What does Zakar mean?

Zakar (זָכַר, Strong's H2142) is a Hebrew word. Strong's defines it as properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male. The King James Bible translates it as × burn (incense), × earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record(-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, × still, think on, × well.

What is the Strong's number for Zakar?

The Strong's number for Zakar (זָכַר) is H2142. It is a Hebrew word from Strong's public-domain dictionary keyed to the King James Bible.

Bible word study

Zakar (Strong’s H2142): Meaning in the Bible

Zakar (זָכַר) is the Hebrew word numbered H2142 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male. In the King James Bible it is translated be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record(-er).

זָכַר

zâkar · Hebrew

Strong’s H2142 · zaw-kar'

Original wordזָכַר
Transliterationzâkar
Pronunciationzaw-kar'
Part of speechverb (v)
Strong’s numberH2142
LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication, to mention; to be male

Derivation. a primitive root; also as denominative from H2145

How the King James Bible translates it

× burn (incense), × earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record(-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, × still, think on, × well. (The × marks places where the word shapes the phrasing rather than being rendered by a single English word.)

Where Zakar appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Zakar (H2142) stands behind 233 English renderings in 221 verses across 32 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Psalms (51), Isaiah (26), Ezekiel (22).

How the King James Bible renders Zakar, by count

remember119 of 233 (51 percent)
remembered48 of 233 (21 percent)
mention18 of 233 (8 percent)
remembrance11 of 233 (5 percent)
recorder9 of 233 (4 percent)
mindful6 of 233 (3 percent)

Three places to read Zakar

Genesis 8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
Nehemiah 13:31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
Isaiah 36:22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Zakar in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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