976. bochan
Lexical Summary
bochan: Test, trial, examination

Original Word: בֹּחן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bochan
Pronunciation: bo'-khan
Phonetic Spelling: (bo'-khan)
KJV: tried
NASB: tested, testing
Word Origin: [from H974 (בָּחַן - test)]

1. trial

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
tried

From bachan; trial -- tried.

see HEBREW bachan

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from bachan
Definition
a testing
NASB Translation
tested (1), testing (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
בֹּ֫חַן noun [masculine] testing, Isaiah 28:16 אֶבֶן בֹּחַן a tested, tried stone, i.e. approved for use as a foundation-stone. On Ezekiel 21:18 ᵑ0 see foregoing near the end.

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Context

בֹּחן (bochan) appears once, in Isaiah 28:16, describing the stone Yahweh sets in Zion as “a tested stone.” The term signals that the stone has passed every examination and is wholly reliable as the foundation for God’s redemptive plan.

Historical Background

In ancient Near Eastern architecture, builders scrutinized cornerstone candidates for flaws, discarding any that might compromise structural integrity. Isaiah’s audience—familiar with Solomon’s Temple and the massive quarry-hewn stones of Jerusalem’s fortifications—understood that a “tested stone” signified absolute trustworthiness amid political upheaval from Assyrian aggression (Isaiah 28:1–13).

Prophetic Significance

Isaiah contrasts God’s “tested stone” with Judah’s misplaced confidence in foreign alliances (“a covenant with death,” Isaiah 28:15). The prophet’s oracle stands as a call to renounce human strategies and rest upon the divinely approved foundation. The imagery anticipates a Messianic figure whose reliability supplants every inferior refuge.

Christological Fulfillment

New Testament writers identify Jesus Christ with Isaiah’s tested cornerstone:
Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6 quote Isaiah 28:16 to affirm that faith in Christ averts shame.
Ephesians 2:20 portrays Him as “Christ Jesus Himself… the cornerstone,” joining Jew and Gentile in one spiritual house.

By meeting every demand of the law, resisting every temptation, and conquering death, Christ embodies בֹּחן—the One proven flawless through trial.

Apostolic Witness

Peter invokes the passage before the Sanhedrin: “This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone’” (Acts 4:11). He presents Christ as God’s definitive standard, validated by resurrection. The apostolic preaching thus roots salvation, ecclesiology, and eschatology in the tested Stone.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Assurance: God provides an enduring foundation; believers need never fear collapse (Isaiah 28:16b).
2. Faith versus Works: Reliance on the tested Stone supersedes all self-derived security (Romans 9:32–33).
3. Unity: Every living stone in God’s house aligns with Christ’s plumb line, erasing ethnic and social barriers (Ephesians 2:19–22).
4. Eschatological Stability: The unshakable cornerstone guarantees a kingdom that cannot be moved (Hebrews 12:28).

Ministry and Pastoral Application

• Preaching: Highlight Christ as the only sure foundation amid cultural uncertainty.
• Counseling: Direct anxious believers to the tested Stone whose integrity undergirds their identity.
• Church Planting: Measure doctrine and practice against the cornerstone, ensuring structural faithfulness.
• Discipleship: Teach emerging leaders to submit plans to Christ’s standard, avoiding the “unstable ground” of pragmatism.

Worship and Hymnody

Historic hymns—“The Church’s One Foundation,” “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”—draw directly from Isaiah’s imagery, reminding congregations that their security rests on the Stone God Himself examined and approved.

Summary

בֹּחן magnifies God’s provision of a flawlessly vetted foundation in Jesus Christ. The single Old Testament occurrence radiates through redemptive history, inviting every generation to build, rest, and rejoice upon the tested Stone who will never fail.

Forms and Transliterations
בֹּ֜חַן בחן bō·ḥan Bochan bōḥan
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 28:16
HEB: אָ֑בֶן אֶ֣בֶן בֹּ֜חַן פִּנַּ֤ת יִקְרַת֙
NAS: a stone, a tested stone,
KJV: for a foundation a stone, a tried stone,
INT: A stone stone A tested cornerstone A costly

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 976
1 Occurrence


bō·ḥan — 1 Occ.

975
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