H974 — בָּחַן (bachan)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H974
Original: בָּחַן
Transliteration: bachan
Pronunciation: baw-khan'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 28 unique verses (35 tokens) across 9 books
First Occurrence: Gen 42:15 — "Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to test (especially metals); generally and figuratively, to investigate: — examine, prove, tempt, try (trial).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	26	test, examine, try (active testing by God or person)
Niphal	3	be proved, be tested (passive — tested persons or claims)
Pual	1	be tested (intensive passive — Eze 21:18)

The Qal dominates (84%), appearing as perfects ("thou hast proved"), imperfects ("trieth"), participles ("the one who tests"), imperatives ("examine me"), and infinitives. The Niphal appears only in Genesis 42:15–16 (Joseph's brothers "shall be proved") and Job 34:36 ("Job may be tried"). The single Pual in Ezekiel 21:18 intensifies the passive sense.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
try/trieth/tried	17	61%
prove/proved	7	25%
examine	2	7%
tempt	1	4%
trial	1	4%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	2	3.6
Job	5	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Psalms	9	0.4
Jeremiah	6	0.4
Genesis	2	0.1
1 Chronicles	1	0.1
Proverbs	1	0.1
Ezekiel	1	0.1

Psalms has the highest absolute count (9 verses, 32%) but Malachi has the highest density. The word clusters in the prophetic and wisdom literature — Psalms + Job + Proverbs account for 54%, and Jeremiah alone accounts for 21%. Absent from the Pentateuch outside Genesis 42, and absent from all historical books except 1 Chronicles 29:17.

Semantic Categories¶

1. God Testing the Human Heart¶

The dominant use: YHWH as subject, the heart (leb) and reins (kilyah) as object. God's testing penetrates inward character and motive. - Psa 7:9 — "for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins" - Psa 11:5 — "The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth" - Jer 11:20 — "O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart" - Jer 17:10 — "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins" - 1 Chr 29:17 — "I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness"

2. The Refining/Metallurgical Test¶

Testing compared to the assaying of metals — silver and gold refined by fire. Overlaps heavily with tsaraph (H6884). - Psa 66:10 — "For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried" - Zec 13:9 — "will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried" - Pro 17:3 — "The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts" - Job 23:10 — "when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold"

3. The Petition for Personal Examination¶

The psalmist invites God to examine — a posture of transparency and integrity. - Psa 26:2 — "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart" - Psa 139:23 — "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts" - Psa 17:3 — "Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing"

4. Commissioned Testing of Others¶

A human agent appointed to test people or claims. - Jer 6:27 — "I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way" - Jer 9:7 — "Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?"

5. Proving Claims or Persons¶

Testing to verify truthfulness or character — the earliest use (Joseph testing his brothers). - Gen 42:15 — "Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence" - Gen 42:16 — "let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved" - Mal 3:10 — "prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts"

6. Human Faculties as Testing Instruments¶

The ear and discernment as natural instruments of evaluation. - Job 12:11 — "Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?" - Job 34:3 — "For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהוָֹה (YHWH)	H3068	11x (39%)	YHWH as the subject who tests
לֵב (leb)	H3820	6x (21%)	"trieth the heart" — the heart as object of testing
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	5x (18%)	God as tester
יָדַע (yada)	H3045	5x (18%)	"know and try" — testing leads to knowledge
כִּלְיָה (kilyah)	H3629	5x (18%)	"try the reins" — kidneys as seat of deepest motives
צָרַף (tsaraph)	H6884	5x (18%)	"refine...and try" — paired metallurgical imagery
רָאָה (raah)	H7200	5x (18%)	"seest" — divine sight accompanying divine testing
צַדִּיק (tsaddiq)	H6662	3x (11%)	"triest the righteous" — the righteous as objects of testing
זָהָב (zahab)	H2091	3x (11%)	"as gold is tried" — gold as testing metaphor
כֶּסֶף (keseph)	H3701	3x (11%)	"as silver is tried" — silver as testing metaphor

Word Family / Cognates¶

H976 בֹּחַן (bochan) — masculine noun, "trial, tested" (1 occurrence: Isa 28:16 "a tried stone"; derived from bachan)
H969 בָּחוֹן (bachown) — masculine noun, "assayer, watchtower" (only in Jer 6:27, related to the assayer role)

Synonyms¶

H5254 נָסָה (nasah) — to test, attempt, try (34v). More experiential — testing by putting through an ordeal or experience. God testing Abraham (Gen 22:1), Israel testing God (Psa 78:18, 95:9). Broader range including "attempt/venture."
H6884 צָרַף (tsaraph) — to refine, smelt, test (29v). Specifically metallurgical — fusing and purifying metals. When paired with bachan, tsaraph supplies the physical process while bachan names the evaluative purpose.
H2713 חָקַר (chaqar) — to search out, examine, investigate (26v). Intellectual probing, thorough investigation. More about discovering hidden facts than evaluating quality.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
צָרַף (tsaraph)	H6884	"try"	tsaraph = refine metals (process); bachan = evaluate/assay (verdict)
נָסָה (nasah)	H5254	"prove, tempt"	nasah = test through experience/ordeal; bachan = test through scrutiny

Semantic Domain¶

Test — Other words: H421 alah (oath/curse), H5254 nasah (test by ordeal), H6884 tsaraph (refine)
True — Other words: H539 aman (be faithful), H571 emeth (truth)
Just — Other words: H430 elohim, H2895 tob (good)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
δοκιμάζω (dokimazo)	G1381	15	25.44	Primary equivalent — "test, approve"
πυρόω (pyroo)	G4448	5	14.15	"set on fire, refine" — metallurgical contexts
νεφρός (nephros)	G3510	5	13.37	"kidney/reins" — LXX translates the object, not the verb
καρδία (kardia)	G2588	10	8.61	"heart" — similarly translates the object

The LXX strongly prefers dokimazo (G1381) as the translation of bachan, with 15 of 28 verses using this equivalent (PMI 25.44). This creates a robust semantic bridge into the NT.