What does נׇכְרִי (nokĕriy) mean in the Bible?
נׇכְרִי (nokĕriy): Denotes the fundamentally "other"—from foreign nationals to adulterous lovers to divine wonders—marking exclusion or transgression.
Hebrew · H5237
נׇכְרִי
Strange , in a variety of degrees and applications ( foreign , non-relative , adulterous , different , wonderful )
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נׇכְרִי H5237
Pronunciation nokĕriy
What does נׇכְרִי (nokĕriy) mean in the Bible?
נׇכְרִי (nokĕriy): Denotes the fundamentally "other"—from foreign nationals to adulterous lovers to divine wonders—marking exclusion or transgression.
Full entry for נׇכְרִי (H5237) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5237?
The BSB source-word alignment has 45 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include foreign (8), a foreigner (4), the foreigner (4), . . . (3), from the stranger (2).
Where does נׇכְרִי (nokĕriy) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 31:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (9), Ezra (7), Deuteronomy (5), 1 Kings (4).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It foreign 8× 1 Kings 11:1, Ezra 10:2, Ezra 10:10, Ezra 10:17
a foreigner 4× Ruth 2:10, Job 19:15, Proverbs 20:16, Proverbs 27:13
the foreigner 4× 1 Kings 8:41, 1 Kings 8:43, 2 Chronicles 6:32, 2 Chronicles 6:33
. . . 3× Exodus 21:8, Deuteronomy 17:15, Ecclesiastes 6:2
from the stranger 2× Proverbs 2:16, Proverbs 7:5
in a foreign 2× Exodus 2:22, Exodus 18:3
of foreigners 2× Judges 19:12, Isaiah 2:6
a foreign 1× Ezra 10:14
a stranger 1× Proverbs 27:2
and a foreigner 1× Psalms 69:8
and an adulteress 1× Proverbs 23:27
and foreigners 1× Obadiah 1:11
and from your foreign 1× Ezra 10:11
and the foreigner 1× Deuteronomy 29:22
as outsiders 1× Genesis 31:15
both a foreigner 1× 2 Samuel 15:19
His disturbing 1× Isaiah 28:21
his foreign 1× 1 Kings 11:8
in foreign 1× Zephaniah 1:8
it to a foreigner 1× Deuteronomy 14:21
of a foreigner 1× Proverbs 5:10
of a stranger 1× Proverbs 5:20
of the adulteress 1× Proverbs 6:24
something from a foreigner 1× Deuteronomy 15:3
to foreigners 1× Lamentations 5:2
wild 1× Jeremiah 2:21
You may charge a foreigner 1× Deuteronomy 23:20
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 31:15 נָכְרִיּ֛וֹת to as outsiders Adjective - feminine plural Exodus 2:22 נָכְרִיָּֽה׃פ to in a foreign Adjective - feminine singular Exodus 18:3 נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ to in a foreign Adjective - feminine singular Exodus 21:8 נָכְרִ֛י to . . . Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 14:21 לְנָכְרִ֔י to it to a foreigner Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 15:3 הַנָּכְרִ֖י to something from a foreigner Article | Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 17:15 נָכְרִ֔י to . . . Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 23:20 לַנָּכְרִ֣י to You may charge a foreigner Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 29:22 וְהַ֨נָּכְרִ֔י to and the foreigner Conjunctive waw, Article | Adjective - masculine singular Judges 19:12 נָכְרִ֔י to of foreigners Adjective - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 31:15
Aligned rows 45
Books represented 19
Genesis 1 Exodus 3 Deuteronomy 5 Judges 1 Ruth 1 2 Samuel 1 1 Kings 4 2 Chronicles 2 Ezra 7 Nehemiah 2 Job 1 Psalms 1 Proverbs 9 Ecclesiastes 1 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 1 Lamentations 1 Obadiah 1 Zephaniah 1
Source forms
נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ 6x nā·ḵə·rî·yāh Exodus 18:3, Ruth 2:10, Proverbs 5:20, Proverbs 6:24
נָכְרִיּ֑וֹת 4x nā·ḵə·rî·yō·wṯ Ezra 10:10, Ezra 10:17, Ezra 10:18, Ezra 10:44
הַנָּכְרִ֑י 2x han·nā·ḵə·rî 1 Kings 8:43, 2 Chronicles 6:33
הַנָּכְרִיּֽוֹת׃ 2x han·nā·ḵə·rî·yō·wṯ Ezra 10:11, Nehemiah 13:26
מִ֝נָּכְרִיָּ֗ה 2x min·nā·ḵə·rî·yāh Proverbs 2:16, Proverbs 7:5
נָכְרִ֔י 2x nā·ḵə·rî Deuteronomy 17:15, Judges 19:12
נָ֝כְרִ֗י 2x nā·ḵə·rî Job 19:15, Proverbs 27:2
נָכְרִיּ֛וֹת 2x nā·ḵə·rî·yō·wṯ Genesis 31:15, 1 Kings 11:1
Parsing patterns
Adjective - feminine singular 10x Exodus 2:22, Exodus 18:3, Ruth 2:10, Proverbs 5:20
Adjective - feminine plural 9x Genesis 31:15, 1 Kings 11:1, Ezra 10:2, Ezra 10:10
Adjective - masculine singular 9x Exodus 21:8, Deuteronomy 17:15, Judges 19:12, 2 Samuel 15:19
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 5x Deuteronomy 15:3, 1 Kings 8:41, 1 Kings 8:43, 2 Chronicles 6:32
Article | Adjective - feminine plural 3x 1 Kings 11:8, Ezra 10:11, Nehemiah 13:26
Preposition-m | Adjective - feminine singular 2x Proverbs 2:16, Proverbs 7:5
Adjective - masculine plural 1x Isaiah 2:6
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural 1x Obadiah 1:11
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Denotes the fundamentally "other"—from foreign nationals to adulterous lovers to divine wonders—marking exclusion or transgression.
Source Gloss
strange , in a variety of degrees and applications ( foreign , non-relative , adulterous , different , wonderful )
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Denotes the fundamentally "other"—from foreign nationals to adulterous lovers to divine wonders—marking exclusion or transgression.
strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful) BDB: foreign Usage: alien, foreigner, outlandish, strange(-r, woman).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
a foreigner or non-relative who receives pledge for debt
an adulterous or foreign woman who seduces men and lies in wait
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 46 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נׇכְרִי is built from this root:
נֶכֶר H5235
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain