H3368 H3368
Precious, costly, rare; of great value whether material, personal, or in scarcity
An adjective spanning the full range of what humans prize. Most often it qualifies stones and building materials -- the 'costly stones' of Solomon's temple foundations (1 Kgs 5:17; 7:9-11) and the 'precious cornerstone' of Isaiah 28:16. But it also dignifies persons: the sons of Zion are 'precious' as fine gold (Lam 4:2), and noble women stand among the king's honored ones (Ps 45:9). A single striking use in 1 Samuel 3:1 turns the word toward scarcity -- the word of the Lord was 'rare' in those days. German 'selten' (rare) captures this last shade, while French 'precieux' and Spanish 'preciosa' cover the dominant material-value sense.
Senses
1. precious, costly, valuable — The primary and most frequent sense: precious, costly, of great material or intrinsic worth. Applied to building stones (1 Kgs 5:17; 7:9-11), vessels, wealth (Prov 1:13; 12:27), and the abstract value of wisdom and life itself. Isaiah 28:16 speaks of a 'precious cornerstone,' combining material and theological value. Spanish 'costosas/preciosa' and French 'precieux' converge here, as do virtually all target languages, reflecting cross-linguistic stability for this core meaning. 33×
AR["الثَمينِ","الْكَرِيمِ","ثَمين","ثَمِينَةً","ثَمِينَةٌ","ثَمِينَةٍ","كَريماً","كَريمٌ","كَرِيمٌ","كَرِيمٍ","كَرِيمَةً"]·ben["মূল্যবান"]·DE["Ehre","[יקרה]","costly","kostbar","precious"]·EN["costly","precious"]·FR["[יקרה]","costly","précieux"]·heb["יְקָרָה","יקר","יקרה","יקרות"]·HI["कीमती","बहुमूल्य"]·ID["Berharga","berharga","mahal","mulia","permata"]·IT["costly","prezioso"]·jav["Aji","aji","endah","ingkang-aji","ingkang-éndah","kang-larang","larang"]·KO["값진","귀중하도다","귀하다","귀한","귨한","혹마노로"]·PT["Preciosa","preciosa","preciosas","precioso"]·RU["Драгоценна","дорогие","дорогими","драгоценного","драгоценное","драгоценную","драгоценные","драгоценный","драгоценным","драгоценных"]·ES["Preciosa","costosas","preciosa","preciosas","precioso"]·SW["Thamani-yake","kulingana-na","la-thamani","ya-thamani","ykarah"]·TR["değerli"]·urd["قیمتی","قیمتی-ہے"]
2 Sam 12:30, 1 Kgs 5:17, 1 Kgs 7:9, 1 Kgs 7:10, 1 Kgs 7:11, 1 Kgs 10:2, 1 Kgs 10:10, 1 Kgs 10:11, 1 Chr 20:2, 1 Chr 29:2, 2 Chr 3:6, 2 Chr 9:1 (+21 more)
2. honored, esteemed (of persons) — Precious in the sense of honored or esteemed, applied to persons rather than objects. Lamentations 4:2 mourns the 'precious sons of Zion,' once valued as fine gold, now treated as clay pots. Psalm 45:9 places daughters of kings among the king's 'precious ones.' The shift from material value to personal dignity is marked by Spanish 'ilustres' (illustrious) alongside 'preciosos,' signaling that human worth rather than market price is in view. 2×
AR["الثَّمِينُونَ","في-كَريماتِكَ"]·ben["মধ্যে-সম্মানিতাদের-তোমার","মূল্যবান"]·DE["[היקרים]","sind-unter-dein-precious-Leute"]·EN["are-among-Your-precious-ones","the-precious-ones"]·FR["[היקרים]","dans-précieux"]·heb["ב-יקרותי-ך","ה-יקרים"]·HI["बहुमूल्य","में-सम्मानित-स्त्रियों-तेरी"]·ID["yang-berharga"]·IT["[היקרים]","prezioso"]·jav["ing-tiyang-ingkang-dipun-hormati-Panjenengan","ingkang-mulyà"]·KO["귀한","주-의-귀한-것들-속에"]·PT["entre-tuas-honradas","preciosos"]·RU["драгоценные","среди-почётных-Твоих"]·ES["entre-tus-ilustres","los-preciosos"]·SW["katika-wanawake-wako-wa-heshima","wa-thamani"]·TR["değerli","değerli-olanlarında"]·urd["تیرے-عزت-مندوں-میں","قیمتی"]
3. rare, scarce — Rare, scarce -- an emphasis on infrequency rather than monetary value. In 1 Samuel 3:1, 'the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.' German 'selten' (rare) and French 'rare' clearly denote scarcity. This lone occurrence shows the adjective's semantic range stretching from 'valued because costly' to 'valued because uncommon,' a natural extension from precious to scarce. 1×
AR["نَادِرَةً"]·ben["মূল্যবান"]·DE["selten"]·EN["rare"]·FR["rare"]·heb["יקר"]·HI["बहुमूल्य"]·ID["jarang"]·IT["rare"]·jav["awis"]·KO["귀한"]·PT["preciosa"]·RU["редким"]·ES["preciosa"]·SW["nadra"]·TR["değerli"]·urd["قیمتی"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יָקָר adj. precious, rare, splendid, weighty;—abs. יָקָר 1 S 3:1 + 9 times; cstr. יְקַר־ Pr 17:27 Qr (Kt וקר; v. infr.); כִּיקַר ψ 37:20; f. יְקָרָה 2 S 12:30 + 14 times; cstr. יִקְרַת Is 28:16; mpl. יְקָרִים La 4:2; fpl. יְקָרוֹת 1 K 5:31 + 2 times + Zc 14:6 (v. infr.); יְקָרֹת 1 K 7:9; sf. בְּיִקְּרוֹתֶ֑יךָ ψ 45:10 (so Baer; van d. H. בִּיקְּ׳);— 1. precious: a. costly, אֲבָנִים יְקָרוֹת of…