Word

מָנָה

mânâh · H4487 · Hebrew · 28 occurrences

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Meanings

to count, to number

Action with which one determines or estimates the number of a collection of persons, objects, or events

Examples
Genesis 13:16 “I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.
Numbers 23:10 “Who has counted the dust of Jacob, Or the number of the fourth part of Israel? May I die the death of the upright, And may my end be like his!”
2 Samuel 24:1 Now the anger of the LORD burned against Israel again, and He incited David against them to say, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”
to be counted among

State in which humans hold the opinion that a particular person is to be identified with, considered similar to, or to be equated with another person or group

Examples
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the plunder with the strong, Because He poured out His life unto death, And was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the wrongdoers.
to be apportioned, to be allotted

Process by which humans undergo a certain event, as if it were measured out and assigned to them

Examples
Job 7:3 So I am allotted worthless months, And nights of trouble are apportioned to me.
to assign

Causative action by which deities causes humans to undergo a certain event, as if by measuring it out and assigning it to them

Examples
Isaiah 65:12 I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen. Instead, you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”
to assign

Causative action by which people in authority make a decision regarding a certain quantity of food items to be given to individuals or groups of people on a regular basis

Examples
Daniel 1:5 The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.
Daniel 1:10 The commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”
to appoint

Causative action by which humans or deities give someone else a certain responsibility or position of authority with regards to an object, a group of people, or a certain task

Examples
1 Chronicles 9:29 Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary, and over the finely milled flour, the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the balsam oil.
Psalm 61:7 He will sit enthroned before God forever; Appoint faithfulness and truth that they may watch over him.
Daniel 1:11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

How it’s used In 6 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

27 occurrences in 14 groups

Not stated (infinitive) 6
Not stated: they 4
Not stated: he, she or it 3
Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

17 occurrences in 18 groups

Other words · 18 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

11 occurrences in 15 groups

Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16

With adverbsAdverbs

3 occurrences in 1 groups

לֹאnot 3

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

6 occurrences in 1 groups

לto/for 6

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

יָדhand, power 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 4 words

חָשַׁב châshab · H2803 · to think about, to consider, to plan: Both words are Hebrew verbs of counting or reckoning with overlapping but distinct ranges. חָשַׁב (châshab, H2803) centers on mental calculation and thought ('consider, devise, imagine, esteem'), while the target term is more concretely enumerative and administrative ('count, number, appoint, prepare'). They overlap in the sense of counting and reckoning.
כּוּן kûwn · H3559 · to be in place, to put in place, to establish: Both lexemes share genuine role-assignment/appointment semantics (כּוּן: ordain, order, make preparation; מָנָה: appoint, prepare, set). These are distinct words with overlapping functional meaning in context of establishing or assigning roles/states—a real near-synonym relationship in that narrow semantic zone.
סָפַר çâphar · H5608 · to number, to count, to take a census: Both words denote counting or numbering operations in the sense 'count, number'. They also overlap in the area of measuring; the broader involvement of official or scribal roles in סָפַר likely reflects secondary nominal senses rather than the core verbal sense.
תָּכַן tâkan · H8505 · to measure, to weigh out, to weigh: Both words share the semantics of measurement or quantification: the target term ('count, number, measure') and תָּכַן (tâkan, H8505) ('mete, weigh, measure out') overlap in the sense of determining quantity or extent. They are distinct Hebrew roots with overlapping functions.

In the other Testament 2 words

ἀριθμέω arithméō · G705 · to count, to number: Greek ἀριθμέω specifically denotes the act of counting or enumerating, corresponding to the 'count, number' sense subset within Hebrew מָנָה's broader semantic range that also includes appointment and preparation.
προστάσσω prostássō · G4367 · to order, to instruct, to tell: Greek προστάσσω specifically denotes authoritative command or enjoinment (arranging towards compliance), representing one narrow semantic application of Hebrew מָנָה's broader semantic range that includes appointing, counting, numbering, and preparing—the two converge when מָנָה carries the sense of 'appoint' with authoritative force, but προστάσσω does not extend to the numerical/quantitative senses of מָנָה.

Semantic domains 5 entries

Measure002004002009: מָנָה describes measuring or reckoning a quantity, illustrated at Genesis 13:16 ("if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted") and Ezekiel's cognate uses.
Compare002004002003: מָנָה's sense of reckoning a number can extend to comparing quantities or portions against one another, though the sampled citations illustrate straightforward counting rather than an explicit comparison.
Engage002003003011: This entry carries no independent "Engage" sense of its own distinct from ordinary counting; the genuine tagged occurrences (e.g. Numbers 23:10, 2 Samuel 24:1) concern counting a quantity, and the extension to appointing or engaging someone to a task is not independently attested by a citation of its own here; the domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
Quantity002001001046: מָנָה describes a numerical quantity or count, illustrated at Numbers 23:10 ("who has counted the dust of Jacob") and 2 Samuel 24:1 ("go, count Israel and Judah").
Role002002002008: This entry carries no independent "Role" sense of its own distinct from ordinary counting; the genuine tagged occurrences concern counting a quantity, and the extension to appointing someone to a role is not independently attested by a citation of its own here; the domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.

Word family 8 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

מָנָהmânâh · H4487מָנָה mânâh · H4490 · part, portion · 12×מְנָת mᵉnâth · H4521 · part, portion, prey · 9×מְנָא mᵉnâʼ · H4483 · number, ordain, set · 5×מָנֶה mâneh · H4488 · mina · 5×מְנֵא mᵉnêʼ · H4484 · Mene · 3×מֹנֶה môneh · H4489 · time, instance · 2×מִנְיָן minyân · H4510 · number · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4487. manah מָנָה verb count, number, reckon, assign (Late Hebrew id.; Assyrian manû…

H4487. manah
מָנָה verb count, number, reckon, assign (Late Hebrew id.; Assyrian manû DlHWB 416; Arabic assign, apportion; Aramaic , מְנָא); —
Qal Perfect מָנָה Num 23:10; וּמָנִ֫יתִי Isa 65:12; Imperfect2masculine singular תִּמְנֶהֿ 1Ki 20:25; וַיִּמְנוּ 2Ki 12:11; Imperative מְנֵה 2Sa 24:1; Infinitive construct לִמְנוֺת Gen 13:16 Gen 13:4t.; Participle מוֺנֶה Jer 33:13; Psa 147:4; —
1 count, number (compare סָפַר) dust (grains) Gen 13:16 (J), compare יַעֲקֹב עֲפַר Num 23:10 (JE); money 2Ki 12:11; stars (׳מ לַכּוֺכָבִים מִסְמָּר) Psa 147:4; flock Jer 33:13 (symbol of peace); days Psa 90:12; people, army 2Sa 24:1; 1Ch 21:1, 1Ch 21:17, compare 1Ch 27:24 (object omitted); 1Ki 20:25.
2 reckon, assign, appoint לַחֶרֶב Isa 65:12 (with play on מְנִי Isa 65:11).
Niph`al Perfect נִמְנָה Isa 53:12; Imperfect יִמָּנֶה Gen 13:16; 1Ki 3:8; יִמָּנוּ 1Ki 8:5 2Ch 5:6; Infinitive construct הִמָנוֺת Ecc 1:15; —
1 be counted, numbered, of descendants Gen 13:16 (J), of people 1Ki 3:8 (|| נִסְמַּר); of sacrificial animals 1Ki 8:5 2Ch 5:6 (both || id.); indefinite Ecc 1:15.
2 be reckoned, assigned (a place), of servant of ׳י Isa 53:12 (with מּשְׁעִים אֶת).
Pi`el (late and in poetry) (Biblical Aramaic and ᵑ7. מַנִּי); — Perfect מִנָּה Dan 1:10-11, מִנּוּ Job 7:3; Imperfect וַיְמַן Jon 2:1 Jon 2:4t.; Imperative מַן Psa 61:8; appoint, ordain, food Dan 1:10, Dan 1:5 (followed by לְ), officer Dan 1:11 (followed by על); nights of weariness (עָמָל לֵילוֺת) Job 7:3 (subject indefinite; followed by לְ); in story of Jonah, object. fish Jon 2:1, ricinus Jon 4:6; worm Jon 4:7, wind Jon 4:8 (all subject b>׳י); object וֶאֱמֶת חֶסֶד Psa 61:8 (subject ׳י).
Pu`al Participle plural מְמֻנִּים 1Ch 9:29 appointed, of porters (followed by עַל).

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

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