בָּחַר bachar

Hebrew word for “to choose” · Strong’s H977 · used 171 times in 163 verses

Explore it in the Word Atlas

Meaning

1) to choose, elect, decide for; 1a) (Qal) to choose; 1b) (Niphal) to be chosen; 1c) (Pual) to be chosen, selected

How it is translated

Glosses given for bachar in context, with how often each is used:

• will choose 36
• have chosen 34
• chose 29
• chosen 17
• has chosen 16
• choose 9
• chosen man 5
• had chosen 4
• chosen men 2
• chooses 2
• whom i have chosen 2
• which i choose 2

Where it is used

Also in 10 more books.

Chapters where it is used most

Deuteronomy 12 (6), Deuteronomy 16 (6), Deuteronomy 14 (4), 1 Kings 11 (4), 1 Chronicles 28 (4), 2 Chronicles 6 (4), Deuteronomy 17 (3), Judges 20 (3), 1 Samuel 16 (3), 1 Kings 8 (3)

Forms

• יבחר 32
• בחר 27
• בחרתי 20
• בחור 17
• ויבחר 14
• בחרת 7
• בחרו 6
• בחרתם 6
• נבחר 6
• ובחר 5

Words used with it

Words that share verses with bachar more often than their overall frequency would suggest:

• מָקוֹם maqom “place” 26
• שֵׁם shem “name” 29
• שֵׁבֶט shevet “tribe” 16
• שָׁם sham “there” 21
• אֶלֶף eleph “thousand” 16
• שׂוּם sum “to set” 16
• עֶבֶד eved “servant/slave” 17
• דָּוִד david “David” 18
• אַתָּה attah “you(m.s.)” 18
• זֶה zeh “this” 18
• שָׁכַן shakhan “to dwell” 10
• יְרוּשָׁלִַם yerushalaim “Jerusalem” 14

Key verses

The verses using bachar that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):

• Genesis 6:2 — That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
• Numbers 16:5 — And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto…
• Deuteronomy 7:6 — For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the…
• Deuteronomy 12:5 — But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou…
• Deuteronomy 12:11 — Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt…
• Joshua 24:15 — And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side…
• Psalms 132:13 — For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
• Isaiah 14:1 — For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall…
• Isaiah 41:8 — But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
• Isaiah 49:7 — Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall…
• Isaiah 66:3 — He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s…
• Jeremiah 33:24 — Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my…

See all 163 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.