H4745 H4745
Happening, fate, or fortune that befalls someone; also chance or accident without apparent divine cause
A noun from the root qarah ('to encounter, befall'), this word captures the Hebrew reflection on what happens to people and why. In Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth uses it philosophically to argue that the same miqreh -- the same fate or lot -- befalls the wise and the fool, humans and animals alike (Eccl 2:14-15; 3:19; 9:2-3), probing whether life's outcomes reveal any meaningful order. By contrast, in the narrative contexts of Ruth and 1 Samuel, the word denotes sheer coincidence or accident -- Ruth's 'chance' happening upon Boaz's field (Ruth 2:3), or the Philistines testing whether the ark's plague was miqreh rather than divine act (1 Sam 6:9). Spanish distinguishes these nicely: 'suceso' for fate versus 'casualidad' for chance.
1. happening, fate, lot — A happening, fate, fortune, or lot -- the events that befall someone as their destiny or portion. Used extensively in Ecclesiastes where Qoheleth observes that one miqreh overtakes all people regardless of wisdom or folly (Eccl 2:14-15), and the same fate befalls humans and beasts alike (Eccl 3:19). The word here has a weighty, philosophical tone, probing whether any meaningful distinction exists between different lives when the same end awaits all. French 'evenement' and German 'Geschick' (fate, destiny) capture this sense of an appointed or inescapable outcome. 7×
AR["أَنَا","حَدَثَ","قَلْبِي","مِقْرِه","وَحَدَثٌ","وَحَدَثَ"]·ben["এবং-পরিণতি","পরিণতি","যে-পরিণতি","যেমন-পরিণতি"]·DE["Geschick","[כמקרה]","[שמקרה]","und-Geschick"]·EN["and-happening","and-happening-of","happening","happening-of","like-happening-of","that-happening"]·FR["comme-événement","et-événement","événement"]·heb["ו-מקרה","כ-מקרה","מקרה","שׁ-מקרה"]·HI["और-घटना","कि-घटना","घटना","जैसी-घटना"]·ID["Seperti-nasib","bahwa-nasib","dan-nasib","nasib"]·IT["caso","come-caso","e-caso"]·jav["bilih-nasib","kadadosan","kados-nasibipun","lan-nasib","nasib"]·KO["같은-운명","그-운명","그리고-운명","운명"]·PT["como-destino-de","destino","destino-de","e-destino","e-destino-de","que-destino"]·RU["и-случай","как-случай","случай","что-случай"]·ES["como-el-suceso-de","que-un-suceso","suceso","suceso-de","y-suceso","y-suceso-de"]·SW["hatima","hatima-ya","kama-hatima","kwamba-hatima","na-hatima-ya","ni-hatima"]·TR["kader","kaderi-gibi","ki-kader","ve-kader"]·urd["انجام","اور-انجام","جیسا-انجام","کہ-انجام"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. chance, accident, coincidence — Chance, accident, or coincidence -- an event happening randomly without evident divine or purposeful causation. In Ruth 2:3, the narrator uses mikreh to describe Ruth's seemingly accidental arrival at Boaz's field, though the reader discerns providence beneath the surface. In 1 Samuel 6:9, the Philistines wonder whether the plague was from Israel's God or merely miqreh -- mere coincidence. In 1 Samuel 20:26, Saul attributes David's absence to some chance occurrence. Spanish 'casualidad' and French 'chance' mark this distinctly non-fated, contingent sense. 3×
AR["اتِّفَاقُهَا","صُدْفَةٌ","هِيَ"]·ben["ঘটনা","তার-ভাগ্য"]·DE["Geschick","chance"]·EN["chance","her-chance"]·FR["chance","sa-chance"]·heb["מקרה"]·HI["संयोग","सन्योग"]·ID["kebetulan","kebetulannya"]·IT["caso","suo-chance"]·jav["kabegjan","kadadosan","kèdadosan"]·KO["그녀의-우연이","우연이","우연이다"]·PT["acaso","seu-acaso"]·RU["случай","случайно-ей"]·ES["casualidad","su-suerte"]·SW["bahati-mbaya","bahati-yake"]·TR["olay","tesadüf","tesadüfü"]·urd["اتفاق","اُس-کا-اتفاق"]
Related Senses
H1961 1. be, exist, was (Qal copular/existential) (3505×)G1510 1. copulative, linking predication (2095×)G1096 1. become, change state (421×)G1096 2. happen, occur, take place (158×)G1510 2. participial, being (circumstantial/attributive) (157×)H3426 1. there is, there are (existence) (129×)G1510 3. infinitival, to be (128×)G1510 4. subjunctive/imperative, may be / let be (83×)H1934 1. to be, exist (65×)H1961 2. become, come to be (Qal inchoative) (55×)G5225 1. to be, to exist (45×)H0194 1. (45×)G1096 3. come, arrive, appear (28×)G1096 4. let it be, may it be done (22×)H0383 1. there is/are, to exist (Aramaic existential particle) (19×)G1096 5. may it never be! (16×)G2673 1. abolish, bring to an end (16×)G1510 5. existential, there is/exists (15×)G5225 2. possessions, property, goods (14×)G1096 6. be, exist, find oneself (13×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מִקְרֶה n.m. 1 S 6:9 accident, chance, fortune;—abs. מ׳ 1 S 6:9 +; cstr. מִקְרֵה Ec 2:15 (so read also 3:19(×2) with 𝔊 RuëtKau Wild, for MT מִקְרֶה);— 1. accident, chance, 1 S 6:9; 20:26; c. קָרָה Ru 2:3 (v. ק׳ 1). 2. in Ec, fortune, fate, מ׳ אֶחָד יִקְרֶה אֶת־כֻּלָּם Ec 2:14 cf. v 15, 3:19(×3); 9:2, 3.