זָקֵן
old
‘old’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
74 distinct verses where H2205 appears in the Absolute state, across 25 books. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 6 verses
- Genesis 18:11 זְקֵנִ֔ים adj Adjective mp Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
- Genesis 19:4 זָקֵ֑ן adj Adjective ms But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
- Genesis 25:8 זָקֵ֣ן adj Adjective ms Abraham gave up the spirit, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 35:29 זָקֵ֖ן adj Adjective ms Isaac gave up the spirit, and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
- Genesis 43:27 הַ/זָּקֵ֖ן ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms He asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?"
- Genesis 44:20 זָקֵ֔ן adj Adjective ms We said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.'
Exodus 1 verse
Leviticus 1 verse
Numbers 1 verse
Deuteronomy 4 verses
- Deuteronomy 22:16 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֑ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp and the young lady's father shall tell the elders, I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her;
- Deuteronomy 25:7 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֗ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp If the man doesn't want to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.
- Deuteronomy 25:9 הַ/זְּקֵנִים֒ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.
- Deuteronomy 28:50 לְ/זָקֵ֔ן prep + Adjective Adjective ms a nation of fierce facial expressions, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young,
Joshua 2 verses
- Joshua 6:21 זָקֵ֑ן adj Adjective ms They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
- Joshua 24:31 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֗ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Yahweh, that he had worked for Israel.
Judges 5 verses
- Judges 2:7 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֗ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp The people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Yahweh that he had worked for Israel.
- Judges 19:16 זָקֵ֗ן adj Adjective ms Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
- Judges 19:17 הַ/זָּקֵ֛ן ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? and whence come you?
- Judges 19:20 הַ/זָּקֵן֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms The old man said, Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don't lodge in the street.
- Judges 19:22 הַ/זָּקֵן֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into your house, that we may know him.
Ruth 2 verses
- Ruth 4:9 לַ/זְּקֵנִ֜ים prep det + Adjective Adjective mp Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.
- Ruth 4:11 וְ/הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Yahweh make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two built the house of Israel: and do you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
1 Samuel 3 verses
- 1 Samuel 2:31 זָקֵ֖ן adj Adjective ms Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.
- 1 Samuel 2:32 זָקֵ֛ן adj Adjective ms You shall see the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
- 1 Samuel 28:14 זָקֵן֙ adj Adjective ms He said to her, What form is he of? She said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a robe. Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
1 Kings 9 verses
- 1 Kings 12:6 הַ/זְּקֵנִים֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give you me to return answer to this people?
- 1 Kings 12:8 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
- 1 Kings 12:13 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp The king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,
- 1 Kings 13:11 זָקֵ֔ן adj Adjective ms Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken to the king, them also they told to their father.
- 1 Kings 13:25 הַ/זָּקֵ֖ן ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms Behold, men passed by, and saw the body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
- 1 Kings 13:29 הַ/זָּקֵ֔ן ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms The prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on the donkey, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him.
- 1 Kings 20:8 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp All the elders and all the people said to him, Don't you listen, neither consent.
- 1 Kings 21:8 הַ/זְקֵנִ֤ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, [and] who lived with Naboth.
- 1 Kings 21:11 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֣ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.
2 Kings 3 verses
- 2 Kings 6:32 וְ/הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים הַ/זְּקֵנִ֗ים conj + ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See you how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him?
- 2 Kings 10:1 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up [the sons of] Ahab, saying,
- 2 Kings 10:5 וְ/הַ/זְּקֵנִים֩ conj + ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought up [the children], sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: you do that which is good in your eyes.
1 Chronicles 1 verse
2 Chronicles 4 verses
- 2 Chronicles 10:6 הַ/זְּקֵנִים֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give you me to return answer to this people?
- 2 Chronicles 10:8 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
- 2 Chronicles 10:13 הַ/זְּקֵנִֽים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp The king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 זָקֵ֣ן adj Adjective ms Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed: he gave them all into his hand.
Ezra 2 verses
- Ezra 3:12 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֗ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' [houses], the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
- Ezra 10:8 וְ/הַ/זְּקֵנִ֔ים conj + ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp and that whoever didn't come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
Esther 1 verse
Job 4 verses
- Job 12:20 זְקֵנִ֣ים adj Adjective mp He removes the speech of those who are trusted, And takes away the understanding of the elders.
- Job 32:4 זְֽקֵנִים adj Adjective mp Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were elder than he.
- Job 32:9 וּ֝/זְקֵנִ֗ים conj + Adjective Adjective mp It is not the great who are wise, Nor the aged who understand justice.
- Job 42:17 זָקֵ֖ן adj Adjective ms So Job died, being old and full of days.
Psalms 3 verses
- Psalms 107:32 זְקֵנִ֣ים adj Adjective mp Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, And praise him in the seat of the elders.
- Psalms 119:100 מִ/זְּקֵנִ֥ים prep + Adjective Adjective mp I understand more than the aged, Because I have kept your precepts.
- Psalms 148:12 זְ֝קֵנִ֗ים adj Adjective mp Both young men and maidens; Old men and children:
Proverbs 2 verses
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 6 verses
- Isaiah 3:2 וְ/זָקֵֽן conj + Adjective Adjective ms The mighty man, The man of war, The judge, The prophet, The diviner, The elder,
- Isaiah 3:5 בַּ/זָּקֵ֔ן prep det + Adjective Adjective ms The people will be oppressed, Everyone by another, And everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, And the base against the honorable.
- Isaiah 9:15 זָקֵ֥ן adj Adjective ms The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
- Isaiah 20:4 וּ/זְקֵנִ֖ים conj + Adjective Adjective mp so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
- Isaiah 47:6 זָקֵ֕ן adj Adjective ms I was angry with my people, I profaned my inheritance, and gave them into your hand: you did show them no mercy; on the aged have you very heavily laid your yoke.
- Isaiah 65:20 וְ/זָקֵ֔ן conj + Adjective Adjective ms There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
Jeremiah 3 verses
- Jeremiah 6:11 זָקֵ֖ן adj Adjective ms Therefore I am full of the wrath of Yahweh; I am weary with holding in: pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.
- Jeremiah 31:13 וּ/זְקֵנִ֖ים conj + Adjective Adjective mp Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
- Jeremiah 51:22 זָקֵ֣ן adj Adjective ms and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein; and with you will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;
Lamentations 4 verses
- Lamentations 2:21 וְ/זָקֵ֔ן conj + Adjective Adjective ms The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: You have killed them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
- Lamentations 4:16 זקנים וּ/זְקֵנִ֖ים adj Adjective mp conj + Adjective Adjective mp The anger of Yahweh has scattered them; he will no more regard them: They didn't respect the persons of the priests, they didn't favor the elders.
- Lamentations 5:12 זְקֵנִ֖ים adj Adjective mp Princes were hanged up by their hand: The faces of elders were not honored.
- Lamentations 5:14 זְקֵנִים֙ adj Adjective mp The elders have ceased from the gate, The young men from their music.
Ezekiel 2 verses
- Ezekiel 7:26 מִ/זְּקֵנִֽים prep + Adjective Adjective mp Mischief shall come on mischief, and rumor shall be on rumor; and they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
- Ezekiel 9:6 זָקֵ֡ן הַ/זְּקֵנִ֔ים adj Adjective ms ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp kill utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but don't come near any man on whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house.
Joel 3 verses
- Joel 1:2 הַ/זְּקֵנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp Hear this, you elders, And listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this ever happened in your days, Or in the days of your fathers?
- Joel 1:14 זְקֵנִ֗ים adj Adjective mp Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, And all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God, And cry to Yahweh.
- Joel 2:16 זְקֵנִ֔ים adj Adjective mp Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his room, And the bride out of her chamber.
Zechariah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, זקן (zâqên) means “old.” Older and newer Bibles part ways — “elders” in the King James Version, “elders of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) in modern versions. See the renderings breakdown. It appears 171 verses across 26 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its common vocabulary. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 18:11. Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2205 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 171
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 171 distinct verses.
- 26 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 26 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #261
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 261 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 171 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Deuteronomy 21 verses 12%
- Judges 14 verses 8%
- Exodus 12 verses 7%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 171 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 84 verses · 49%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 51 verses · 30%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 36 verses · 21%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Elders 86×, Old 18×, All the elders 17×
- American Standard Version†: Elders 88×, Old 21×, All the elders 17×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Elders 112×, Old 21×, Some of the elders 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Elders of 69×, Elders 58×, Old 20×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2205 across 178† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 24 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2205 across 178† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 25 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H2205 across 175† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 24 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2205 across 181† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 15 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 6 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
זקן I be or become old (cf., according to Thes, Arabic ذَقُونٌa she-camal that lets her lower lip hang down, 3, v. Lane 968
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. זָקֵן Gn 18:12 + 14 times (often hard to disting. from pred. adj. זָקֵן q.v.); 3 fs. זָֽקְנָה Pr 23:22; 2 ms. זָקַנְתָּ 1 S 8:5; זָקַ֫נְתָּה Jos 13:1; 1 s. זָקַנְתִּי Jos 23:2 + 3 times; זָקַ֑נְתִּי Gn 18:13; 27:2; Impf. וַיִּזְקַן 2 Ch 24:15;—be (or become) old Gn 18:12, 13; 19:31; 27:1, 2 (all J), 1 S 2:22; 4:18; 8:1, 5; 12:2; 17:12 2 S 19:33 1 K 1:1, 15 2 K 4:14; also Gn 24:1 (‖ בא בימים), so Jos 13:1(×2); 23:1, 2 (‖ here בָּאתִי בימים), 1 Ch 23:1 (‖ שָׂבַע ימים), 2 Ch 24:15 (‖ id.); Pr 23:22 ψ 37:25 (opp. היה נער); note especially זָקַנְתִּי מִהְיוֹת לאישׁ Ru 1:12 I am too old to belong to a man (husband). e.g. Genesis 18:12
Hiphil
- only Impf. 3 ms. יַזְקִין inchoat. shew age, grow old = senescere Ew.§ 122c, cf. Di; of youth Pr 22:6; of tree-root Jb 14:8. e.g. Proverbs 22:6
זקן II old, abs. ז׳ Gn 19
- 1. old, of human beings, as adj. pred. Gn 18:11 (J), Jb 32:4 (ז׳ מִמֶּנּוּ לְיָמִים, in compar.), or attrib. אָב זָקֵן Gn 44:20 (J), אִישׁ ז׳ Ju 19:16, 17, 20, 22, נָבִיא ז׳ 1 K 13:11, 25, 29, מֶלֶךְ ז׳ Ec 4:13; prob. also ז׳ וּשְׂבַע ימים Gn 35:29 (P), Jb 42:17 and Gn 25:8 (P) according to 𝔊 Sam Di; cf. also Ezr 3:12. e.g. Genesis 18:11
- 2. usually as subst.: a. old man (or woman), b. elder;
- a. old man Gn 43:27 (J), Lv 19:32 (H), Dt 28:50; 32:7 (‖ אָב), 1 S 2:31, 32; 28:14 Is 47:6 Jb 12:20; 32:9 Pr 17:6; 20:29 ψ 119:100 Jo 1:2; old men and old women Zc 8:4(×2); cf. זְקַן בֵּיתוֹ Gn 24:2 (J), זִקְנֵי בֵיתוֹ 2 S 12:17; especially opp. נַעַר Ex 10:9 (E), Is 3:5; 20:4 Je 51:22 La 2:21 ψ 148:12, and in phr. מִנַּעַר וְעַד זָקֵן Gn 19:4 (J), Jos 6:21 (JE), Est 3:13; opp. ילדים 1 K 12:6, 8, 13 = 2 Ch 10:6, 8, 13; opp. בַּחוּרִים Je 31:13 Ez 9:6 Jo 3:1, cf. 2 Ch 36:17 (+ יָשֵׁשׁ) and Je 6:11 (+ מְלֵא ימים); opp. עוּל ימים Is 65:20; opp. יונקי שׁדים and עוללים Jo 2:16. e.g. Genesis 43:27
- b. usually pl. elders, as having authority, term techn. (100 times +); elders of a people, especially Israel Ex 3:16, 18; 12:21 (all J), 17:5, 6; 18:12; 19:7; 24:1, 9, 14 Jos 24:1 (all E), Nu 11:16(×2) (שֹׁטְרָיו), v 24, 25, 30; 16:25 Jos 7:6; 8:10; 9:11 (all JE), Dt 5:20 (‖ רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם), 27:1; 29:9 (‖ ראשׁי שׁבטיכם, שֹׁטְרֵיכֶם), 31:9, 28 Jos 8:33 (‖ שֹׁטְרִים וְשֹׁפְטָיו), 23:2 (‖ רָאשׁיו, שֹׁפְטָיו, שֹׁטְרָיו); cf. also prob. Jos 24:31 = Ju 2:7 (all D); Lv 9:1, cf. זִקְנֵי הָעֵדָה Lv 4:15 (†both P), Ju 21:16; see also 1 S 4:3; 8:4; 15:30 2 S 3:17; 5:3 = 1 Ch 11:3, 2 S 17:4, 15 1 K 8:1, 3 = 2 Ch 5:2, 4, also 1 Ch 15:25; 21:16; cf. Is 3:2 (גִּבּוֹר וְאִישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה שׁוֹפֵט וְנָבִיא וְקֹסֵם וְז׳), 9:14 (‖ נְשׂוּא־פָנִים, but v. prob. gloss, cf. Ew Che Di Du al.); elders of one tribe (Judah) 1 S 30:26 2 S 19:12, so of Gilead Ju 11:5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; after the division of the kingdoms, of N. Isr. זקני הארץ 1 K 20:7 cf. v 8, also 2 K 6:32(×2), 10:1 (‖ שָׂרִים etc.) cf. v 5; under Josiah זקני יְהוּדָה 2 K 23:1 = 2 Ch 34:29; see also ז׳ הארץ Je 26:17, cf. זקני ארץ Pr 31:23, cf. La 1:19; 2:10; 4:16; 5:12, 14 (‖ שׂרים; + שַׁעַר); often in Ezek.: Ez 7:26 (‖ כהן), of Judah 8:1, of Isr. 8:11, 12; 14:1; 20:1, 3, also 9:6 (but del. Co). Exil. ז׳ הַגּוֹלָה Je 29:1 (‖ הכהנים, הנביאים); post-exile Ezr 10:8 (‖ שׂרים), poss. also Jo 1:14; elders of י׳ Is 24:23 (cf. Ex 24:1, 9), זִקְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים 2 K 19:2 = Is 37:2, so Je 19:1 (‖ זקני העם); of other peoples, Midian Nu 22:4, 7, Moab v 7 (all E), Egypt ψ 105:22 (‖ שׂרים); of Gebal Ez 27:9; elders of a city, especially as sitting in the gate to judge Dt 19:12; 21:2 (+ שֹׁפְטֶיךָ) v 3, 4, 6, 19 (+ שַׁעַר־מְקֹמוֹ), v 20; 22:15 (+ הַשָּׁ֑עְרָה), v 16, 17, 18; 25:7 (+ הַשַּׁ֫עֲרָה), v 8, 9 (all in Dt. code, and only so therein), Ru 4:2, 4, 9, 11 (cf. שַׁעַר v 1, 11), מוֹשַׁב זְקֵנִים ψ 107:32 (‖ קְהַל־עָ֑ם); Ju 8:14 (‖ שׂרים), v 16 1 S 11:3; 16:4 1 K 21:8, 11 Ezr 10:14. e.g. Exodus 3:16
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. be or become old (cf., according to Thes, Arabic ذَقُونٌa she-camal that lets her lower lip hang down, 3, v. Lane 968; ذِقْنٌ decrepit man)—
II. adj. old, abs. ז׳ Gn 19:4 + 30 times (on distinct. from vb. v. supr.); cstr. זְקַן Gn 24:2; pl. זְקֵנִים Gn 18:11 + 44 times; זְקֵנוֹת Zc 8:4; cstr. זִקְנֵי Gn 50:7 + 85 times; sf. זְקֵנַי La 1:19, זְקֵנֶיךָ Dt 21:2; 32:7, זְקֵנָיו Jos 8:33 + 3 times, זְקֵנֶיהָ Ju 8:14, זְקֵנֵינוּ Ex 10:9 Jos 9:11, זִקְנֵיכֶם Dt 5:20 + 2 times;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from זקן (zâqên) (H2204) — to be old.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
זָקֵן I
- (b. h.) [to be thin, shrunk, hard,] to be old. Gen. R. s. 48 (ref. to Gen. XVIII, 13) ואני זָקַנְתִּי מלעשות וכ׳ am I (the Lord) too old to do wonders? e.g. Genesis 18:13
- 1. to grow old. Snh. 100ᵇ הִזְקִינָה שמא וכ׳ when she arrives at old age, he is afraid lest &c. Erub. 56ᵃ מַזְקִינִים בחצי וכ׳ they age in the middle of their days (prematurely). Sabb. 152ᵃ כל זמן שמַזְקִינִין the older they grow; a. fr.
- 2. to make old, consider old (feeble). Gen. R. s. 48 אתם … ומזקינים חביריכם you consider each himself young, and each his partner old (Yalk. ib. 82 ומז׳ אדניכם and believe your Lord too old [to do wonders]); v. supra.
- 1. to become old, weak, frail. Y. Ber. IX, end 14ᶜ (ref. to prov. XXIII, 22) אם נִזְדַּקְּנָה אומתך וכ׳ if thy nation is decaying (in faith), stand up and fence her in (prevent her being trodden upon); Yalk. Prov. 960.—2) (cmp. דקדק) to be maturely considered, be clear (beyond doubt);
- 3. (cmp. קשיש) to be hard, difficult. Tosef. Snh. VII, 7 (the presiding judge declares) (נִיזְקַן) נִזְקַן הדין ed. Zuck. (Var. נזדקן, נזדקק); discussed in Snh. 42ᵃ מאי נזד׳ הדין what does nizdakken mean? Does it mean קש דינא the case is hard (difficult, so as to demand a reconsideration)?… It means חכם דינא the case is clear; Y. Snh. V, end, 23ᵃ
זָקֵן II
- preced.)
- 1. old man. Gen. R. s. 39, opp. בחור. Y. Bicc. III, 65ᶜ bot. עמידת ז׳ (Yalk. Lev. 670 מצות ז׳) the duty of standing up before an old man. Ḥag. 14ᵃ; a. fr.
- 2. elder, judge, scholar. Ib. (ref. to Is. III, 2) ז׳ זה שראוי וכ׳ zaken means one fit to sit in college sessions. Ber. 8ᵇ ז׳ ששכח וכ׳ a scholar who forgot what he had learned, &c., v. אוֹנֶס. Kidd. 32ᵇ אין ז׳ אלא חכם under zaken (Lev. XIX, 32) a scholar is meant; Sifra K’dosh. Par. 3, ch. VII אין ז̇ק̇ן̇ אלא ז̇ה שק̇נ̇ה חכמה a zaken is he who has acquired wisdom (through study).—ז׳ אשמאי, v. אַשְׁמַאי. Yoma 28ᵇ ז׳ ויושב בישיבה a scholar and member of college. Y. M Kat. III, beg. 81ᶜ איני מכירך ז׳ I shall not recognize thee as (give thee the diploma of) a zaken; a. fr.—Pl. זְקֵנִים. Snh. I, 3, v. סְמִיכָה. Num. R. s. 14 מצות הז׳ rabbinical law. Ber. 11ᵃ זִקְנֵי ב"ש the graduates of the Shammai school; a. v. fr. e.g. Isaiah 3:2
- 3. grandfather, ancestor. Ex. R. s. 1 מעשה זְקֵנָן the conduct of their ancestor (Abraham). Pesik. Zakh., p. 27ᵇ; a. fr.—Fem. זְקֵנָה, זְקֵינָה. 1) old woman. Gen. R. s. 39.—Nidd. 9ᵃ ז׳ one who is past the change of life. Ib. 9ᵇ; a. fr.—2) grandmother, ancestress. Kidd. 31ᵇ הוה ליה ההיא אמא זקי׳ had a grandmother. Gen. R. s. 93 זְקֵינָתוֹ של זה this man’s (my) ancestress (Sarah); a. e.—3) (sub. נְטִיעָה) old plantation. Tosef. Shebi. I, 2; a. e., opp. נטיעה young plantation.—Pl. זְקֵינוֹת. Y. ib. I, 33ᵇ bot.; a. e.
זָקָן
- beard, hair-covered spot. Ber. 11ᵃ זְקָנְךָ וכ׳ thy beard is &c., v. גָּדַל. Snh. VIII, 1 (68ᵇ) עד שיקיף ז׳ התחתון וכ׳ until he grows a beard, by which is meant the hair of the genitals &c.; a. fr.—Pl. זְקָנִים. Lev. R. s. 3.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 82 distinct written forms H2205 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 22 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2205, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 166 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 171 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 18:11
- Exodus 3:16
- Leviticus 4:15
- Numbers 11:16
- Deuteronomy 5:23
- Joshua 6:21
- Judges 2:7
- Ruth 4:2
- 1 Samuel 2:31
- 2 Samuel 3:17
- 1 Kings 8:1
- 2 Kings 6:32
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
