חָסֵר
cha.ser
lacking
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# H2638 (חָסֵר): The Concept of Lacking in Biblical Hebrew The Hebrew word *cha.ser* denotes a state of deficiency or absence—something that is lacking or missing. With seventeen occurrences throughout the biblical text, this term functions as a straightforward descriptor of incompleteness or want. The word captures the basic human experience of not having what is needed or expected, whether material, physical, or abstract in nature. The relative frequency of this word (17 occurrences) suggests it held moderate importance in biblical discourse. Rather than being a rare theological term or an everyday word, *cha.ser* appears consistently enough to indicate that describing states of lack or insufficiency was a recurring concern in biblical writing. This pattern suggests the concept was relevant across multiple contexts and literary traditions within the Hebrew Bible, making it a useful lens for understanding how ancient Hebrew speakers and writers conceptualized absence and need. The simplicity and directness of this term—without additional data pointing to figurative, metaphorical, or specialized meanings—indicates that *cha.ser* primarily functioned as a literal descriptor. Its significance lies in its utility for depicting real conditions of deficiency that affected individuals and communities in ancient Israel, making it foundational vocabulary for expressing fundamental human experiences of want and incompleteness.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
17 total occurrences across the text
He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding. He who does it destroys his own soul.
Proverbs 7:7I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
Proverbs 9:4“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
Proverbs 9:16“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” as for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
Proverbs 10:13Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.
Proverbs 10:21The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.
Proverbs 11:12One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.
Proverbs 12:9Better is he who is little known, and has a servant, than he who honors himself, and lacks bread.
Proverbs 12:11He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.
Proverbs 15:21Folly is joy to one who is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding keeps his way straight.
Proverbs 17:18A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.
Proverbs 24:30I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding:
Proverbs 28:16A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment. One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days.
Ecclesiastes 6:2a man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
1 Samuel 21:15Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?”
2 Samuel 3:29Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”
1 Kings 11:22Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you seek to go to your own country?” He answered, “Nothing, however only let me depart.”