כָּרָה karah
Hebrew word for “to pierce” · Strong’s H3738 · used 14 times in 14 verses
Meaning
1) to pierce, excavate, dig through; 1a) (Qal) to dig; 1b) (Niphal) to be dug
How it is translated
Glosses given for karah in context, with how often each is used:
- dug 4
- have dug 3
- will dig 1
- which they dug 1
- had dug 1
- digs 1
- will be dug 1
- digging up 1
- one who digs 1
Where it is used
| Book | Uses | Per 1,000 words | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psalms | 5 | 0.3 | |
| Genesis | 2 | 0.1 | |
| Proverbs | 2 | 0.3 | |
| Jeremiah | 2 | 0.1 | |
| Exodus | 1 | 0.1 | |
| Numbers | 1 | 0.1 | |
| 2 Chronicles | 1 | 0.1 |
Chapters where it is used most
Jeremiah 18 (2), Genesis 26 (1), Genesis 50 (1), Exodus 21 (1), Numbers 21 (1), 2 Chronicles 16 (1), Psalms 7 (1), Psalms 40 (1), Psalms 57 (1), Psalms 94 (1)
Forms
- כרה 4
- כרו 4
- יכרה 2
- ויכרו 1
- כריתי 1
- כרוה 1
- כרית 1
Words used with it
Words that share verses with karah more often than their overall frequency would suggest:
- שַׁחַת shachat “Pit” 3
- שִׁיחָה shichah “pit” 2
- שׁוּחָה shuchah “pit” 2
- נָפַל naphal “to fall” 4
- חָפַר chaphar “to search” 2
- בְּאֵר beer “well” 2
- בּוֹר bor “pit” 2
- קֶבֶר qever “grave” 2
- רַע ra “bad” 3
- קָבַר qavar “to bury” 2
- שָׁם sham “there” 3
- נִי ni “me” 3
Key verses
The verses using karah that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):
- Genesis 26:25 — And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
- Genesis 50:5 — My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up,…
- Numbers 21:18 — The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to…
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 — And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and…
- Psalms 7:15 — He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
- Psalms 40:6 — Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
- Psalms 57:6 — They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
- Psalms 94:13 — That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
- Psalms 119:85 — The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
- Proverbs 16:27 — An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
- Jeremiah 18:20 — Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy…
- Jeremiah 18:22 — Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
See all 14 verses in the Word Atlas
Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.