What does כִּכָּר (kikār) mean in the Bible?
The Hebrew noun kikkar has several distinct contextual senses. It can name a rounded district or broad surrounding region, especially the plain of the Jordan.
Hebrew · H3603
כִּכָּר
A circle , i.e. (by implication) a circumjacent tract or region, especially the Ghor or valley of the Jordan; also a (round) loaf ; also a talent (or large [round] coin )
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כִּכָּרH3603
Pronunciationkikār
What does כִּכָּר (kikār) mean in the Bible?
The Hebrew noun kikkar has several distinct contextual senses. It can name a rounded district or broad surrounding region, especially the plain of the Jordan.
Reader summary
Full entry for כִּכָּר (H3603) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3603?
The BSB source-word alignment has 68 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include talents (35), a talent (5), of the plain (4), plain (3), a loaf (2).
Where does כִּכָּר (kikār) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 13:10. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Chronicles (11), 2 Chronicles (10), 2 Kings (9), Exodus (9).
What This Word Actually Means
The Hebrew noun kikkar has several distinct contextual senses. It can name a rounded district or broad surrounding region, especially the plain of the Jordan. It can also describe a round loaf or portion of bread, and it commonly names a talent, a large unit of weight used for metals and wealth. A less common use can refer to a round cover or disk. The shared idea of roundness helps explain the range, but readers must not blend the senses inside a verse.
Genesis uses the word geographically when Lot surveys and settles in the Jordan plain. Samuel and other narratives use it for bread. Tabernacle, royal, tribute, and commercial passages use it as a weight. The context, attached material, number, and grammar normally make the intended sense clear. Kikkar therefore does not mean abundance, prosperity, or sacred territory by itself.
A talent is a weight rather than one fixed modern cash value, and the plain is a concrete region rather than an automatic metaphor for moral compromise. Careful reading preserves each sense before drawing theological or pastoral conclusions.
How the Bible Uses It
Kikkar names a rounded region, a loaf or bread portion, a talent weight, and occasionally a round cover, with immediate context keeping these related but distinct senses from collapsing together.
- Gen.13.10
And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
Lot surveys the well-watered plain of the Jordan before choosing his direction, so kikkar identifies a concrete surrounding region.
- 1Sam.10.3
Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
Samuel's sign includes a man carrying three loaves of bread, demonstrating the ordinary food sense of the noun.
- Exod.25.39
The lampstand and all these utensils shall be made from a talent of pure gold.
The lampstand and its utensils are to be made from a talent of pure gold, using kikkar as a weight.
- 2Kgs.5.23
But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi.
Naaman sends two talents of silver after Gehazi's deceptive request, where the measured wealth belongs to the larger moral narrative.
- Zech.5.7
And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.
Zechariah's vision describes a heavy round cover being lifted, a rare contextual use distinct from region, bread, and talent.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ittalents35×Exodus 38:24, Exodus 38:25, Exodus 38:27, Exodus 38:29
a talent5×Exodus 25:39, 2 Samuel 12:30, 1 Kings 20:39, 2 Kings 5:22
of the plain4×Genesis 13:12, Genesis 19:28, Genesis 19:29, 2 Samuel 18:23
plain3×Genesis 13:10, Genesis 13:11, Genesis 19:25
a loaf2×1 Chronicles 16:3, Jeremiah 37:21
and a talent2×2 Kings 23:33, 2 Chronicles 36:3
in the plain2×1 Kings 7:46, 2 Chronicles 4:17
two talents2×2 Kings 5:23
and the region1×Deuteronomy 34:3
for two talents1×1 Kings 16:24
from a talent1×Exodus 37:24
from the surrounding area1×Nehemiah 3:22
is poverty1×Proverbs 6:26
loaf1×Exodus 29:23
loaves1×1 Samuel 10:3
on the plain1×Genesis 19:17
one talent1×Exodus 38:27
or a morsel1×1 Samuel 2:36
some1×Judges 8:5
the cover1×Zechariah 5:7
the region1×Nehemiah 12:28
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 13:10כִּכַּ֣רtoplainNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 13:11כִּכַּ֣רtoplainNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 13:12הַכִּכָּ֔רtoof the plainArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 19:17הַכִּכָּ֑רtoon the plainArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 19:25הַכִּכָּ֑רtoplainArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 19:28הַכִּכָּ֑רtoof the plainArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 19:29הַכִּכָּ֔רtoof the plainArticle | Noun - feminine singularExodus 25:39כִּכָּ֛רtoa talentNoun - feminine singularExodus 29:23וְכִכַּ֨רtoloafConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular constructExodus 37:24כִּכָּ֛רtofrom a talentNoun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 13:10
Aligned rows68
Books represented16
Genesis7Exodus9Deuteronomy1Judges11 Samuel22 Samuel21 Kings72 Kings91 Chronicles112 Chronicles10Ezra3Nehemiah2Esther1Proverbs1Jeremiah1Zechariah1
Source forms
כִּכַּר־9xkik·kar-2 Kings 5:22, 2 Kings 15:19, 2 Kings 18:14, 1 Chronicles 16:3
כִּכַּ֣ר6xkik·karGenesis 13:10, Genesis 13:11, Exodus 38:27, 1 Kings 10:10
כִכַּר־5xḵik·kar-1 Kings 20:39, 2 Kings 23:33, 2 Chronicles 25:6, 2 Chronicles 36:3
הַכִּכָּ֔ר4xhak·kik·kārGenesis 13:12, Genesis 19:29, 2 Samuel 18:23, 2 Chronicles 25:9
כִּכַּ֥ר4xkik·kar1 Kings 9:14, 1 Kings 10:14, 2 Kings 18:14, Zechariah 5:7
הַכִּכָּ֑ר3xhak·kik·kārGenesis 19:17, Genesis 19:25, Genesis 19:28
כִּכָּ֑ר3xkik·kārExodus 38:25, Exodus 38:29, 1 Kings 9:28
בְּכִכַּ֤ר2xbə·ḵik·kar1 Kings 7:46, 2 Chronicles 4:17
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular construct26xGenesis 13:10, Genesis 13:11, Exodus 38:27, 2 Samuel 12:30
Article | Noun - feminine singular11xGenesis 13:12, Genesis 19:17, Genesis 19:25, Genesis 19:28
Noun - feminine singular8xExodus 25:39, Exodus 37:24, Exodus 38:24, Exodus 38:25
Noun - feminine plural7x1 Chronicles 22:14, 1 Chronicles 29:7, Ezra 8:26
Noun - feminine plural construct5xJudges 8:5, 1 Samuel 10:3, 2 Kings 5:5, 1 Chronicles 29:4
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct4xExodus 29:23, 1 Samuel 2:36, 2 Kings 23:33, 2 Chronicles 36:3
Noun - fd2x2 Kings 5:23
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct2x1 Kings 7:46, 2 Chronicles 4:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Teachers discussing biblical wealth should distinguish weight from currency and avoid impressive but unsupported modern totals.
- Applications from Lot's choice should follow Genesis' developing narrative rather than declaring every prosperous-looking region spiritually dangerous.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that kikkar means plain, loaf, and talent simultaneously in each occurrence; context selects among its senses.
- Do not claim that a talent always equals one exact modern weight or monetary value across biblical periods and materials.
- Do not claim that the noun itself makes a region sinful, bread blessed, wealth corrupt, or a round object spiritually powerful.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Round shape determines meaning: loaf, coin, talent, or fertile plain—circularity unifies diverse senses.
Source Gloss
a circle , i.e. (by implication) a circumjacent tract or region, especially the Ghor or valley of the Jordan; also a (round) loaf ; also a talent (or large [round] coin )
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Round shape determines meaning: loaf, coin, talent, or fertile plain—circularity unifies diverse senses.
a circle, i.e. (by implication) a circumjacent tract or region, especially the Ghor or valley of the Jordan; also a (round) loaf; also a talent (or large [round] coin) BDB: a round Usage: loaf, morsel, piece, plain, talent.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
geographic region, the Jordan valley as a circumjacent tract of land
Showing 1 selected witness from 68 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
כִּכָּר is built from this root:
כָּרַרH3769
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Kikkar demonstrates why lexical range must be governed by sentences and scenes. The word's association with roundness can fit the circuit or district of the Jordan, a round loaf, a standardized mass of metal, or a circular cover. Yet Genesis is not discussing bread when Lot sees the plain, and Exodus is not describing a region when it specifies a talent of gold for the lampstand.
The same weight term can appear in worship materials, royal revenue, tribute, payment, bribery, or theft, but the unit itself does not approve or condemn the transaction. Second Kings places talents of silver inside Gehazi's lie and abuse of trust; the narrative supplies the judgment. Similarly, the Jordan plain's later association with Sodom must be traced through Genesis rather than built into kikkar as its lexical meaning.
Faithful teaching selects the sense before drawing a lesson, acknowledges uncertainty when translating ancient weights into modern measures or prices, and avoids turning sound similarities into hidden theology. The value of the word lies in its precise contextual work, not in forcing every region, loaf, and talent into one spiritual symbol.
Anchor passage
Gen.13.10
Doctrinal connections
- Biblical interpretation depends on context because a single word can carry several legitimate but non-interchangeable senses.
- Created regions and ordinary bread belong to material life without carrying automatic moral approval or condemnation.
- Measured resources can serve worship, commerce, tribute, generosity, deception, or exploitation according to human action and purpose.
- Sacred craftsmanship in Exodus includes concrete quantities and materials within God's particular instructions for the tabernacle.
- Gehazi's sin is exposed by deception, greed, and misuse of trust, not by an inherently corrupt unit of weight.
- Prophetic vision may use a concrete round object symbolically, but the surrounding oracle supplies its meaning.
Kikkar is a feminine Hebrew noun whose range includes a circle or surrounding district, a round loaf, a talent as a large weight, and a round lid or cover. Numbers and attached nouns such as bread, gold, or silver usually identify the intended sense. Ancient talent values vary by system and period.
From Old to New Testament
The Greek New Testament uses its own term for a talent, including in Jesus' parables, so thematic comparison is possible but lexical identity should not be assumed. New Testament bread and geography likewise require their own Greek terms and contexts.