חֵן
chên · H2580 · Hebrew · 69 occurrences
Meanings
-
beauty, elegance, charm
State in which someone or something is physically attractive; which may bring about a favorable attitude in others
ExamplesProverbs 1:9 For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces for your neck.
Proverbs 3:22 And they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.
Proverbs 4:9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
-
favor, approval, pity, grace, kindness, mercy, compassion
State in which humans have a positive and compassionate attitude towards other humans
ExamplesGenesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 18:3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.
Genesis 19:19 “Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your compassion, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die;
-
kindness, grace
State in which words are uttered with a positive and compassionate attitude
ExamplesPsalm 45:2 You are the most handsome of the sons of mankind; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.
Proverbs 22:11 One who loves purity of heart And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.
Ecclesiastes 10:12 Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;
How it’s used In 8 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הוּhis 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- טוֹבgood 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- יָצַקto pour, to cast 1
What is done to itIt is the object
49 occurrences in 3 groups
- מָצָאto find 43
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 4
- נָשָׂאto lift up, to carry, to bear 2
Second object ofSecond object
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 3
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- יָדַעto know 1
- שֶׁקֶרlie, falsehood, false 1
- הָher 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- דָּבָרword, thing, matter 1
- שָׂפָהlip 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
8 occurrences in 7 groups
- לִוְיָהwreath 2
- יַעֲלָהfemale ibex 1
- נָשָׂאto lift up, to carry, to bear 1
- אֶבֶןstone 1
- רוּחַspirit, wind 1
- אִשָּׁהwoman, wife 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- נֹעַם nôʻam · H5278 · loveliness, pleasantness, delight
- Both lexemes denote positive aesthetic/relational qualities with genuine overlapping sense (pleasantness/grace/beauty/favor). The overlap is substantive synonym territory.
In the other Testament 1 word
- χάρις cháris · G5485 · to show kindness, to manifest graciousness toward, kindness
- Greek χάρις (cháris, G5485) is the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew חֵן (chên, H2580), both denoting favor, grace, or graciousness shown by one party to another, with χάρις carrying the full semantic range from concrete favor to abstract grace including divine influence upon the heart.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Good002001001031
- The word denotes gracious favor or goodwill shown toward someone, as in Genesis 6:8's account of Noah finding favor in the eyes of the LORD.
- Love002001002018
- חֵן denotes favor or grace shown by one person to another, most commonly in the recurring formula "found favor in the eyes of" (Genesis 6:8, 18:3, 19:19) and God's own gracious dealing with people (Jeremiah 31:2, Zechariah 12:10).
- Merciful002001002019
- The word denotes a gracious, favorable disposition toward someone in a position of need, as in Genesis 19:19's reference to compassion shown in sparing a life.
- Well002001003018
- The same word also denotes a pleasing or attractive quality of appearance or bearing, distinct from relational favor, illustrated at Proverbs 1:9 and 4:9 (a "garland of grace" placed on the head) and Proverbs 31:30 ("charm is deceitful").
- Names of People003001007
- This code is inherited from the shared homograph on this spelling, the personal name Hen; this entry's own occurrences denote the abstract quality of favor, not a person.
Word family 10 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2580. chen I. חֵן noun masculinePsa 45:3 favour, grace; — ׳ח Gen 6:8 67t.; suffix חִנּוֺ…
I. חֵן noun masculinePsa 45:3 favour, grace; — ׳ח Gen 6:8 67t.; suffix חִנּוֺ Gen 39:21; —
1 favour, grace, elegance:
a. of form and appearance, of a woman || יֹ֑פִי Pro 31:30; חֵן אֵשֶׁת Pro 11:16; חן טובת זונה Nah 3:4; of a doe Pro 5:19; precious stone חן אבן Pro 17:8; of ornaments Pro 1:9 = Pro 4:9; Pro 3:22.
b. of speech, lips Psa 45:3; Pro 22:11; words Ecc 10:12.
2 favour, acceptance:
a. with men Pro 13:15; Pro 22:1; Ecc 9:11.
b. with God Zec 4:7 (twice in verse); Zec 12:10; chiefly in phrases: בעיני חן מצא find favour in the eyes of: (I) men Gen 30:27; Gen 32:6; Gen 33:8, Gen 33:10, Gen 33:15; Gen 34:11; Gen 39:4; Gen 47:25, Gen 47:29; Gen 50:4; Num 32:5 (all J); Deu 24:1; Rth 2:2, Rth 2:10, Rth 2:13; 1Sa 1:18; 1Sa 16:22; 1Sa 20:3, 1Sa 20:29; 1Sa 25:8; 1Sa 27:5; 2Sa 14:22; 2Sa 16:4; 1Ki 11:19; Est 5:8; Est 7:3; (2) of God Gen 6:8; Gen 18:3; Gen 19:19; Exo 33:12-13, (twice in verse); Exo 33:16-17, Exo 34:9; Num 11:11, Num 11:15 (all J); Jdg 6:17; 2Sa 15:25; Pro 3:4; absolute חן מצא (with man) Pro 28:23; (with God) Jer 31:2; לפניו חן מֹצא Est 8:5 (i.e. of the king); בעיני חן נתן give favour in the eyes of (I) man Gen 39:21; Exo 3:21; Exo 11:3; Exo 12:36 (J); absolute חן נתן of man Psa 84:12; (2) of God Pro 3:34; בְּעֵינֵי חֵן נשׂא obtain favour in the eyes of Est 2:15; of the king Est 5:2; so לְפָנָיו וָחֶסֶד וַתִּשָּׂאחֵֿן Est 2:17.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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