כָּהַן
kâhan · H3547 · Hebrew · 23 occurrences
Meanings
-
to act as priest, to serve as priest
State in which humans have been ordained and consecrated to function as a priest
ExamplesExodus 28:1 “Then bring forward to yourself your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to serve as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
Exodus 28:3 “You shall speak to all the skillful people whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may serve as priest to Me.
Exodus 28:4 “And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may serve as priest to Me.
-
to act like a priest
Meaning unsure; possibly: action by which humans mimick a priest by dressing up in a certain way
ExamplesIsaiah 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a groom puts on a turban, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
23 occurrences in 7 groups
- Not stated (infinitive) 12
- אֶלְעָזָרEleazar 3
- וֹhim 3
- אִיתָמָרIthamar 2
- Not stated: they 2
- Not stated: he, she or it 2
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- פְּאֵרturban 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
17 occurrences in 6 groups
- לto/for+ נִיme 11
- לto/for+ יְהֹוָהthe LORD, YHWH 2
- עַלon, upon, over, against+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 1
- תַּחַתunder, below, instead of+ אָבfather 1
- תַּחַתunder, below, instead of+ וֹhim 1
- בin/on/with+ בַּיִתhouse, household 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הוּאhe, she, it 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
11 occurrences in 2 groups
- לto/for 9
- מִןfrom 2
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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἱερατεύω hierateúō · G2407 · to serve as a priest, to be a priest
- Greek ἱερατεύω is the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew כָּהַן when denoting the performance of priestly duties or functions, representing direct functional equivalence in the cultic/ministerial domain.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Role002002002008
- The verb describes serving in the role or office of priest, as when Aaron and his sons are ordained to serve as priests to the LORD in Exodus 28:41 and 29:1.
- Priests001001003008
- The verb is the standard word for executing the priest's office, describing Aaron and his sons ministering as priests throughout the ordination instructions of Exodus 28-29.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3547. kahan II. [כָּהַן] verb only Pi`el denominative act as priest; — Perfect כִּהֵן…
II. [כָּהַן] verb only
Pi`el denominative act as priest; — Perfect כִּהֵן Exo 40:13; 1 Chronicles 5:36; 1Ch 5:3masculine plural כִּהֲנוּ Exo 28:41; Exo 40:15; Imperfect3masculine singular יְכַהֵן Num 3:4 Num 3:2t.; plural יְכַהֲנוּ 1Ch 24:2; Infinitive construct כַּהֵן Exo 29:1 Exo 29:11t.; suffix כַּהֲנוֺ Exo 28:1, Exo 28:3, Exo 28:4. —
1 minister as a priest, absolute Exo 31:10; Exo 35:19; Exo 39:41; Lev 16:32; Num 3:3-4, (all P); ׳כ לִי minister to me (׳י) Exo 28:1, Exo 28:3, Exo 28:4, Exo 28:41; Exo 29:1, Exo 29:44; Exo 30:30; Exo 40:13, Exo 40:15 (all P), Eze 44:13; Hos 4:6; ׳כ ליהוה Lev 7:35 (P), 1 Chronicles 5:36; 1Ch 24:2; 2Ch 11:14 (always of Aaron and his sons, except Eze 44:13; 2Ch 11:14, where Levites are forbidden to minister; and Hos 4:6 of Israel, whose national priesthood is taken away).
2 be or become priest Deu 10:6 (E ?).
3 play the priest: מְּאֵר יְכַהֵן כֶּחָתָן Isa 61:10 as a bridegroom (that) priests it with his turban, decks himself with a splendid turban such as the priests wore.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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