Lexical Summary sachar: merchants, customer, trade Original Word: סָחַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance go about, merchantman, occupy with, pant, trade, traffic A primitive root; to travel round (specifically as a pedlar); intensively, to palpitate -- go about, merchant(-man), occupy with, pant, trade, traffick. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to go around or about, travel about NASB Translation commercial (1), customer (3), customers (2), merchant (1), merchants (6), roving about (1), throbs (1), trade (3), traders (2), trafficked (1). Topical Lexicon Overview of Usage The verb סָחַר appears twenty-one times in the Old Testament, spanning narrative, poetry, wisdom, and prophetic literature. In every setting it conveys movement for the sake of gain—literal or figurative—so that ideas of bartering, circulating, and roaming are never far apart. Through the breadth of these texts Scripture presents both the blessing of diligent enterprise and the peril of profit sought without reference to God. Commerce and Covenant in Genesis • Genesis 23:16 introduces the marketplace motif as Abraham weighs out silver “according to the standard of the merchants,” showing that covenant faith can operate honorably inside existing economic systems. National Trade under Solomon 1 Kings 10:28 with its parallels in 2 Chronicles 1:16 and 9:14 records a sophisticated import–export network: “Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt… The royal merchants purchased them from the dealers at the prevailing price”. Under the king’s wisdom, international trade enriches Israel and spreads her renown, yet later prophets recall this period to warn against trusting riches rather than the covenant God. Poetry and Personal Experience Psalm 38:10 transfers the motion of trading to the inner life: “My heart throbs, my strength fails me.” The psalmist’s circling heartbeat mirrors caravans on the move, capturing disorientation when sin and sickness bear down. The language reminds worshipers that the One who governs distant markets also sees the unseen traffic of the soul. A Model of Industrious Wisdom Proverbs 31:14 commends the virtuous woman: “She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.” The comparison sanctifies enterprise as a means of blessing the household. Her diligence, foresight, and willingness to cross distances for provision establish a paradigm for stewardship in every generation. Oracles Concerning Tyre Isaiah 23 twice addresses Tyre’s traders (verses 2, 8), portraying a cosmopolitan hub whose wares filled every port. Yet the Lord of hosts plans her downfall “to desecrate all glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth” (Isaiah 23:9). Commerce without covenant breeds pride destined for judgment. Babylon’s Final Collapse Isaiah 47:15 images Babylon’s astrologers as “merchants with whom you have labored from your youth; each wanders in his own direction; none can save you.” Profit pursued in occult self-reliance ends in abandonment. Judah’s Desolation and Exile Jeremiah 14:18 laments priests and prophets who “travel to a land they do not know.” The word pictures leaders roaming helplessly when covenant blessing is withdrawn; spiritual famine accompanies economic and military collapse. Ezekiel’s Marketplace Panorama Chapter 27 marshals סָחַר eleven times to catalog Tyre’s global partners—from Tarshish silver to Arabia lambs—only to conclude: “The merchants among the nations hiss at you; you have become an object of horror and will be no more” (Ezekiel 27:36). Ezekiel 38:13 later shows Sheba, Dedan, and “the merchants of Tarshish” questioning Gog’s plunder. The prophet thus frames the end-time conflict in commercial terms: nations weigh invasion in the scales of profit, but God alone determines history’s balance sheet. Eschatological Implications By tracing סָחַר from Genesis to Ezekiel, Scripture moves from caravans that rescue a family to merchants stunned by Tyre’s ruin, revealing a moral arc: commerce thrives when submitted to divine order and collapses when elevated above it. Revelation echoes these themes as Babylon the Great falls and “the merchants of the earth weep” (Revelation 18:11), showing that the prophetic warning attached to סָחַר reaches its climax in the final judgment. Practical Ministry Application 1. Work and trade are dignified callings when exercised under God’s sovereignty (Proverbs 31; Colossians 3:23). Thus סָחַר invites God’s people to conduct every transaction—economic, relational, or spiritual—in the fear of the Lord, anticipating the day when all trading ceases and “the glory and honor of the nations” are brought into the New Jerusalem. Forms and Transliterations וְהַסֹּחֲרִ֖ים וְיִסְחֲר֣וּ וְסֹחֲרֵ֨י וּסְחָר֔וּהָ והסחרים ויסחרו וסחרוה וסחרי לַסֹּחֵֽר׃ לסחר׃ סְ֭חַרְחַר סָחֲר֥וּ סֹֽחֲרִ֗ים סֹֽחֲרִים֙ סֹחֲרֵ֣י סֹחֲרֶ֙יה֙ סֹחֲרַ֣יִךְ סֹחֲרָֽיִךְ׃ סֹחֵ֥ר סֹחַרְתֵּ֖ךְ סֹחַרְתֵּ֛ךְ סוֹחֵ֑ר סוחר סחר סחרו סחרחר סחרי סחריה סחריך סחריך׃ סחרים סחרתך תִּסְחָֽרוּ׃ תסחרו׃ las·sō·ḥêr lassoCher lassōḥêr sā·ḥă·rū sachaRu sāḥărū sə·ḥar·ḥar Secharchar səḥarḥar sō·ḥă·ra·yiḵ sō·ḥă·rā·yiḵ sō·ḥă·rê sō·ḥă·reh sō·ḥă·rîm sō·ḥar·têḵ sō·ḥêr sō·w·ḥêr sochaRayich sochaRei sochaReih sochaRim socharTech soCher sōḥărayiḵ sōḥărāyiḵ sōḥărê sōḥăreh sōḥărîm sōḥartêḵ sōḥêr sōwḥêr tis·ḥā·rū tisCharu tisḥārū ū·sə·ḥā·rū·hā usechaRuha ūsəḥārūhā vehassochaRim vesochaRei veyischaRu wə·has·sō·ḥă·rîm wə·sō·ḥă·rê wə·yis·ḥă·rū wəhassōḥărîm wəsōḥărê wəyisḥărūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 23:16 HEB: כֶּ֔סֶף עֹבֵ֖ר לַסֹּחֵֽר׃ NAS: of silver, commercial standard. KJV: current [money] with the merchant. INT: of silver standard commercial Genesis 34:10 Genesis 34:21 Genesis 37:28 Genesis 42:34 1 Kings 10:28 2 Chronicles 1:16 2 Chronicles 9:14 Psalm 38:10 Proverbs 31:14 Isaiah 23:2 Isaiah 23:8 Isaiah 47:15 Jeremiah 14:18 Ezekiel 27:12 Ezekiel 27:16 Ezekiel 27:18 Ezekiel 27:21 Ezekiel 27:21 Ezekiel 27:36 Ezekiel 38:13 21 Occurrences |
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