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" 136 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 (29 occurrences):
"require" (8x) "seeking-one" (6x) "inquire" (5x) "seekers of" (3x) "seekers" (2x) "inquired" (1x) "inquirer" (1x) "inquired of" (1x) "regard" (1x) "investigate" (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

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Root Family

דרש (d-r-sh) — seeking, inquiring, investigating, intentional pursuit

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/דְרֹ֥שׁ liderosh HR/Vqc to inquire to seek diligently to seek diligently 30
H1875-19 דִרְשׁ֗וּ direshu HVqv2mp Seek Seek diligently! Seek diligently! 11
H1875-21 דֹּרֵ֣שׁ doresh HVqrmsa seeking the seeking-one the seeking-one 11
H1875-01 דָּרַ֛שׁ darash HVqp3ms sought he sought diligently he sought diligently 6
H1875-27 אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ 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
H1875-61 יִדְרֹ֔שׁ yiderosh HVqi3ms seeks he will seek he will seek 4
H1875-05 דָרָֽשׁוּ darashu HVqp3cp sought they sought diligently they sought diligently 4
H1875-49 וְ/דָרַשְׁתָּ֧ vedarasheta HC/Vqq2ms and inquire and you sought diligently and you sought diligently 4

Occurrences in Scripture

165 occurrences

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