qa.rah describes events that happen or befall people, encounters with God, and causing an outcome to occur.

Most occurrences describe something happening to someone or coming to pass, whether an unforeseen circumstance, a future event, or a harmful outcome. A smaller group depicts a meeting, especially God meeting Balaam, while Hiphil forms occur where an outcome is requested, credited to God, or arranged.

1. An event happening or befalling someone · dominant

   Qal forms occur where an event reaches a person or comes to pass: Ecclesiastes 2:14 and Ecclesiastes 2:15 speak of the same “accident” meeting both wise and fool, while Esther 4:7 recounts all that had happened to Mordecai. In Ruth 2:3 the APB renders the account of Ruth entering Boaz's field, “As it happened,” and Isaiah 41:22 asks what is to happen and what is to come.

   Ecclesiastes 2:14Ecclesiastes 2:15Esther 4:7Ruth 2:3Isaiah 41:22Genesis 44:29
2. Meeting or coming into another's presence · common

   Niphal forms describe an encounter in the Balaam narratives: in Numbers 23:3 Balaam expects that the LORD may meet him, and Numbers 23:4 and Numbers 23:16 state that God or the LORD met Balaam. Exodus 3:18 similarly reports that the God of the Hebrews had met with Israel's elders.

   Numbers 23:3Numbers 23:4Numbers 23:15Numbers 23:16Exodus 3:18
3. Causing or arranging an outcome · occasional

   Hiphil forms place the occurrence under a subject's agency: Genesis 24:12 asks God to cause the requested event to happen before the speaker, and Genesis 27:20 credits the LORD with the son's quick success. In Numbers 35:11 the instruction concerns designating cities of refuge for the person who kills unintentionally.

   Genesis 24:12Genesis 27:20Numbers 35:11

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the term through phrases such as “happened,” “meet,” and “cause it to happen.” Its wording confirms the broader clauses rather than fixing a separate English equivalent in every occurrence.