chacham · wise

What it means

chacham (חָכָם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “wise”.

Skilled, expert.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Someone who knows how to live well, revering YHWH.
2. Skilled at a craft.
3. A king's advisers.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Wise; also skilled in a craft, and sometimes shrewd. BDB: wise, that is, intelligent, skillful or artful. It comes from חָכַם, “to be wise”; of the same family is חָכְמָה, “wisdom” (H2451).

• The wise son in Proverbs Proverbs 10:1Proverbs 9:9
• The wise men of Egypt Genesis 41:8
• The skilled craftsmen of the dwelling Exodus 28:3Exodus 36:4
• A wise woman 2 Samuel 14:2
• Wise for evil: Jonadab 2 Samuel 13:3

How we translate it

“Wise” 131 times, “wiser” 2, “wisest” 1, “skilled” 2. Even for the craftsmen of the dwelling it is mostly “wise” (“the wise of heart”, Exodus 28:3), as the Hebrew says. In 2 Samuel 13:3 it is left “wise”, with a note that there it can mean shrewd.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• wise ×131
• skilled ×2
• wiser ×2
• unwise ×1
• wisest ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×3
• Exodus×9
• Deuteronomy×5
• Judges×1
• 2 Samuel×4
• 1 Kings×3
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×6
• Esther×2
• Job×8
• Psalms×2
• Proverbs×46
• Ecclesiastes×21
• Isaiah×9
• Jeremiah×11
• Ezekiel×3
• Hosea×2
• Obadiah×1

• Genesis 41:8

  In the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

• Genesis 41:33

  Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise and set him over the land of Egypt.

• Genesis 41:39

  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since Elohim has made known to you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

• Exodus 7:11

  Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.

• Exodus 28:3

  And you shall speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, that they make the garments of Aaron to consecrate him to serve as priest for me.

• Exodus 31:6

  And I, look, have appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all the wise of heart I have put wisdom, so that they make all that I have commanded you:

• Exodus 35:10

  And let all the wise of heart among you come and make all that YHWH has commanded:

• Exodus 35:25

  And every woman wise of heart spun with her hands, and they brought what they had spun: the blue and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen.

• Exodus 36:1

  “And Bezalel and Oholiab and every man wise of heart, in whom YHWH has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that YHWH has commanded.”

• Exodus 36:2

  And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every man wise of heart, in whose heart YHWH had put wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him to come near to the work to do it.

• Exodus 36:4

  And all the wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each man from his work that they were doing,

• Exodus 36:8

  And all the wise of heart among those who did the work made the dwelling with ten curtains of twisted fine linen and blue and purple and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of a skilled craftsman, he made them.

• Deuteronomy 1:13

  Provide for yourselves wise, discerning, and known men from your tribes, and I will set them as your heads.”

• Deuteronomy 1:15

  So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and known men, and set them as heads over you, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens, and supervisors for your tribes.

• Deuteronomy 4:6

  Keep them and carry them out, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the peoples, who will hear all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

• Deuteronomy 16:19

  You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

• Deuteronomy 32:6

  Is it to YHWH you repay this, foolish and unwise people? Is he not your father, who acquired you? He made you and established you.

• Judges 5:29

  The wisest of her princesses answer her; she too repeats her words to herself:

• 2 Samuel 13:3

  Amnon had a companion whose name was Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very wise man.

• 2 Samuel 14:2

  Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and he said to her, “Please mourn; put on, please, mourning clothes and do not anoint yourself with oil, and be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for these many days.

• 2 Samuel 14:20

  To change the face of the matter your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of Elohim, to know all that is on the earth.”

• 2 Samuel 20:16

  A wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please say to Joab, ‘Come near here, so that I may speak to you.’”

• 1 Kings 2:9

  But now do not leave him unpunished, for you are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him, and you shall bring down his gray hair with blood to Sheol.”

• 1 Kings 3:12

  look, I have done according to your words; look, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that like you there has not been anyone before you, and after you none will arise like you.

• 1 Kings 5:7

  And it happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be YHWH today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.”

• 1 Chronicles 22:15

  You have with you in abundance those who do the work: stonecutters, and workers in stone and wood, and all who are skilled in every kind of work.

• 2 Chronicles 2:7

  So now send me a wise man to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, with the wise men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared.

• 2 Chronicles 2:12

  Huram said, “Blessed be YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, knowing prudence and understanding, who will build a house for YHWH and a house for his kingdom.

• 2 Chronicles 2:13

  So now I have sent a wise man, knowing understanding, Huram-abi,

• 2 Chronicles 2:14

  the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre; he knows how to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in wood, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, and to engrave any engraving and to devise any design that may be assigned to him, with your wise men and the wise men of my lord David your father.

• Esther 1:13

  And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for such was the king’s practice before all who knew law and judgment;

• Esther 6:13

  And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends all that had happened to him; and his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the offspring of the Jews, you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before him.”

• Job 5:13

  who catches the wise in their craftiness, and the counsel of the twisted is rushed headlong.

• Job 9:4

  Wise in heart and mighty in strength, who has hardened himself against him and remained at peace?

• Job 15:2

  “Will a wise man answer with knowledge of wind, and fill his belly with the east wind?

• Job 15:18

  what wise men tell, and have not hidden, received from their fathers;

• Job 17:10

  But all of you, come back and come, please, and I will not find a wise man among you.

• Job 34:2

  “Hear, wise men, my words, and you who know, give ear to me.

• Job 34:34

  Men of heart will say to me, and the wise man who hears me:

• Job 37:24

  Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any of the wise of heart.”

And 97 more times.