What does שָׁחַר (šāḥar) mean in the Bible?
שָׁחַר (šāḥar): Early rising implies earnest, diligent pursuit; dawn-action metaphor conveys sincere seeking or persistent striving.
Hebrew · H7836
שָׁחַר
Properly, to dawn , i.e. (figuratively) be (up) early at any task (with the implication of earnestness); by extension, to search for (with painstaking)
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שָׁחַר H7836
Pronunciation šāḥar
What does שָׁחַר (šāḥar) mean in the Bible?
שָׁחַר (šāḥar): Early rising implies earnest, diligent pursuit; dawn-action metaphor conveys sincere seeking or persistent striving.
Full entry for שָׁחַר (H7836) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7836?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and searched for (1), and those who seek me early (1), diligently (1), Earnestly I seek (1), foraging (1).
Where does שָׁחַר (šāḥar) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Job 7:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (5), Job (3), Psalms (2), Hosea (1).
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 and searched for 1× Psalms 78:34
and those who seek me early 1× Proverbs 8:17
diligently 1× Proverbs 13:24
Earnestly I seek 1× Psalms 63:1
foraging 1× Job 24:5
He who searches out 1× Proverbs 11:27
I sought you 1× Proverbs 7:15
seeks You 1× Isaiah 26:9
they {will} earnestly seek me 1× Proverbs 1:28
they will earnestly seek Me 1× Hosea 5:15
would earnestly seek 1× Job 8:5
You will seek me 1× Job 7:21
Show sample aligned rows
Job 7:21 וְשִׁ֖חֲרְתַּ֣נִי to You will seek me Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | first person common singular Job 8:5 תְּשַׁחֵ֣ר to would earnestly seek Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Job 24:5 מְשַׁחֲרֵ֣י to foraging Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct Psalms 63:1 אֲֽשַׁחֲ֫רֶ֥ךָּ to Earnestly I seek Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular Psalms 78:34 וְשִֽׁחֲרוּ־ to and searched for Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural Proverbs 1:28 יְ֝שַׁחֲרֻ֗נְנִי to they {will} earnestly seek me Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular, Paragogic nun Proverbs 7:15 לְשַׁחֵ֥ר to I sought you Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct Proverbs 8:17 וּ֝מְשַׁחֲרַ֗י to and those who seek me early Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct | first person common singular Proverbs 11:27 שֹׁ֣חֵֽר to He who searches out Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Proverbs 13:24 שִֽׁחֲר֥וֹ to diligently Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Job 7:21
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 5
Job 3 Psalms 2 Proverbs 5 Isaiah 1 Hosea 1
Source forms
אֲֽשַׁחֲ֫רֶ֥ךָּ 1x ’ăša·ḥă·re·kā Psalms 63:1
אֲשַֽׁחֲרֶ֑ךָּ 1x ’ă·ša·ḥă·re·kā Isaiah 26:9
וּ֝מְשַׁחֲרַ֗י 1x ū·mə·ša·ḥă·ray Proverbs 8:17
וְשִֽׁחֲרוּ־ 1x wə·ši·ḥă·rū- Psalms 78:34
וְשִׁ֖חֲרְתַּ֣נִי 1x wə·ši·ḥăr·ta·nî Job 7:21
יְ֝שַׁחֲרֻ֗נְנִי 1x yə·ša·ḥă·run·nî Proverbs 1:28
יְשַׁחֲרֻֽנְנִי׃ 1x yə·ša·ḥă·run·nî Hosea 5:15
לְשַׁחֵ֥ר 1x lə·ša·ḥêr Proverbs 7:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular 2x Psalms 63:1, Isaiah 26:9
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular, Paragogic nun 2x Proverbs 1:28, Hosea 5:15
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | first person common singular 1x Job 7:21
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural 1x Psalms 78:34
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct | first person common singular 1x Proverbs 8:17
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct 1x Proverbs 7:15
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 1x Job 8:5
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct 1x Job 24:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Early rising implies earnest, diligent pursuit; dawn-action metaphor conveys sincere seeking or persistent striving.
Strong's H7836
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Word forms 2 forms 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Proverbs 11:27 Source Gloss
properly, to dawn , i.e. (figuratively) be (up) early at any task (with the implication of earnestness); by extension, to search for (with painstaking)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Early rising implies earnest, diligent pursuit; dawn-action metaphor conveys sincere seeking or persistent striving.
properly, to dawn, i.e. (figuratively) be (up) early at any task (with the implication of earnestness); by extension, to search for (with painstaking) BDB: look early Usage: (do something) betimes, enquire early, rise (seek) betimes, seek diligently) early, in the morning).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 3
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 2×
Imperfect Job 8:5 1×
Participle active Job 24:5 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 1×
Participle active Prov 11:27 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
diligent searching or seeking with earnest effort and care
Showing 1 selected witness from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
שָׁחַר is a primitive root - no further derivation.
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