שָׁחַר shâchar — properly, to dawn, i.e. (figuratively) be (up) early at any task (with the implication of earnestness)
Translated in the KJV as betimes, enquire early, rise betimes, seek diligently) early, in the morning).
a primitive root; properly, to dawn, i.e. (figuratively) be (up) early at any task (with the implication of earnestness); by extension, to search for (with painstaking).
shâchar in each stem
Pi'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 5Sequential perfect (weqatal) 2Participle (active) 2Infinitive construct 1Perfect (qatal) 1
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
Qal (Pa'al)
Participle (active) 1
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›