דָּרַשׁ (H1875) — Hebrew Lexicon

דָּרַשׁ

𐤃𐤓𐤔

dârash

H1875 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To seek with care or diligence, to inquire into, to investigate. ״דָּרַשׁ״ encompasses both the act of seeking information or consultation and that of investigating or searching with intentionality. It can refer to seeking after God or other deities, inquiring of an oracle or priest/diviner, searching for guidance, or investigating a matter or situation. Used in legal, religious, and social contexts for earnest inquiry or pursuit.

Semantic Range

to seek or search (especially with diligence), to inquire, to investigate (legally or religiously), to request guidance, to frequent (a place for consultation), to care for, to pursue (a course of action or question), to consult an oracle or deity, to interpret or expound, to perform ritual search, to practice divination (as in necromancy)

Root / Etymology

Root דּ־ר־שׁ (דרש) carries the fundamental idea of 'treading, frequenting, seeking after, inquiring.' The primary notion is purposeful seeking or investigation. The verb form evolved from physical seeking (as in treading a path to a location or person) to abstract searching (learning, investigating, asking).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early Israelite usage, דָּרַשׁ frequently denotes inquiring after YHWH—seeking divine will through prophets, priests, oracles, or sacred spaces (e.g., 1 Sam 9:9, Deut 4:29). It also appears in legal contexts for diligently investigating a matter (Deut 13:15; Deut 19:18), expressing a forensic or judicial pursuit of truth. In post-exilic and later biblical texts, 'seeking' shifts to signify religious devotion (Ezra 6:21; 2 Chr 15:2). Contrast with בָּקַשׁ (baqash), which more generally means 'to seek, to look for,' often in pursuit of objects or people, whereas דָּרַשׁ more often has a nuance of inquiry or investigation, especially in a legal or religious context. The noun form, 'derashah,' came to mean an exposition or interpretation (especially in rabbinic Hebrew). Standard English translations such as 'seek,' 'inquire,' and 'ask' often insufficiently convey the concentrated, purposeful aspect of the term, especially in its legal and ritual dimensions. The English term 'worship' is occasionally used in older translations but is a contextual extension, not a core meaning. The participial form as 'necromancer' (deut 18:11) designates one who 'inquires of the dead.'

Translation Consistency

primary "seek" 41 occurrences

'Seek' is the most common and natural English verb that covers the core semantic range of דָּרַשׁ—diligent searching, inquiring, requesting guidance, consulting, and investigating. It fits typical uses (seek God, seek counsel, seek out) better than the narrower 'inquire' and will yield natural renderings across legal, religious, and social contexts; rarer senses (e.g., divination) can be handled by context or additional wording.

Alternatives (9 occurrences):

"require" (5x) "inquire" (3x) "inquired" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship; ask, [idiom] at all, care for, [idiom] diligently, inquire, make inquisition, (necro-) mancer, question, require, search, seek (for, out), [idiom] surely.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

דרש (dârash) — to seek, to inquire, to investigate, to pursue intentionally

Root דרש to seek, to inquire, to investigate, to pursue intentionally

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
H4097	מִדְרָשׁ	in inquiry-of

Word Forms

63 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`H1875-35`	לִ/דְרֽוֹשׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently	30
`H1875-19`	דִּרְשׁ֤וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	Seek	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!	11
`H1875-21`	דּוֹרֵ֣שׁ	doresh	`HVqrmsa`	seeking	the seeking-one	the seeking-one	11
`H1875-01`	דָרַ֥שׁ	darash	`HVqp3ms`	sought	he sought diligently	he sought diligently	6
`H1875-27`	אֶדְרֹ֥שׁ	ederosh	`HVqi1cs`	I will require	I will seek	I will require	6
`H1875-31`	אִדָּרֵ֖שׁ	idaresh	`HVNi1cs`	inquired	I will be sought	I will be sought	5
`H1875-44`	תִּדְרֹ֨שׁ	tiderosh	`HVqi2ms`	require	you will seek diligently	you will seek diligently	5
`H1875-04`	דָּרַ֣שְׁתִּי	darasheti	`HVqp1cs`	I sought	I diligently sought	I diligently sought	4
`H1875-05`	דָרָֽשׁוּ	darashu	`HVqp3cp`	sought	they sought diligently	they sought diligently	4
`H1875-49`	וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֨	vedarasheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and inquire	and you sought diligently	and you sought diligently	4
`H1875-61`	יִדְרֹ֛שׁ	yiderosh	`HVqi3ms`	seeks	he will seek	he will seek	4
`H1875-10`	דְּרָשׁ	derash	`HVqv2ms`	Inquire	Seek diligently	inquire	3
`H1875-40`	תִּדְרְשֶׁ֨/נּוּ֙	tidereshenu	`HVqi2ms/Sp3ms`	that seeks him	you will diligently seek him	you will diligently seek him	3
`H1875-41`	תִּדְרְשׁוּ֙	tidereshu	`HVqj2mp`	seek	you will seek diligently	you will seek diligently	3
`H1875-51`	וְ/דָרְשׁ֥וּ	vedareshu	`HC/Vqq3cp`	and seek	and they sought diligently	and they sought diligently	3
`H1875-53`	וְ/דֹרֵ֖שׁ	vedoresh	`HC/Vqrmsa`	and seeking	and one who seeks	and one who seeks	3
`H1875-56`	וְ/נִדְרְשָׁ֖ה	venidereshah	`HC/Vqi1cp`	that we may inquire	and let us seek	and let us seek	3
`H1875-02`	דָרַ֨שְׁנוּ֙	darashenu	`HVqp1cp`	we have sought	we sought	we have sought	2
`H1875-03`	דָרַ֣שְׁתָּ	darasheta	`HVqp2ms`	have you required	you sought out	you sought out	2
`H1875-08`	דָֽרְשׁ֔וּ	dareshu	`HVqp3cp`	searched	they diligently sought	they diligently sought	2
`H1875-09`	דָּרֹ֨שׁ	darosh	`HVqa`	inquired about	to diligently seek	to diligently seek	2
`H1875-11`	דְרַשְׁנֻ֖/הוּ	derashenuhu	`HVqp1cp/Sp3ms`	did we seek it	we have diligently sought him	we sought him	2
`H1875-22`	דֹּ֣רְשָׁ֑י/ו	doreshayv	`HVqrmpc/Sp3ms`	those-who-seek-him	his seekers	his seekers	2
`H1875-48`	וַ/יִּדְרֹ֣שׁ	vayiderosh	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and inquired	and he sought diligently	and he sought diligently	2
`H1875-50`	וְֽ/דָרַשְׁתִּ֧י	vedarasheti	`HC/Vqq1cs`	and I will require	and I sought diligently	and I will require	2
`H1875-52`	וְ/דִרְשׁ֔וּ	vedireshu	`HC/Vqv2mp`	and seek	and diligently seek	and diligently seek	2
`H1875-54`	וְ/דֹרְשֵׁ֥י	vedoreshey	`HC/Vqrmpc`	and those seeking	and seekers of	and seekers of	2
`H1875-62`	יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ	yideroshu	`HVqi3mp`	seek	they will seek diligently	they will seek diligently	2
`H1875-06`	דָּ֭רְשָׁה	dareshah	`HVqp3fs`	She seeks	she has diligently sought	she seeks	1
`H1875-07`	דָּרְשׁ֣/וֹ	daresho	`HVqc/Sp3ms`	his seeking	his seeking	his seeking	1
`H1875-12`	דְרַשְׁתִּ֑י/ךָ	derashetikha	`HVqp1cs/Sp2ms`	I have sought you	I have sought you	I have sought you	1
`H1875-13`	דְרָשֻֽׁ/הוּ	derashuhu	`HVqp3cp/Sp3ms`	inquired of him	they sought him	inquired of him	1
`H1875-14`	דְּרָשׁ֔וּ/ם	derashum	`HVqp3cp/Sp3mp`	they-have-sought-them	they sought them out	they have sought them out	1
`H1875-15`	דְּרָשֽׁוּ/נִי	derashuni	`HVqp3cp/Sp1cs`	have sought Me	they sought me	they sought me	1
`H1875-16`	דְּרֹ֤שׁ	derosh	`HVqc`	seeks	to seek diligently	seeks	1
`H1875-17`	דְרוּשָׁ֔ה	derushah	`HVqsfsa`	Sought out	sought one	sought out	1
`H1875-18`	דְּ֝רוּשִׁ֗ים	derushim	`HVqsmpa`	studied	sought ones	sought out	1
`H1875-20`	דִּרְשׁ֖וּ/נִי	direshuni	`HVqv2mp/Sp1cs`	Seek me	Seek after me	Seek me	1
`H1875-23`	דֹּרְשֵׁ֥י	doreshey	`HVqrmpc`	seekers of	seekers of	seekers of	1
`H1875-24`	דֹרְשֶׁ֣י/ךָ	doresheykha	`HVqrmpc/Sp2ms`	those who seek you	your seekers	those who seek you	1
`H1875-25`	דרש/ו	drshv	`HVqrmsc/Sp3ms`	seek-him	the one seeking him	the one seeking him	1
`H1875-26`	אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑/נּוּ	edereshenu	`HVqi1cs/Sp3ms`	I will require it	I will seek him	I will require it	1
`H1875-28`	הַ/דֹּרֵ֔שׁ	hadoresh	`HTd/Vqrmsa`	of the inquirer	the diligent seeker	the inquirer	1
`H1875-29`	הַ/אִדָּרֹ֥שׁ	haidarosh	`HTi/VNa`	should I be inquired	to be sought	to be sought	1
`H1875-30`	הֲ/לִ/דְרֹ֥שׁ	haliderosh	`HTi/R/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently	1
`H1875-32`	לְ/דָרְשֵׁ֑/נִי	ledaresheni	`HR/Vqc/Sp1cs`	to inquire of me	to seek me	to seek me	1
`H1875-33`	לְ/דַרְי֖וֹשׁ	ledareyosh	`HR/Vqc`	to investigate	to seek diligently	to investigate	1
`H1875-34`	לִ/דְרָשׁ	liderash	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to inquire	1
`H1875-36`	נִדְרָֽשׁ	niderash	`HVNrmsa`	is being required	being sought out	is being sought out	1
`H1875-37`	נִדְרַ֨שְׁתִּי֙	niderasheti	`HVNp1cs`	I was sought	I was sought	I was sought	1
`H1875-38`	נִדְרָ֔שׁוּ	niderashu	`HVNp3cp`	they were sought	they were sought out	they were sought out	1
`H1875-39`	נִדְר֖וֹשׁ	niderosh	`HVqi1cp`	we seek	we diligently seek	we diligently seek	1
`H1875-42`	תִּדְרְשֻׁ֨/הוּ֙	tidereshuhu	`HVqi2mp/Sp3ms`	you seek him	you seek him	you seek him	1
`H1875-43`	תִדְרְשֻׁ֖/נִי	tidereshuni	`HVqi2mp/Sp1cs`	you-will-seek-me	you (mp) will diligently seek me	you will diligently seek me	1
`H1875-45`	וּ/דְרָשׁ֑וּ/הוּ	uderashuhu	`HC/Vqq3cp/Sp3ms`	and they sought him	and they sought him out	and they sought him	1
`H1875-46`	וַ/יִּדְרְשֵׁ֥/הוּ	vayidereshehu	`HC/Vqw3ms/Sp3ms`	and-they-inquired-of-it	and he sought him out	and he sought him out	1
`H1875-47`	וַֽ/יִּדְרְשׁוּ֙	vayidereshu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they inquired	and they sought diligently	and they inquired	1
`H1875-55`	וְ/אֶדְרְשָׁה	veedereshah	`HC/Vqi1cs`	and inquire of	and I will diligently seek	and I will diligently seek	1
`H1875-57`	וְ/יִדְרֹֽשׁ	veyiderosh	`HC/Vqi3ms`	and-require	and he will diligently seek	and he will require	1
`H1875-58`	יִדְרְשֵׁ֣/הוּ	yidereshehu	`HVqj3ms/Sp3ms`	regard it	may he seek him	regard it	1
`H1875-59`	יִדְרְשֶׁ֜/נּוּ	yidereshenu	`HVqi3ms/Sp3ms`	it-of-him	he will seek him	he will require it	1
`H1875-60`	יִדְרְשֽׁוּ/הוּ	yidereshuhu	`HVqi3mp/Sp3ms`	they seek him	they will seek him	they will seek him	1
`H1875-63`	יִדְרֹשׁ֔וּ/ן	yideroshun	`HVqi3mp/Sn`	they-seek	they will diligently seek	they will diligently seek	1

Occurrences in Scripture

165 occurrences

Filter by SIDANCE:

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`H1875-27`	Genesis 9:5	אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ	ederosh	`HVqi1cs`	I will require	I will seek	I will require
`H1875-26`	Genesis 9:5	אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑/נּוּ	edereshenu	`HVqi1cs/Sp3ms`	I will require it	I will seek him	I will require it
`H1875-27`	Genesis 9:5	אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ	ederosh-2	`HVqi1cs`	I will require	I will seek	I will require
`H1875-35`	Genesis 25:22	לִ/דְרֹ֥שׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-36`	Genesis 42:22	נִדְרָֽשׁ	niderash	`HVNrmsa`	is being required	being sought out	is being sought out
`H1875-35`	Exodus 18:15	לִ/דְרֹ֥שׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-09`	Leviticus 10:16	דָּרֹ֥שׁ	darosh	`HVqa`	inquired about	to diligently seek	to diligently seek
`H1875-01`	Leviticus 10:16	דָּרַ֛שׁ	darash	`HVqp3ms`	had inquired	he sought diligently	he sought diligently
`H1875-40`	Deuteronomy 4:29	תִדְרְשֶׁ֔/נּוּ	tidereshenu	`HVqi2ms/Sp3ms`	you seek him	you will diligently seek him	you will diligently seek him
`H1875-21`	Deuteronomy 11:12	דֹּרֵ֣שׁ	doresh	`HVqrmsa`	cares for	the seeking-one	seeks
`H1875-41`	Deuteronomy 12:5	תִדְרְשׁ֖וּ	tidereshu	`HVqi2mp`	you shall seek	you will seek diligently	you will seek diligently
`H1875-44`	Deuteronomy 12:30	תִּדְרֹ֨שׁ	tiderosh	`HVqi2ms`	you inquire	you will seek diligently	you inquire
`H1875-49`	Deuteronomy 13:15	וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֧	vedarasheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	you shall inquire	and you sought diligently	and you sought diligently
`H1875-49`	Deuteronomy 17:4	וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֣	vedarasheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and you inquire	and you sought diligently	and you sought diligently
`H1875-49`	Deuteronomy 17:9	וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֙	vedarasheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and you shall inquire	and you sought diligently	and you shall inquire
`H1875-53`	Deuteronomy 18:11	וְ/דֹרֵ֖שׁ	vedoresh	`HC/Vqrmsa`	or one who inquires	and one who seeks	and one who seeks
`H1875-27`	Deuteronomy 18:19	אֶדְרֹ֥שׁ	ederosh	`HVqi1cs`	will require	I will seek	will require
`H1875-51`	Deuteronomy 19:18	וְ/דָרְשׁ֥וּ	vedareshu	`HC/Vqq3cp`	and the judges shall inquire	and they sought diligently	and they sought diligently
`H1875-16`	Deuteronomy 22:2	דְּרֹ֤שׁ	derosh	`HVqc`	seeks	to seek diligently	seeks
`H1875-44`	Deuteronomy 23:7	תִדְרֹ֥שׁ	tiderosh	`HVqi2ms`	seek	you will seek diligently	you will seek diligently
`H1875-09`	Deuteronomy 23:22	דָּרֹ֨שׁ	darosh	`HVqa`	will-seek	to diligently seek	to diligently seek
`H1875-59`	Deuteronomy 23:22	יִדְרְשֶׁ֜/נּוּ	yidereshenu	`HVqi3ms/Sp3ms`	it-of-him	he will seek him	he will require it
`H1875-47`	Judges 6:29	וַֽ/יִּדְרְשׁוּ֙	vayidereshu	`HC/Vqw3mp`	and they inquired	and they sought diligently	and they inquired
`H1875-35`	1 Samuel 9:9	לִ/דְר֣וֹשׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-55`	1 Samuel 28:7	וְ/אֶדְרְשָׁה	veedereshah	`HC/Vqi1cs`	and inquire of	and I will diligently seek	and I will diligently seek
`H1875-48`	2 Samuel 11:3	וַ/יִּדְרֹ֖שׁ	vayiderosh	`HC/Vqw3ms`	and inquired	and he sought diligently	and he sought diligently
`H1875-35`	1 Kings 14:5	לִ/דְרֹשׁ֩	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to-inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-10`	1 Kings 22:5	דְּרָשׁ	derash	`HVqv2ms`	inquire	Seek diligently	inquire
`H1875-56`	1 Kings 22:7	וְ/נִדְרְשָׁ֖ה	venidereshah	`HC/Vqi1cp`	that we may inquire	and let us seek	and let us seek
`H1875-35`	1 Kings 22:8	לִ/דְרֹשׁ֩	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	by whom to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-19`	2 Kings 1:2	דִרְשׁ֗וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	inquire	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-35`	2 Kings 1:3	לִ/דְרֹ֕שׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-35`	2 Kings 1:6	לִ/דְרֹ֕שׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-35`	2 Kings 1:16	לִ/דְרֹשׁ֮	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-35`	2 Kings 1:16	לִ/דְרֹ֖שׁ	liderosh-2	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-56`	2 Kings 3:11	וְ/נִדְרְשָׁ֥ה	venidereshah	`HC/Vqh1cp`	that we may inquire	and let us seek	and let us seek
`H1875-49`	2 Kings 8:8	וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֨	vedarasheta	`HC/Vqq2ms`	and inquire	and you sought diligently	and you sought diligently
`H1875-19`	2 Kings 22:13	דִרְשׁ֨וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	inquire	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-35`	2 Kings 22:18	לִ/דְרֹ֣שׁ	liderosh	`HR/Vqc`	to inquire	to seek diligently	to seek diligently
`H1875-19`	Isaiah 1:17	דִּרְשׁ֥וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	Seek	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-19`	Isaiah 8:19	דִּרְשׁ֤וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	seek	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-61`	Isaiah 8:19	יִדְרֹ֔שׁ	yiderosh	`HVqi3ms`	consult	he will seek	he will seek
`H1875-05`	Isaiah 9:12	דָרָֽשׁוּ	darashu	`HVqp3cp`	sought	they sought diligently	they sought diligently
`H1875-62`	Isaiah 11:10	יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ	yideroshu	`HVqi3mp`	will seek	they will seek diligently	they will seek diligently
`H1875-53`	Isaiah 16:5	וְ/דֹרֵ֥שׁ	vedoresh	`HC/Vqrmsa`	and seeking	and one who seeks	and one who seeks
`H1875-51`	Isaiah 19:3	וְ/דָרְשׁ֤וּ	vedareshu	`HC/Vqq3cp`	and-they-will-seek	and they sought diligently	and they will seek diligently
`H1875-05`	Isaiah 31:1	דָרָֽשׁוּ	darashu	`HVqp3cp`	seek	they sought diligently	they sought diligently
`H1875-19`	Isaiah 34:16	דִּרְשׁ֨וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	Seek	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-19`	Isaiah 55:6	דִּרְשׁ֥וּ	direshu	`HVqv2mp`	Seek	Seek diligently!	Seek diligently!
`H1875-63`	Isaiah 58:2	יִדְרֹשׁ֔וּ/ן	yideroshun	`HVqi3mp/Sn`	they-seek	they will diligently seek	they will diligently seek

← H1874 Hebrew Lexicon H1876 →