כֹּהֵן
priest
‘priest’ is one of 8 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H3548 appears in the Book of Joshua — 34 distinct verses. 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.
Joshua
- Joshua 3:3 וְ/הַ/כֹּֽהֲנִים֙ conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place, and go after it.
- Joshua 3:6 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֣ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
- Joshua 3:8 הַ/כֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.
- Joshua 3:13 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֡ים ptcl def.art + n c mp It shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap.
- Joshua 3:14 וְ/הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֗ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp It happened, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant being before the people;
- Joshua 3:15 הַ/כֹּֽהֲנִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp and when those who bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest),
- Joshua 3:17 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֡ים ptcl def.art + n c mp The priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over the Jordan.
- Joshua 4:3 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp and command you them, saying, Take hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where you shall lodge this night.
- Joshua 4:9 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there to this day.
- Joshua 4:10 וְ/הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֞ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Yahweh commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hurried and passed over.
- Joshua 4:11 וְ/הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp It happened, when all the people had completely passed over, that the ark of Yahweh passed over, with the priests, in the presence of the people.
- Joshua 4:16 הַ/כֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.
- Joshua 4:17 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come up out of the Jordan.
- Joshua 4:18 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֜ים הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp ptcl def.art + n c mp It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh were come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
- Joshua 6:4 כֹהֲנִ֡ים וְ/הַ/כֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים n c mp conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark: and the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
- Joshua 6:6 הַ/כֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים כֹֽהֲנִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp n c mp Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh.
- Joshua 6:8 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֡ים ptcl def.art + n c mp It was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before Yahweh passed on, and blew the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed them.
- Joshua 6:9 הַ/כֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rearward went after the ark, [the priests] blowing the trumpets as they went.
- Joshua 6:12 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh.
- Joshua 6:13 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֡ים ptcl def.art + n c mp The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually, and blew the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; and the rearward came after the ark of Yahweh, [the priests] blowing the trumpets as they went.
- Joshua 6:16 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp It happened at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, Shout; for Yahweh has given you the city.
- Joshua 8:33 הַ/כֹּהֲנִ֨ים ptcl def.art + n c mp All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, as well the foreigner as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
- Joshua 14:1 הַ/כֹּהֵן֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms These are the inheritances which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' [houses] of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed to them,
- Joshua 17:4 הַ/כֹּהֵ֜ן ptcl def.art + n c ms They came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, Yahweh commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers: therefore according to the commandment of Yahweh he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.
- Joshua 19:51 הַ/כֹּהֵ֣ן ptcl def.art + n c ms These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' [houses] of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh, at the door of the tent of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.
- Joshua 20:6 הַ/כֹּהֵ֣ן ptcl def.art + n c ms He shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the manslayer return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city from whence he fled.
- Joshua 21:1 הַ/כֹּהֵ֔ן ptcl def.art + n c ms Then came near the heads of fathers' [houses] of the Levites to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers' [houses] of the tribes of the children of Israel;
- Joshua 21:4 הַ/כֹּהֵ֜ן ptcl def.art + n c ms The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
- Joshua 21:13 הַ/כֹּהֵ֗ן ptcl def.art + n c ms To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs,
- Joshua 21:19 הַ/כֹּֽהֲנִ֑ים ptcl def.art + n c mp All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
- Joshua 22:13 הַ/כֹּהֵֽן ptcl def.art + n c ms The children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
- Joshua 22:30 הַ/כֹּהֵ֗ן ptcl def.art + n c ms When Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.
- Joshua 22:31 הַ/כֹּהֵ֡ן ptcl def.art + n c ms Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we know that Yahweh is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Yahweh: now have you delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh.
- Joshua 22:32 הַ/כֹּהֵ֣ן ptcl def.art + n c ms Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
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.
כהן — transliterated kôhên — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “priest.” The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. Spanning 652 verses in 29 books, it ranks among the most common words of the Hebrew Bible. Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 14:18. Sharing its root, it stands alongside כהן, כהנה and כהן. See the sense tree, 652-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3548 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 →
- 652
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 652 distinct verses.
- 29 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 29 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #67
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 67 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 652 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Leviticus 153 verses 23%
- 2 Chronicles 72 verses 11%
- Numbers 62 verses 10%
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 652 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 245 verses · 38%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 239 verses · 37%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 168 verses · 26%
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).
- King James Version: Priest 392×, Priests 243×, Priest's 7×
- American Standard Version: Priest 383×, Priests 232×, Were priests 6×
- Berean Standard Bible: Priest 380×, Priests 255×, Way the priest 8×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Priest 410×, Priests 271×, The 30×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3548 across 750 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 58 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 H3548 across 750 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 83 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 H3548 across 725 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 37 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 25 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3548 across 768 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 17 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
11 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
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 11 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.
- 1. priest-king: e.g. Melchizedek Gn 14:18 (E?), cf. ψ 110:4 (the Messianic priest-King like Melchizedek); Zc 6:13 (Messianic priest and king); Israel מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים Ex 19:6 (E) a kingdom of priests (priests and kings at once in their relation to the nations); cf. Is 61:6 (of Israel ministering as a priest); or a chieftain (exercising priestly functions) כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן Ex 2:16; 3:1; 18:1 (all JE); so also probably the sons of David 2 S 8:18, his grandson 1 K 4:5; and Ira the Jairite 2 S 20:26, who as princes performed priestly functions. With these we may class the כהנים Ex 19:22, 24 (J). e.g. Genesis 14:18
- 2. priests of other religions than י׳’s: Potiphera כ׳ אֹן Gn 41:45, 50 (E), 46:20 (P); Egyptian כהנים Gn 47:22(×2), 26 (J); כ׳ דָגוֹן 1 S 5:5; Philistine כהנים וקסמים 1 S 6:2; כֹּהֲנָיו his priests: e.g. of Baal 2 K 10:19 = of Ahab 2 K 10:11; of Chemosh Je 48:7; of Malcam Je 49:3; Mattan was כ׳ הבעל 2 K 11:18 = 2 Ch 23:17; הכמרים עם הכהנים Zp 1:4; Josiah burned the bones of the priests of the Baalim and Asherim 2 Ch 34:5. e.g. Genesis 41:45
- 3. priests of special orders in Israel:
- a. Micah in the hill-country of Ephraim consecrated his own son וַיְהִי־לוֹ לְכֹהֵן Ju 17:5; but so soon as he could secure Jonathan ben Gershom, a descendant of Moses (see VB Ju 18:30), he consecrated him, היה ל׳ לכהן Ju 17:10, 12, 13; 18:4, 19; הַכֹּהֵן v 6, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27. He was captured by the Danites, and he and his line became priests at Dan until the Exile, v 19(×2), 30. e.g. Judges 17:5
- b. Jeroboam עשׂה כהנים 1 K 12:31 of those not מבני לוי, as כ׳ (הַ)בָּמוֹת priests of (the) high places 1 K 12:32; 13:2, 33(×2) = כ׳ לבמות 2 Ch 11:15; Amaziah (of this class) was כ׳ בית־אל Am 7:10; v. also 2 Ch 13:9; called by Chr כ׳ לְלֹא אלהים v 9; yet Hosea rebukes them as priests of י׳ Ho 4:4, 9; 5:1; 6:9; at the Exile they were deported by the Assyrians 2 K 17:27, 28. e.g. 1 Kings 12:31
- c. the people imported into Samaria made some of themselves כ׳ במות to worship י׳ the God of the land 2 K 17:32. e.g. 2 Kings 17:32
- 4. priests in Israel הכהנים who bore the ark and the trumpets Jos 3:13, 14, 15, 17; 4:3, 9, 10, 17, 18(×2); 6:4(×2), 6(×2), 8, 9, 12, 13, 16 (all JE), 1 K 8:3, 6, 10, 11; Eli was הכהן 1 S 1:9; 2:11; כ׳ יהוה 14:3; and his sons כ׳ ליהוה 1 S 1:3; a מִשְׁפַּט הַכֹּהֲנִים 1 S 2:13 mentions the ministering priest הכהן and the נַעַר הַכּ׳ 1 S 2:13, 14, 15(×2), Ahijah was הַכּ׳ in time of Saul 1 S 14:19(×2); 36; Abimelech הַכּ׳ at Nob, a priestly centre, 1 S 21:2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10; 22:11; where were many כֹּהֲנֵי י׳ 1 S 22:17(×2), 21, all slain by Saul except Abiathar son of Ahimelech 1 S 22:11, 18(×2), 19, who became הַכּ׳ 1 S 23:9; 30:7 1 K 1:7, 19, 25, 42; 2:22, 26; Zadok later was הַכּ׳ 2 S 15:27 1 K 1:8, 26, 32, 34, 38, 39, 44, 45; 2:35; 3:2 1 Ch 16:39; 24:6: so that the two were (ה)כהנים 2 S 8:17 = 1 Ch 18:16 (read וְאֶבְיָתָר בֶּן־אח׳ 2 S 8:17 𝔖 We Dr, and correct 1 Ch 18:16 accordingly) 2 S 15:35(×2); 17:15; 19:12; 20:25 1 K 4:4; Sol. removed Abiathar 1 K 2:27 and Zadok was anointed לְכֹהֵן according to 1 Ch 29:22; cf. prediction of rejection of house of Eli and selection of כ׳ נֶאֱמָן 1 S 2:28, 35; Jehoiada הַכּ׳ led the revolution against Athaliah 2 K 11:9(×2), 10, 15(×2), 18; 12:3, 8, 10 = 2 Ch 22:11; 23:8(×2), 9, 14(×2); 24:2, 20, 25, perhaps also Je 29:26; הנהנים sustaining him in his reforms 2 K 12:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17; Uriah was הַכּ׳ in the reign of Ahaz 2 K 16:10, 11(×2), 15, 16 Is 8:2; Hilkiah of Josiah 2 K 22:10, 12, 14; 23:24 2 Ch 34:14, 18. Other individual priests are named, e.g.: Pashhur of Jehoiachin Je 20:1; Zephaniah of Zedekiah Je 21:1; 29:25, 26, 29; 37:3; הַכּ׳ is Ezekiel’s title Ez 1:3. Priests are classed with officials of state: prophets and priests 2 K 23:2 Is 28:7 Je 5:31; 6:13; 8:10; 14:18; 23:11, 33, 34; 26:7, 8, 11, 16; 29:1; La 2:20; 4:13; priests and elders La 1:19; 4:16; king and priest La 2:6; kings, priests, and prophets Je 13:13; kings, princes, and priests Je 1:18; princes, eunuchs, and priests Je 34:19; priest, sage, and prophet Je 18:18; chiefs, priests, and prophets Mi 3:11; prophets, priests, and elders Ez 7:26; kings, princes, priests, and prophets Je 2:26; 4:9; 8:1; 32:32; princes, judges, prophets, and priests Zp 3:4; seeming to exclude any other officials. Apparently in the same generic sense הכהנים Je 1:1; 2:8; 27:16; 28:1, 5; 29:25; 31:14; כַּכֹּהֵן Is 24:2; כהנים Jb 12:19; כהניה La 1:4 Ez 22:26; כהניו ψ 78:64. Moses and Aaron among his priests ψ 99:6 includes Moses (against P). Zion’s priests clothed with righteousness and salvation ψ 132:9, 16 = 2 Ch 6:41, prob. here also. e.g. Joshua 3:13
- 5. Levitical priests הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם Dt 17:9, 18; 18:1; 24:8; 27:9; Jos 3:3; 8:33 (all D), Je 33:18 (inverted), v 21 (neither in 𝔊), 2 Ch 5:5 (= הַכּ׳ וְהַלּ׳ 1 K 8:4: Chronicler retains original Deuteronomic reading), Ez 43:19; 44:15 (cf. 6); הַכּ׳ בְנֵי לֵוִי Dt 21:5; 31:9; לקח לכ׳ לל׳ Is 66:21 take for priests, for Levites (of the nations in Messianic age). Doubtless of same class are: הַכֹּהֲנִים Dt 18:3; 19:17; Jos 3:6, 8; 4:11 (D); and הַכֹּהֵן, the priest officiating on a partic. occasion Dt 18:3; 20:2; or holding a partic. dignity 17:12; 26:3, 4. The כהנים of the other cities of Judah, כ׳ הבמות, who were not allowed to minister in Jerusalem 2 K 23:8(×2), 9, 20, may be an attempt to enforce an exclusion from the priesthood of all but Levitical priests. e.g. Deuteronomy 17:9
- 6. Zadokite priests: Ezekiel distinguishes among הכהנים הלוים those of the seed of Zadok, בְּנֵי צָדוֹק; all but the latter excluded by him from priesthood 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11; the priests of his code being all Zadokites 40:45, 46; 42:13, 14; 43:24, 27; 44:21, 22, 30(×2), 31; 45:4, 19; 46:2, 19, 20; 48:10, 13. e.g. Ezekiel 40:46
- 7. Aaronic priests. In H. it is taken for granted that a priest is of the seed of Aaron; the pl. is never used; כֹּהֵן is used for any priest Lv 21:9; 22:10, 11, 12, 13; הַכֹּהֵן for Aaron Lv 21:21, and for the official priest (acting for the priesthood, almost collective) Lv 17:5, 6; 22:14; 23:10, 11, 20(×2); 27:8(×3), 11, 12(×2), 14(×2), 18, 21, 23. The priests of P are בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן Lv 1:5, 8, 11; 2:2; 3:2; 21:1 Nu 3:3; 10:8 Jos 21:19; so in Chronicles 2 Ch 13:9, 10; 26:18; 29:21; 31:19; 35:14(×2); הַכֹּהֵן is used of Aaron 22 times, Eleazar 29 times, Phinehas Jos 22:30 and elsewhere; 180 times of ministering priests, or generic of the priests; הכהנים Lv 6:22; 7:6; 13:2; 16:33 Jos 4:16; כהן Lv 6:16. Chronicles distinguishes הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם 1 Ch 13:2; 15:11, 14; 23:2; 24:6, 31; 28:13, 21 2 Ch 8:15; 11:13; 13:9, 10; 23:4; 24:5; 29:4; 30:15, 25; 31:2(×2), 4, 9; 34:30; 35:8, 18 (the variants without וְ 2 Ch 23:18; 30:27 are due to copyists’ errors). Ezr 1:5; 2:70; 3:8, 12; 6:20; 7:7; 8:29, 30; 9:1 Ne 7:72; 8:13; 11:3; 12:1, 30, 44(×2); 13:30; הלוים והכהנים 2 Ch 19:8; 30:21; priests, Levites, and others 1 Ch 9:2 Ezr 10:5 Ne 10:1, 29, 35; 11:20; בְּנֵי לֵוִי antith. to הַכּ׳ Ezr 8:15; הכהן בן אהרן עם הלוים Ne 10:39; (ה)כהנים in Chr 67 times has the same reference, as also כֹּהֲנֵינוּ Ezr 9:7 Ne 9:32, 34; כֹּהֵן Ezr 2:63 = Ne 7:65; כ׳ ליהוה 2 Ch 26:17; כהניו His (God’s) priests 2 Ch 13:12; כ׳ מוֹרֶה teaching priest 2 Ch 15:3; הַכֹּהֵן is used of Jehoiada in time of David 1 Ch 27:5, and Azariah in the reign of Uzziah 2 Ch 26:17. In the literature of the restoration הַכֹּהֵן is used of Ezra, Ezr 7:11; 10:10, 16 Ne 8:2, 9; 12:26; Uriah Ezr 8:33; Eliashib Ne 13:4; Shelemiah Ne 13:13; הכהנים Jo 1:9, 13; 2:17 Hg 2:11, 12, 13 Zc 7:5 Mal 1:6; 2:1; priests and prophets Zc 7:3; כהן Mal 2:7. e.g. Leviticus 21:9
- 8. the high priest: הַכֹּהֵן is frequently used (see 4) to designate the priest who was at the head of priestly affairs. The adj. הַגָּדוֹל first appears of Jehoiada 2 K 12:11, then of Hilkiah 2 K 22:4, 8; 23:4; 2 Ch 34:9; after the exile, of Joshua Hg 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4 Zc 3:1, 8; 6:11, and Eliashib Ne 3:1, 20; 13:28. But P uses it of Aaron and his eldest descendants who are anointed with holy oil Lv 21:10 (H; הכ׳ הַגָּדוֹל מֶאֶהָיו), Nu 35:25, 28(×2) Jos 20:6, and so הַכּ׳ הַמָּשִׁיהַ Lv 4:3, 5, 16; 6:15, cf. 16:32. כ׳ הָרֹאשׁ is used of Seraiah 2 K 25:18 = Je 52:24; and, in Chronicler, of Amariah 2 Ch 19:11, Jehoiada 2 Ch 24:11, Azariah, 2 Ch 26:20; 31:10; of Aaron Ezr 7:5. (We also supposes הרואה in 2 S 15:27 to be a corruption of הראשׁ, which he regards as postexilic insertion. The text is corrupt [see DrSm. l.c.]; but this correction is improbable. Lists of high priests occur 1 Ch 5:30–41; 6:35–38.) A priest of second rank (כֹּהֵן (ה)מִשְׁנֶה) appears in 2 K 23:4 (cstr. pl. incorrect), 25:18 = Je 52:24; זִקְנֵי הַכּ׳ 2 K 19:2 = Is 37:2, Je 19:1; שָׂרֵי הַכּ׳ 2 Ch 36:14 Ezr 8:24, 29; 10:5; רָאשֵׁי הַכּ׳ Ne 12:7. e.g. 2 Kings 12:11
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
n.m. priest (NH כֹּהֵן; Aramaic כָּהֵין, כַּהֲנָא ܟܳܗܶܢ, ܟܳܗܢܳܐ; Ethiopic ካህን, all id.; on Ph. and Arabic v. supr.);—כ׳ Gn 14:18 + 439 times; pl. כֹּהֲנִים Ex 19:6 + 272 times; cstr. כֹּהֲנֵי 1 S 5:5 + 13 times; sf. כֹּהֲנַי La 1:19 + 22 times; sfs.—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from כהן (kâhan) (H3547) — to serve as priest.
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.
כֹּהֵן
- , v. כּוּן; cmp. b. h. כַּן) [standing, stationed,] officer, esp. priest. Yoma 6ᵃ, a. fr. כ׳ גדול (abbr. כ"ג) high priest, כ׳ הדיוט ordinary priest. Meg. I, 9 כ׳ משוח an anointed high priest, contrad. to מרובה בגדים a high priest distinguished only by his robes (but not anointed, as in the days of the Second Temple). Ib. כ׳ משמש officiating highpriest, כ׳ שעבר a substitute of the high priest no longer required, ex-substitute. Hor. III, 8 ממזר … קודם לכ"ג ע"ה a bastard who is a scholar has the precedence of an ignorant high priest; a. v. fr.—Pl. כֹּהֲנִים. Yeb. 86ᵇ, a. e. בכ"ד מקומות נקראו הכ׳ וכ in twenty four Biblical passages the priests are designated as Levites; a. v. fr.—תּוֹרַת כֹּהֲנִים (abbr. ת"כ) Torath Kohănim, a) name of the third book of Moses, Leviticus. Kidd. 33ᵃ. Lev. R. s. 7 מפני מה … בת"כ why do we, in teaching children, commence with Leviticus? a. e.—b) name of an halachic commentary to Leviticus, also named Sifra. Yeb. 72ᵇ; a. fr.—Fem. כֹּהֶנֶת, כּוֹהֶ׳ a priest’s daughter or wife. Ḥull. 131ᵇ, sq.—Keth. IV, 8 ובכ׳ and in the case of a priest’s wife. Ib. VII, 1, sq. (70ᵃ) ובכ׳ Mish. a. Y. ed. (Bab. ed. ובכהן). Ib. 71ᵃ; a. fr.—Pl. כֹּהֲנוֹת, כּוֹהֲ׳. Ber. 44ᵃ. Yeb. III, 10 אם היו כ׳ (Y. ed. כוה׳) if they are daughters of priests; a. e.
כָּהַן
- , (b. h.), Nithpa. נִתְכַּהֵן (denom. of כֹּהֵן) to be appointed priest, to act as priest. Zeb. 101ᵇ לא נ׳ פנחס וכ׳ Phineas was not appointed high priest until &c. Ib. 102ᵃ לא נ׳ משה וכ׳ Moses acted as priest only during &c.
כָּהֵן
- Targ. Jer. XIV, 18. Targ. Mal. II, 7. Targ. Lev. I, 7; a. v. fr.—Snh. 110ᵃ, a. fr. כ׳ רבא high priest. Ḥull. 49ᵃ ישמעאל כ׳ מסייע כהני Ishmael, being a priest, favors the priests. Gitt. 59ᵇ קרי בכ׳ read from the Torah in the priest’s place, i.e. was called up the first; Meg. 22ᵃ Ms. O. (ed. בכהני pl.); a. fr.—Pl. כַּהֲנִין, כַּהֲנַיָּא, כַּהֲנֵי. Targ. Ex. XIX, 6. Targ. O. Lev. I, 5; a. fr.—Gitt. l. c. כ׳ חשיבי דא"י highly esteemed Palestinean priests; a. fr.—Fem. (כֹּהֶנֶת) כַּהַנְתָּא. Ḥull. 131ᵇ … יהיב לכ׳ gave priestly gifts to a priest’s daughter (married to an Israelite). Pes. 49ᵃ נסיב כ׳ married a priest’s daughter.—Pl. כַּהֲנָתָא. Ber. 44ᵃ
כָּהֵן ²
- (or כֹּהֵן), כַּהֲנָא II pr. n. m. Kahen, Kahăna, name of several Amoraim. Y. Ber. III, 6ᵃ, a. fr. ר׳ כהן.—B. Kam. 117ᵃ. Y. R. Hash. IV, beg. 59ᵇ; a. fr.—Erub. 8ᵇ רב כ׳ רביה דרב (v., however, Ms. M. a. Rabb. D. S. a. l. notes); a. fr.—v. Fr. M’bo, p. 109ᵇ, sq.
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 161 distinct written forms H3548 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; 101 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3548, 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 → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 595 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 652 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 14:18
- Exodus 2:16
- Leviticus 1:5
- Numbers 3:3
- Deuteronomy 17:9
- Joshua 3:3
- Judges 17:5
- 1 Samuel 1:3
- 2 Samuel 8:17
- 1 Kings 1:7
- 2 Kings 10:11
- 1 Chronicles 9:2
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.
