 103:16 יַכִּירֶ֖נּוּ it will recognize it

when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

Psalm 142:4 מַ֫כִּ֥יר [one who] recognizes

Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.

Here: Someone who recognizes me and owns me as his: a friend, kinsman or patron who will acknowledge the connection and act on it in public. It is the word Ruth uses of Boaz: "blessed be the man who took notice of you" (Ruth 2:19).

Proverbs 20:11 יִתְנַכֶּר־ he makes himself known

Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Here: A reflexive form: the youth does something to himself. Most translations take it as "makes himself known", meaning he reveals his character. In its only other uses this exact form means "disguise oneself", so some read "a youth can put on an act by his deeds".

Proverbs 24:23 הַֽכֵּר־ to pay regard to

These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

Here: A verb form used as a noun: 'recognising, paying attention to'. Joined to 'faces', it makes a fixed legal phrase for letting a person's identity shape the verdict.

Proverbs 26:24 יִנָּכֵ֣ר he disguises himself

A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.

Here: "He makes himself unrecognizable" or "plays a stranger to what he really is." It comes from the root behind 'recognize' and 'foreigner', so he turns himself into someone you cannot recognize. The imperfect verb form marks this as his habit, not a one-off.

Proverbs 28:21 הַֽכֵּר־ to pay regard to

To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

Here: An infinitive used as a noun: "recognizing," "paying regard to." Joined to "faces" it forms a fixed legal idiom for favouritism: letting who someone is decide how you treat them.

Isaiah 61:9 יַכִּיר֔וּם they will recognize them

Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.

Here: To recognize, identify, and acknowledge publicly for what someone truly is. It reverses the shame of Lamentations 4:8, where Jerusalem's nobles were so disfigured 'they are not recognized in the streets'.

Isaiah 63:16 יַכִּירָ֑נוּ he acknowledges us

Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.

Here: 'Does not recognize us.' The verb is used for identifying someone or something as belonging to you, as when Jacob recognizes his son's coat or Judah admits the pledge is his (Gen 37:33; 38:26). Here Jacob, the ancestor, does not claim them as his descendants.

Jeremiah 19:4 וַֽיְנַכְּר֞וּ and they have treated as foreign

because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

Here: 'And they made foreign' this place: they handed it over to foreign gods so that it no longer belongs to, or is recognisable as, the LORD's. The verb is related to nokhri, 'foreigner'.

Jeremiah 24:5 אַכִּ֞יר I will regard

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

Here: An imperfect verb in the causative form, 'I will recognize / take notice of / acknowledge'. It is about God treating them as his own and paying attention to them, not just a private opinion that they are good.

Lamentations 4:8 נִכְּר֖וּ they are recognized

But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

Here: "They are recognized" (a passive form). With "not", it means people who were once famous and admired now walk through town and nobody knows who they are. Hunger has made them strangers.

Daniel 11:39 יַכִּ֖יר he acknowledges

He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

Here: 'He acknowledges / recognizes / favors'. It shares its consonants with nēḵār ('foreign') two words earlier, which makes a pun: the king 'recognizes' a god of 'foreignness'. When used of people it can mean showing favor to them (compare 'recognizing faces' = partiality, Deut 1:17).