StrongerBible

ḥakham

חָכָם

HebrewH2450wise, skilled, ...

Appears 138 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 41:8Gen 41:33Gen 41:39Exo 7:11Exo 28:3Exo 31:6Exo 35:10Exo 35:25Exo 36:1Exo 36:2Exo 36:4Exo 36:8Deu 1:13Deu 1:15Deu 4:6Deu 16:19Deu 32:6Jdg 5:292Sa 13:32Sa 14:22Sa 14:202Sa 20:161Ki 2:91Ki 3:121Ki 5:7(21)1Ch 22:152Ch 2:7(6) (2×)2Ch 2:12(11)2Ch 2:14(13) (2×)Est 1:13Est 6:13Job 5:13Job 9:4Job 15:18Job 34:2Job 37:24Psa 49:10(11)Pro 1:6Pro 10:8Pro 11:29Pro 14:1Pro 16:21Isa 3:3Isa 19:11Isa 19:12Isa 29:14Jer 9:17(16)Jer 10:7Jer 50:35Jer 51:57
Root family
Word studykha-KHAMadjective

What ḥakham means

wise: having the practical good sense and skill to live, work, and act well

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

At its core this word describes a person who has the skill of living well. The same word covers a craftsman whose hands know their trade, a counselor who reads a situation rightly, and the godly person of the wisdom books who has learned how life actually works and acts accordingly. The thread running through all of them is competence applied to real life, not abstract cleverness. Hebrew did not split practical skill from moral wisdom into two words; one word held both, because both are a kind of mastery.

The wisdom books (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) make this the word for the ideal person: someone who fears God, takes correction, holds the tongue, and chooses the long view over the quick reward. It is the steady opposite of the fool, and the two are set against each other on nearly every page of Proverbs.

The same competence can be turned to skilled work, as with the artisans who built the tabernacle, and it can name a recognized class of professionals, the court counselors and astrologers whose job was expert guidance. When that skill serves a selfish or godless end, the same word shades toward mere cleverness or cunning, which is why context, not the word itself, tells you whether the wisdom is admirable.

Nuances

1awise in the way of the wisdom tradition: discerning, teachable, and morally skilled at living, set against the fool
Deu 4:6Psa 107:43Pro 1:5Pro 3:7Pro 9:8Pro 9:9Pro 10:1Pro 10:8Pro 10:14Pro 11:30Pro 12:15Pro 12:18
1bskilled at a craft: a workman or artisan whose hands have the know-how to do expert work
Exo 28:3Exo 31:6Exo 35:10Exo 35:25Exo 36:1Exo 36:2Exo 36:4Exo 36:81Ch 22:152Ch 2:7(6) (2×)2Ch 2:132Ch 2:14(13) (2×)
1ca professional sage: one of the recognized class of court counselors, advisers, and diviners whose trade is expert guidance
Gen 41:8Exo 7:11Est 1:13Est 6:13Isa 3:3Isa 19:11Isa 19:12Isa 29:14Isa 44:25Jer 9:17(16)Jer 10:7Jer 18:18
1dshrewd or crafty: clever skill turned to scheming or self-serving ends
2Sa 13:31Ki 2:9Job 5:13Isa 5:21Jer 4:22Jer 8:8Jer 8:9

What scholars say about ḥakham

The standard lexica treat חָכָם as a single adjective covering a spectrum of competence rather than several unrelated words. BDB and HALOT list the skilled artisan, the shrewd or clever person, the experienced counselor and court sage, and the ethically and religiously wise person of the wisdom literature as facets of one meaning. TDOT and TWOT stress that Hebrew wisdom is fundamentally practical, the ability to master a task or a way of life, and that in the wisdom tradition it is rooted in the fear of the LORD. The professional sense (the cadre of court "wise men," counselors and diviners of Egypt, Babylon, and Persia) is widely recognized as a developed use of the same word.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. חָכָםlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. חָכָםlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. חָכָםlexicon
  • Fox, M. V., "חכם", TDOT (Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament), vol. 4theological-dictionary
  • Goldberg, L., "חָכַם", TWOT (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)theological-dictionary

All attested forms of חָכָם

m s absolute

חָכָם

Gen 41:33, Gen 41:39, Deu 4:6, Deu 32:6, 2Sa 13:3, 2Sa 14:20, 1Ki 2:9, 1Ki 3:12

m p absolute

חֲכָמִים

Exo 7:11, Exo 36:4, Deu 1:13, Deu 1:15, Deu 16:19, 2Ch 2:7, Est 1:13, Job 5:13

m s construct

חֲכַם

Exo 31:6, Exo 35:10, Exo 36:1, Exo 36:2, Exo 36:8, Job 9:4, Pro 10:8, Pro 11:29

m p construct

חַכְמֵי

Exo 28:3, 2Ch 2:14, Job 37:24, Isa 19:11, Jer 10:7

m p construct

חֲכָמֶיהָ

Gen 41:8, Jer 50:35, Jer 51:57, Ezk 27:9

f p construct

חַכְמוֹת

Jdg 5:29, Pro 14:1

f s absolute

חֲכָמָה

2Sa 14:2, 2Sa 20:16

m p construct

חֲכָמֶיךָ

2Ch 2:14, Isa 19:12

m p construct

חֲכָמָיו

Est 6:13, Isa 29:14

f p absolute

חֲכָמוֹת

Jer 9:17

f s construct

חַכְמַת

Exo 35:25

m p construct

חֲכָמַיִךְ

Ezk 27:8