---
title: חָסֵר — needy · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חָסֵר (2638), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 18 times: needy. BDB 1906: adj. needy, lacking, in want of. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# חָסֵר

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«חָסֵר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **needy** — 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:** 18 times · **Key:** 2638 · **BDB:** חָסֵר²

### Glosses

lacking (9); \[is\].lacking (4); \[he.is\].lacking (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

needy [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2638/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

adj. needy, lacking, in want of [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2638/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** adj. needy, lacking, in want of—ח׳ abs. Ec 6:2; cstr. חֲסַר 1 S 21:16 + 13 times;—needy, in want of ח׳ משׁגעים אני 1 S 21:16 am I in want of madmen? 2 S 3:29 in need of bread, so Pr 12:9; usually חֲסַר־לֵב lacking understanding, sense Pr 6:32; 7:7; 9:4, 16; 10:13; 11:12; 12:11; 15:21; אָדָם ח׳־לֵב Pr 17:18; 24:30; נָּגִיד ח׳ תְּבוּנוֹת Pr 28:16; אֵינֶנּוּ חָסֵר לְנַפְשׁוֹ מִכֹּל וג׳ Ec 6:2 neither is he lacking for his soul in aught of (מן part.) all that he desireth.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 15 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (4 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (4 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חָסֵר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2638/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 9:4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.9.4/)

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מִי־פֶ֭תִי יָסֻ֣ר הֵ֑נָּה חֲסַר־לֵ֝֗ב אָ֣מְרָה לּֽוֹ׃

*Word for word:* who? \[is\].naive let.him.turn.aside here \[one\].lacking of.heart she.says to him

*JPS 1917:* 'Whoso is thoughtless, let him turn in hither'; as for him that lacketh understanding, she saith to him:

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[Proverbs 6:32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.6.32/)

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נֹאֵ֣ף אִשָּׁ֣ה חֲסַר־לֵ֑ב מַֽשְׁחִ֥ית נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹ ה֣וּא יַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃

*Word for word:* \[one.who\].commits.adultery a.woman \[is\].lacking of.heart \[one.who\].destroys self his.own he he does.it

*JPS 1917:* He that committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding; he doeth it that would destroy his own soul.

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