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נֵכָר

𐤍𐤊𐤓

nêkâr

H5236 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Something or someone foreign, alien, or strange; used of foreign people (non-Israelites), foreign lands, foreign gods, and sometimes foreign customs or objects. The term may also denote the abstract concept of 'foreignness.'

Semantic Range

alien, foreign person, foreigner, outsider, foreign nation, foreign deity, strange thing, anything non-native or not belonging to Israel, abstract foreignness

Root / Etymology

From the root נכר (n-k-r), which fundamentally means 'to recognize' or 'to mark as different.' In the form נֵכָר, the word expresses that which is recognized as 'different' or 'other'—hence, 'foreign' or 'alien.' Derived nominally to indicate things or persons recognized as being outside or distinct from the people or customs of the Israelite community.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, נֵכָר most frequently refers to people who are not Israelites, particularly in legal, cultic, and social contexts—e.g., prohibitions regarding foreign worship (Deut 31:16; Jer 5:19), or when contrasting Israelites with other peoples. In ritual contexts, it denotes non-Israelite gods (e.g., 'foreign gods', Joshua 24:20; Judges 10:16), emphasizing separateness from YHWH and traditional Israelite practice. The term can also refer to foreign lands (Isa 25:2) or the abstract notion of foreignness, reinforcing community boundaries. Later biblical books begin to reflect shifting, sometimes more inclusive, attitudes toward non-Israelites, but the core meaning remains. נֵכָר is distinct from גֵּר (gēr 'resident alien'), which indicates a foreigner dwelling among Israelites who is integrated into some aspects of Israelite society; נֵכָר emphasizes 'outsiderness' or lack of belonging. Where English translations use 'stranger,' 'foreigner,' or 'alien,' these may not adequately capture the word's legal or cultic nuance in Hebrew legal and ritual regulation.

Translation Consistency

primary "foreign" 33 occurrences

nêkâr primarily denotes foreignness—people, lands, gods, objects, and the abstract quality of being non‑native. "Foreign" is the most flexible and natural English choice (and the most frequent in existing renderings), working attributively for gods/lands/things and predicatively for status; it preserves the broad semantic range better than the person‑specific "foreigner" or the more archaic "alien."

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"foreigners" (3x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

' from נָכַר; foreign, or (concretely) a foreigner, or (abstractly) heathendom; alien, strange ([phrase] -er).

Bantu Hebrew

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

Root Family

נכר (hakkârâh) — to recognize, to distinguish, to regard, to treat differently

Root נכר to recognize, to distinguish, to acknowledge as different
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1971 הַכָּרָה partiality of
H4378 מַכָּר your acquaintances
H5234 נָכַר I will acknowledge
H5235 נֶכֶר his foreignness
H5237 נׇכְרִי the outsider

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5236-02 נֵכָ֖ר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one 27
H5236-01 הַ/נֵּכָ֛ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa foreign the foreign one the foreign one 9

Occurrences in Scripture

36 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5236-02 Genesis 17:12 נֵכָ֔ר nekhar HNcmsa foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Genesis 17:27 נֵכָ֑ר nekhar HNcmsa of a foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-01 Genesis 35:2 הַ/נֵּכָר֙ hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa of the foreigners the foreign one the foreign one
H5236-01 Genesis 35:4 הַ/נֵּכָר֙ hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa foreign the foreign one the foreign
H5236-02 Exodus 12:43 נֵכָ֖ר nekhar HNcmsa foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Leviticus 22:25 נֵכָ֗ר nekhar HNcmsa foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Deuteronomy 31:16 נֵֽכַר nekhar HNcmsc foreign foreign one foreigners
H5236-02 Deuteronomy 32:12 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Joshua 24:20 נֵכָ֑ר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-01 Joshua 24:23 הַ/נֵּכָ֖ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa foreign the foreign one the foreign one
H5236-01 Judges 10:16 הַ/נֵּכָר֙ hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa the foreign the foreign one the foreign
H5236-01 1 Samuel 7:3 הַ/נֵּכָ֛ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa foreign the foreign one the foreign one
H5236-02 2 Samuel 22:45 נֵכָ֖ר nekhar HNcmsa the stranger foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 2 Samuel 22:46 נֵכָ֖ר nekhar HNcmsa foreigners foreign one foreign one
H5236-01 Isaiah 56:3 הַ/נֵּכָ֗ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa the-foreigner the foreign one the foreign one
H5236-01 Isaiah 56:6 הַ/נֵּכָ֗ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa the foreigner the foreign one the foreign one
H5236-02 Isaiah 60:10 נֵכָר֙ nekhar HNcmsa strangers foreign one foreigners
H5236-02 Isaiah 61:5 נֵכָ֔ר nekhar HNcmsa foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Isaiah 62:8 נֵכָר֙ nekhar HNcmsa foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Jeremiah 5:19 נֵכָר֙ nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Jeremiah 8:19 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Ezekiel 44:7 נֵכָ֗ר nekhar HNcmsa stranger foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Ezekiel 44:9 נֵכָ֗ר nekhar HNcmsa of foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Ezekiel 44:9 נֵכָ֔ר nekhar-2 HNcmsa of foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Malachi 2:11 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Psalms 18:45 נֵ֝כָ֗ר nekhar HNcmsa stranger foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Psalms 18:46 נֵכָ֥ר nekhar HNcmsa the stranger foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Psalms 81:10 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Psalms 137:4 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Psalms 144:7 נֵכָֽר nekhar HNcmsa of foreigners foreign one foreigners
H5236-02 Psalms 144:11 נֵ֫כָ֥ר nekhar HNcmsa strangers foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Daniel 11:39 נֵכָ֔ר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Nehemiah 9:2 נֵכָ֑ר nekhar HNcmsa of foreigner foreign one foreign one
H5236-02 Nehemiah 13:30 נֵכָ֑ר nekhar HNcmsa foreign foreign one foreign one
H5236-01 2 Chronicles 14:2 הַ/נֵּכָ֖ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa of the foreign [gods] the foreign one of the foreign
H5236-01 2 Chronicles 33:15 הַ/נֵּכָ֤ר hanekhar HTd/Ncmsa of the foreign the foreign one the foreign one
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