Original Word: מְחִיר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mchiyr
Pronunciation: meh-KHEER
Phonetic Spelling: (mekk-eer')
KJV: gain, hire, price, sold, worth
NASB: price, cost, payment, sale, wages
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to buy]
1. price, payment, wages
From an unused root meaning to buy; price, payment, wages -- gain, hire, price, sold, worth.
1 price, often בִּמְחִיר for a price; in trade 2 Samuel 24:24; 1 Kings 10:28; 2Chronicles 1:16; compare Lamentations 5:4 ("" כֶּסֶף), also (no בְּ) 1 Kings 21:2 and שָׂדֶה עַתּוּדִים ׳מ Proverbs 27:26; of wisdom Job 28:15 ("" סְגוֺר כֶּסֶף) compare Proverbs 17:16 (no בְּ); figurative ׳בְּלוֺאבֶֿסֶף וּבְלוֺא מ Isaiah 55:1 in purchase of blessings from ׳י; of price of people, figurative Psalm 44:13, compare Jeremiah 15:13.
2 hire, כֶּלֶב ׳מ (i.e. of male prostitute) Deuteronomy 23:19 ("" אֶתְנַן זוֺנָה) see Di Dr; of venal priests Micah 3:11 ("" שֹׁחַד); = reward, gain, denied of Cyrus Isaiah 45:13 ("" id.); affirmed of Ant. Epiph. Daniel 11:39.
[フレーム]
Appearing fifteen times across the Old Testament, the term denotes the monetary value, purchase price or hire by which goods, land, services and even people are exchanged. The contexts range from pastoral markets to palace treasuries, from covenant worship to prophetic denunciation, allowing Scripture to frame material "price" within God’s moral economy.
Economic and Commercial Settings
1 Kings 10:28 and 2 Chronicles 1:16 record royal horse-trading: "the royal merchants purchased them ... at the prevailing price," illustrating international trade during Solomon’s reign. In 1 Kings 21:2 Ahab offers Naboth "its value in silver," showing normal market language employed in land negotiations. Lamentations 5:4 laments post-exilic hardship: "We must buy the water we drink; our wood comes at a price," exposing how basic resources became commodified under foreign oppression.
Worship and Holiness Boundaries
Deuteronomy 23:18 forbids dedicating illicit earnings to the sanctuary, safeguarding purity of worship. By contrast, 2 Samuel 24:24 highlights righteous sacrifice: "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Both texts insist that what is brought before God must be free from moral stain yet personally costly, reinforcing the principle that worship involves wholehearted devotion rather than residual funds.
Royal Policy and Divine Sovereignty
Isaiah 45:13 foretells Cyrus who will free the exiles "not for a price or reward," affirming that Yahweh, not financial leverage, moves empires. Daniel 11:39 flips the motif as the end-time ruler "will divide the land for a price," portraying corrupt geopolitical strategies that monetize inheritance once pledged to Abraham’s seed.
Prophetic Exposure of Injustice
Micah 3:11 censures leaders who "judge for a bribe ... priests teach for a price," coupling the term with bribery that distorts covenant justice. Jeremiah 15:13 likewise warns, "Your wealth and your treasures I will give up as plunder, without charge," revealing that ill-gotten gain evaporates under divine judgment. Psalm 44:12 poignantly states, "You sell Your people for nothing," contrasting God’s sovereignty with nations that view lives as commercial stock.
Wisdom Literature on True Value
Job 28:15 exalts wisdom: "It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver." Proverbs 17:16 asks why a fool should hold money "with no intention of buying wisdom," and Proverbs 27:26 notes, "the goats [will provide] the price of a field," reminding stewards to convert natural increase into lasting assets. These sayings teach discernment between transient wealth and enduring worth.
Foreshadowing Redemption without Money
Isaiah 55:1 invites, "Come, buy and eat ... without money and without cost," prefiguring salvation’s gratuity later unveiled through Christ who redeems believers "not with perishable things such as silver or gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Earthly prices therefore anticipate the ultimate transaction where God pays the debt sinners could never afford.
Ministry Implications
• Uphold integrity in financial dealings; worship and service to God must be untainted by unrighteous gain.
• Teach congregations to evaluate worth by eternal metrics rather than market value, cultivating generosity rather than commodification.
• Address social injustice that monetizes people or ministry, emulating prophetic courage.
• Proclaim the gospel as the supreme "without price" offer, yet one secured at infinite cost to the Redeemer.
Through its varied appearances, the word gathers Israel’s everyday commerce into the larger account of a holy God who ultimately sets the true price of freedom, worship and life itself.
2 Samuel 24:24
HEB: אֶקְנֶ֤ה מֵאֽוֹתְךָ֙ בִּמְחִ֔יר וְלֹ֧א אַעֲלֶ֛ה
NAS: buy [it] from you for a price, for I will not offer
KJV: buy [it] of thee at a price: neither will I offer
INT: will surely buy A price No offer
1 Kings 10:28
HEB: יִקְח֥וּ מִקְוֵ֖ה בִּמְחִֽיר׃
NAS: procured [them] from Kue for a price.
KJV: received the linen yarn at a price.
INT: procured yarn A price
1 Kings 21:2
HEB: לְךָ֥ כֶ֖סֶף מְחִ֥יר זֶֽה׃
NAS: I will give you the price of it in money.
KJV: I will give thee the worth of it in money.
INT: will give money the price he
2 Chronicles 1:16
HEB: מִקְוֵ֥א יִקְח֖וּ בִּמְחִֽיר׃
NAS: procured them from Kue for a price.
KJV: received the linen yarn at a price.
INT: yarn procured A price
Job 28:15
HEB: יִ֝שָּׁקֵ֗ל כֶּ֣סֶף מְחִירָֽהּ׃
NAS: can silver be weighed as its price.
KJV: be weighed [for] the price thereof.
INT: be weighed silver price
Psalm 44:12
HEB: וְלֹ֥א־ רִ֝בִּ֗יתָ בִּמְחִירֵיהֶֽם׃
NAS: And have not profited by their sale.
KJV: and dost not increase [thy wealth] by their price.
INT: not profited their sale
Proverbs 17:16
HEB: לָמָּה־ זֶּ֣ה מְחִ֣יר בְּיַד־ כְּסִ֑יל
NAS: Why is there a price in the hand
KJV: Wherefore [is there] a price in the hand
INT: how long is there A price the hand of a fool
Proverbs 27:26
HEB: כְּבָשִׂ֥ים לִלְבוּשֶׁ֑ךָ וּמְחִ֥יר שָׂ֝דֶ֗ה עַתּוּדִֽים׃
NAS: And the goats [will bring] the price of a field,
KJV: and the goats [are] the price of the field.
INT: the lambs your clothing the price of a field and the goats
Isaiah 45:13
HEB: יְשַׁלֵּ֔חַ לֹ֤א בִמְחִיר֙ וְלֹ֣א בְשֹׁ֔חַד
NAS: Without any payment or reward,
KJV: my captives, not for price nor reward,
INT: and will let Without payment Without reward
Isaiah 55:1
HEB: כֶ֛סֶף וּבְל֥וֹא מְחִ֖יר יַ֥יִן וְחָלָֽב׃
NAS: money and without cost.
KJV: without money and without price.
INT: money and without cost wine and milk
Jeremiah 15:13
HEB: אֶתֵּ֖ן לֹ֣א בִמְחִ֑יר וּבְכָל־ חַטֹּאותֶ֖יךָ
NAS: without cost, Even for all
KJV: to the spoil without price, and [that] for all thy sins,
INT: will give without cost for all your sins
Lamentations 5:4
HEB: שָׁתִ֔ינוּ עֵצֵ֖ינוּ בִּמְחִ֥יר יָבֹֽאוּ׃
NAS: Our wood comes [to us] at a price.
INT: our drinking our wood A price comes
Daniel 11:39
HEB: וַאֲדָמָ֖ה יְחַלֵּ֥ק בִּמְחִֽיר׃
NAS: and will parcel out land for a price.
KJV: and shall divide the land for gain.
INT: land and will parcel A price
Micah 3:11
HEB: יִשְׁפֹּ֗טוּ וְכֹהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙ בִּמְחִ֣יר יוֹר֔וּ וּנְבִיאֶ֖יהָ
NAS: instruct for a price And her prophets
KJV: thereof teach for hire, and the prophets
INT: pronounce her priests A price instruct prophets
15 Occurrences
Strong's Hebrew 4242
15 Occurrences
bim·ḥîr — 6 Occ.
bim·ḥî·rê·hem — 1 Occ.
mə·ḥîr — 3 Occ.
mə·ḥî·rāh — 1 Occ.
ū·mə·ḥîr — 2 Occ.
ḇim·ḥîr — 2 Occ.