קָרֶה

# Analysis of קָרֶה (qareh) The Hebrew word קָרֶה (qareh) carries the meaning of "accident"—an unforeseen or unplanned occurrence. Based on the lexical data, this term appears exactly once in the biblical text, which limits our ability to observe variations in its use or application across different contexts. The singular occurrence suggests this was not a commonly employed term in biblical Hebrew, despite addressing a concept relevant to human experience. The word's presence in the biblical vocabulary is noteworthy because it represents a specific linguistic category: events understood as happening by chance rather than by design or divine command. The term "accident" distinguishes such occurrences from intentional actions or divinely ordained events—a conceptual distinction that would have been meaningful to biblical writers and readers navigating questions about causation, responsibility, and divine providence. However, without additional contextual examples, we cannot determine the precise nuance the biblical author intended when employing this particular term or how it relates to other Hebrew words expressing similar concepts.