בָּחַן (ba.chan)
ba.chan
to test
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 24 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb bachan means to test or examine, often with the specific image of assaying metal. Its primary sense involves scrutinizing something to determine its true quality, much like a refiner heats gold to burn away impurities. This concrete action serves as a metaphor for spiritual and moral assessment throughout the Old Testament.
Sources highlight that bachan is frequently used when God examines the human heart, such as in Psalm 17:3 where David invites this divine scrutiny. The word appears in contexts of both judgment and refinement, including Jeremiah’s reference to God testing people like metal in a furnace (Jeremiah 9:7). It also describes humans testing God, an act of unbelief recorded in Malachi 3:10.
The term carries significant weight because it implies a process that reveals what is hidden. In Job 23:10, the patriarch declares that after being tested, he will emerge like pure gold. This usage distinguishes bachan from simple observation; it suggests an active investigation that results in proven character or exposed flaw.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word bachan carries the vivid image of assaying metal. Just as a refiner heats gold to burn away impurities, this verb describes an active process of examination intended to reveal true quality. In Scripture, God is often depicted using this method not to trap us, but to purify our character and confirm our faith.
This understanding brings comfort during difficult seasons. When life feels like a furnace, remember that the One examining your heart sees your integrity. As David prayed in Psalm 17:3, he invited God to try him because he knew his conscience was clear. This divine scrutiny is an act of love, designed to refine us rather than condemn us.
Ultimately, the goal of this testing is purity. Job declared that after being tried, he would emerge like gold (Job 23:10). We can trust that God’s examination exposes what is hidden only so that we might stand fully revealed in His light, free from pretense and grounded in truth.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 24 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- test/ me2×
- [who] tests2×
- you will be tested1×
- you test/ him1×
- you have tested/ us1×
- you have tested1×
- they tested/ me1×
- they test1×
- they have tested1×
- so/ they may be tested1×
- it tests1×
- he will be tested1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בֹּחֵ֣ן3×
- תִּבְחָ֑ן2×
- תִּבָּחֵ֑נוּ1×
- תִּבְחָנֶֽ/נּוּ\׃1×
- כִּ/בְחֹ֣ן1×
- יִבָּחֵ֣ן1×
- יִ֫בְחָ֥ן1×
- יִ֝בְחֲנ֗וּ1×
- וּ/בֹחֵ֖ן1×
- וּ/בָחַנְתָּ֥1×
- וּ/בָחַנְתָּ֖1×
- וּ/בְחָנ֤וּ/נִי1×
Key Verses
-
Job 23:10
But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I will come out like gold.
Job expresses confidence that the refining process will result in purity like gold.
-
Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be enough room for.
God uniquely invites His people to test Him regarding the pouring out of blessings.