---
title: חָכַם — be wise · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חָכַם (2449), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 27 times: be wise. BDB 1906: vb. be wise. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# חָכַם

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«חָכַם» in the Tanakh dictionary: **be wise** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 27 times · **Key:** 2449 · **BDB:** חָכַם

### Glosses

be.wise (2); it.is.wise (2); you.are.wise (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

be wise [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2449/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. be wise [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2449/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** vb. be wise (NH id.; Aramaic ܚܟܰܡ, חֲכַם id.; Zinj. חכמה wisdom, DHMSendsch. 57; Assyrian ḫakâmu, know (with exceptional חֿ v. DlPr 178 f.); Arabic حَكَمَ restrain from acting in an evil manner, judge, govern; iv. make firm, sound, free from defect by the exercise of skill)— Pf. ח׳ Pr 23:15; 3 fs. חָֽכְמָה Zc 9:2; הָכַמְתָּ Pr 9:12(×2), etc. + 3 times Pf.; Impf. יֶחְכַּם Pr 9:9; 21:11; וַיֶּחְכַּם 1 K 5:11; יֶחְכָּ֑ם Pr 20:1 +; וֶ֯חְכָּ֑ם Pr 13:20; תֶּחְכַּם Pr 19:20; אֶחְכָּ֑מָה Ec 7:23; pl. יֶחְכָּ֑מוּ Jb 32:9; Imv. חֲכַם Pr 27:11; חֲכָ֑ם Pr 6:6; 23:19 + 13:20 Kt; חֲכָ֑מוּ Pr 8:33;—be or become wise, act wisely Dt 32:29 (poet.) 1 K 5:11 Jb 32:9 Pr 6:6; 8:33; 9:9, 12(×2); 13:20; 19:20; 20:1; 21:11; 23:19; 27:11 Ec 2:15; 7:23 Zc 9:2; אם חכם לבך if thy mind be wise Pr 23:15; c. acc. שׁחכמתי Ec 2:19 wherein I have acted wisely. Impf. יְחַכֵּם ψ 105:22; sf. יְחַכְּמֵנוּ Jb 35:11; תְּחַכְּמֵנִי ψ 119:98; all make wise, teach wisdom, c. acc. Pt. made wise, intensive, as it were the embodiment of wisdom חוֹבֵר חֲבָרִים מְחֻכָּם ψ 58:6, pl. הֵמָּה חֲכָמִים מְחֻכָּמִים Pr 30:24 (of intelligent animals). Pt. cstr. מַחְכִּימַת פֶּ֑תִי ψ 19:8 making wise the simple. Impf. נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ Ex 1:10 (E) let us deal wisely (shrewdly) toward it (the people); 2 ms. תִּתְחַכַּם Ec 7:16 make or shew thyself wise.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 26 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חָכַם» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2449/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Job 32:9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.32.9/)

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לֹֽא־רַבִּ֥ים יֶחְכָּ֑מוּ וּ֝זְקֵנִ֗ים יָבִ֥ינוּ מִשְׁפָּֽט׃

*Word for word:* not many.\[people\] they.are.wise and old.\[people\] they.understand justice

*JPS 1917:* It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged that discern judgment.

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[Proverbs 8:33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.8.33/)

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שִׁמְע֖וּ מוּסָ֥ר וַחֲכָ֗מוּ וְאַל־תִּפְרָֽעוּ׃

*Word for word:* listen.to correction and act.wisely and do.not neglect.\[it\]

*JPS 1917:* Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

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