918. badaq

Lexical Summary

badaq: To inspect, examine, search

Original Word: בָּדק
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: badaq
Pronunciation: bah-dak'
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-dak')
KJV: repair
NASB: restore
Word Origin: [a primitive root, to gap open; used only as a denominative from H919 (בֶּדֶק - damages)]

1. to mend a breach

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

repair

A primitive root; to gap open; used only as a denominative from bedeq; to mend a breach -- repair.

see HEBREW bedeq

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
denominative verb from bedeq
Definition
to mend, repair
NASB Translation
restore (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[בָּדַק] verb denominative mend, repair, only

Qal Infinitive construct לִבְדוֺק וּלְחַזֵּק הַבָּ֑יִת2Chronicles 34:10.

[בָּדַק]

verb denominative mend fissures (of); —

Qal Infinitive construct לִדְבּוֺק2Chronicles 34:10 (+ וּלְחַזֵּק; accusative הַבָּ֑יִת).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

בָּדק (Strong’s Hebrew 918) conveys the idea of repairing, mending, or making sound again. Although it occurs only once in the Hebrew canon, its placement in 2 Chronicles 34:10 provides a rich window into the spiritual reforms under King Josiah, where physical restoration of the temple paralleled a deeper call to covenant fidelity.

Scriptural Context

Josiah’s eighteenth-year reform unfolds in 2 Chronicles 34. The king commands that the temple funds be placed “into the hands of the foremen supervising the work on the house of the LORD. These men in turn paid the workers who restored and repaired the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 34:10). The verb translated “repaired” is בָּדק. Its solitary use heightens its force: the Chronicler deliberately signals that the workmen were not merely patching cosmetic flaws but restoring sacred space to integrity after decades of neglect.

Historical Setting

1. Temple neglect. Manasseh and Amon’s idolatry (2 Chronicles 33) had damaged both the structure and the nation’s spiritual fabric.
2. Covenant rediscovery. Shortly after the repair begins, Hilkiah finds the Book of the Law (34:14–15). The physical repair becomes the catalyst for a spiritual awakening that culminates in renewed covenant vows (34:31).
3. National renewal. Funds come from “Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, as well as all Judah and Benjamin” (34:9). The repair thus unites the formerly divided tribes, prefiguring the prophetic hope of a restored Israel.

Theological Significance

1. Holiness and wholeness. בָּדק underscores that holiness involves wholeness; God’s sanctuary must be structurally sound if it is to symbolize covenant purity (compare Leviticus 19:2).
2. Restoration precedes revelation. The discovery of Scripture follows the act of repair, suggesting that obedience to known light often precedes fresh illumination (Psalm 119:60, 130).
3. Stewardship of sacred trust. The workmen are portrayed as faithful and transparent, needing “no accounting with them, because they acted with integrity” (2 Kings 22:7, parallel narrative). בָּדק therefore embodies responsible stewardship over God’s resources.

Ministry Applications

• Facilities and faith. Local congregations that care for physical meeting spaces reflect respect for God’s presence and facilitate corporate worship free from distraction.
• Reformation model. Josiah’s sequence—repair, rediscover, recommit—offers a template for church renewal: practical obedience opens the door to doctrinal recovery and covenant revival.
• Personal discipleship. The believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Attending to physical and moral integrity is part of honoring God, mirroring the בָּדק principle.

Typological Foreshadowing

The repairing of the house anticipates the greater work of Jesus Christ, who declared, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Christ’s resurrection secures the ultimate בָּדק—a perfected, indestructible dwelling of God among His people (Revelation 21:3).

Conclusion

Though בָּדק appears but once, its theological resonance is far-reaching. It marks a decisive moment when material restoration, moral reform, and renewed revelation converged to prepare Judah for covenant renewal. For the contemporary church, it remains a call to pursue integrity—structural, spiritual, and communal—under the lordship of the One who is making “all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Forms and Transliterations

לִבְדּ֥וֹק לבדוק liḇ·dō·wq liḇdōwq livDok

Englishman's Concordance

2 Chronicles 34:10
HEB: בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֔ה לִבְדּ֥וֹק וּלְחַזֵּ֖ק הַבָּֽיִת׃
NAS: used it to restore and repair
KJV: of the LORD, to repair and amend
INT: the house of the LORD to restore and repair the house

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 918
1 Occurrence

liḇ·dō·wq — 1 Occ.