H1240
בְּקַר
{properly, to plough, or (generally) break forth, i.e. (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider}
Transliteration
bᵉqarPronunciation
(bek-ar')Everything you need to know.
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{properly, to plough, or (generally) break forth, i.e. (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider}
בְּקַר(bᵉqar)
Strong’s Definition
{properly, to plough, or (generally) break forth, i.e. (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider}
(Aramaic) corresponding to H1239 (בָּקַר)
“That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.”
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The Plow That Searches the Heart
Five times this sacred verb appears in the Aramaic portions of your Tanakh, yet each utterance carries the weight of a divine plow breaking fallow ground. The word bᵉqar (בְּקַר) does not merely mean to look — it means to break open so that you may truly see. In the paleo-Hebrew script, the letters bet and qof and resh form a picture of a house, the back of the head, and a person: the house of the one who turns his head to inspect. Your God is not a distant observer. He is the Farmer who turns over the soil of your soul, searching for what lies beneath the surface.
The First Divine Plowing
The first time the Holy One performs this action in Scripture, it is not upon the earth but upon the kingdom of Babylon. In Ezra 5:17, the king of Persia commands, “Let a search be made in the royal treasury there in Babylon.” But the deeper truth, whispered by the sages of old, is that the One who sits above the heavens is the true Searcher. When God bᵉqar, He does not search because He is ignorant — He searches because He wishes to reveal. The Aramaic verb shares its root with the Hebrew baqar, which first meant “to plow” before it meant “to inspect.” Every divine inquiry is a tilling of the heart, preparing you for the seed of His word.
God's Searching and Man's Searching
When God bᵉqar, His purpose is redemption. When men bᵉqar, their purpose is often accusation. In Daniel 6:23, the king made search to see if Daniel had been delivered from the lions — a human searching born of anxiety and hope. But the Lord’s searching in Ezra 6:1-2 uncovers the scroll of Cyrus, the decree that would restore the Temple. The ancient rabbis observed that human searching is like a man groping in darkness, while divine searching is like the sun rising over the fields. You must learn which kind of search you are making: the anxious hunt for evidence against your brother, or the patient plowing that seeks to restore what was lost.
The Covenant Context of Inquiry
In the book of Ezra, the entire restoration of Israel hangs upon a search. The enemies of Judah demanded that the Jews produce the decree of Cyrus. When the scroll was found, the house of God was rebuilt. Here the verb bᵉqar becomes the hinge of covenant faithfulness. Without the search, the Temple would have remained a ruin. Jewish tradition teaches that every commandment has a moment when it must be sought out, or it will be lost. Your covenant with the Holy One requires that you become a searcher — not of hidden treasures, but of the forgotten promises He has already spoken over your life.
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The Piel Stem and the Intensity of Inspection
The Aramaic bᵉqar appears in the Piel stem, the form that intensifies the action. This is not a casual glance — it is a thorough, penetrating examination. When the king commanded that search be made, the Aramaic text uses this intensified form to show that nothing could be hidden. The prophets of Israel understood that the Messiah would come with this same piercing gaze. As it is written in Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, to give every man according to his ways.” The Piel stem reveals that God’s searching is not passive; it is an active, transformative force that brings truth to light.
The Gematria of Three Hundred and Two
The numerical value of bᵉqar is three hundred and two. In the Hebrew alphabet, this number reduces to three hundred, the value of the letter shin, and two, the value of bet. The shin represents the fire of God’s presence, and the bet represents the house of creation. Together, they teach that divine searching is the fire that purifies the dwelling place of your soul. The ancient sages connected this number to the word ashrei (blessed), for the one who is searched by the Lord is blessed indeed. When God plows your heart, He is not destroying you — He is preparing you for a harvest of righteousness.
Messiah, the Searcher of Souls
When Yeshua walked the earth, He performed the work of bᵉqar in every encounter. He searched the heart of the Samaritan woman at the well, turning over the soil of her shame until living water sprang forth. He searched the heart of Peter after the resurrection, asking three times, “Do you love me?” — a divine plowing that broke the hardness of denial and planted the seeds of apostleship. The apostolic tradition teaches that the Messiah still performs this searching today, not to condemn you, but to uncover the scroll of your destiny. In Revelation 2:23, the risen Lord declares, “I am He who searches minds and hearts,” echoing the ancient promise of Jeremiah. Yeshua is the ultimate bᵉqar — the plow that turns the fallow ground of your soul into a garden for His presence.
Your Call to Become a Searcher
Now the word turns toward you. You have been searched by the Holy One, and you have been found. But the call does not end there. You are invited to become a searcher yourself — not of faults to condemn, but of promises to restore. Search the Scriptures as the Bereans searched, with a heart that says, “Let it be so.” Search the faces of your brothers and sisters, looking for the hidden image of the Creator. Search your own heart daily, allowing the plow of His Spirit to turn over the soil. The five appearances of this verb in Scripture are five gates opening before you. Will you walk through them? The Farmer is waiting, and the field of your life is ready for the harvest.