yakar · be precious

What it means

yakar (יָקַר) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “be precious”.

Valuable, highly esteemed; be worth much in someone's eyes.

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. To be of great worth to someone.
2. To make something or someone seen seldom, kept scarce.
3. The price that others put on someone.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

How it is translated

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

• precious ×4
• be precious ×2
• I was valued ×1
• I will make scarce ×1
• Make your foot rare ×1
• costly ×1
• esteemed ×1

Related words

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

Where it appears

• 1 Samuel×2
• 2 Kings×2
• Psalms×3
• Proverbs×1
• Isaiah×2
• Zechariah×1

• 1 Samuel 18:30

  The commanders of the Philistines went out; and it would be, as often as they went out, that David acted more wisely than all the servants of Saul, and his name was highly esteemed.

• 1 Samuel 26:21

  Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, for I will not harm you again, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted foolishly and have erred very greatly.”

• 2 Kings 1:13

  Again he sent a third commander of fifty with his fifty. The third commander of fifty went up and came and knelt on his knees before Elijah and pleaded with him and spoke to him, “Man of Elohim, please, let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your eyes.

• 2 Kings 1:14

  Look, fire came down from the heavens and consumed the two first commanders of fifty and their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your eyes.”

• Psalms 49:8

  for costly is the ransom of their soul, and it ceases forever,

• Psalms 72:14

  From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and precious will be their blood in his eyes.

• Psalms 139:17

  And to me how precious are your thoughts, El; how vast is the sum of them.

• Proverbs 25:17

  Make your foot rare in the house of your neighbor, lest he be filled with you and hate you.

• Isaiah 13:12

  I will make scarce mortals, more than pure gold, and human beings more than the fine gold of Ophir.

• Isaiah 43:4

  Because you are precious in my eyes, you are honored, and I have loved you; and I will give human beings in your place, and peoples in exchange for your soul.

• Zechariah 11:13

  And YHWH said to me, “Throw it to the potter, the magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” And I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of YHWH, to the potter.