דרש, לדרש ה', לדרש א-להים

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דרש
Part of SpeechVerb
Occurrences164
Possible Meanings
  1. Inquire about the future
  2. Pray
  3. Religiously believe in
Related Words_

Possible Meanings

The root דרש appears in 164 places in Tanakh and is used consistently with the meaning of to seek or ask. In almost one-third of these verses, it is God (ה', א-להים) who is being sought, either directly or through an intermediary.1 However, God cannot be physically seen or found, and this leads to different understandings of the manner and purpose of "seeking God."

Biblical verses can be adduced to support a number of possibilities:2

1. Inquire about the future or the unknown

2. Pray

3. Religiously believe in (worship of the heart)

Disputed Cases

Bereshit 25:22 – "וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת ה'"

Shemot 18:15 – "כִּי יָבֹא אֵלַי הָעָם לִדְרֹשׁ אֱ-לֹהִים" – see Moshe's Manifold Responsibilities

Idioms

Relationship to Synonyms

Semantic Evolution

Intra-Biblical

Rabbinic Hebrew

Modern Hebrew

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