Nakar (נָכַר) has a fascinating polarity: it means both 'to recognize' and 'to be foreign/strange.' The tension seems intentional — recognition and alienation are two sides of the same perceptual act. As a Hiphil verb it means 'to regard, notice, acknowledge'; as a Niphal it means 'to make oneself unrecognizable' or 'to be foreign.' It appears about 50 times in the Old Testament.
The theological depth of nakar appears most powerfully in stories of concealed and revealed identity: Joseph recognizing his brothers while they failed to recognize him (Genesis 42:7–8); Tamar being 'not recognized' by Judah (Genesis 38:16); Ruth being 'noticed' by Boaz (Ruth 2:10, 19). In Job 21:29, it calls on travelers to 'regard the signs.' In Proverbs 24:23, partial judgment — recognizing faces — corrupts justice. Recognition is a moral act: to truly see someone is to extend dignity. God sees and acknowledges those the world overlooks.