כּוּן
to be established
‘to be established’ 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 Niphal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- 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.
Stem
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”). Here: ‘be set up’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘establish’
- Polel
- A stem of hollow/geminate roots functioning like the Piel — intensive active. Here: ‘set up’
- Hophal
- The passive counterpart of the Hiphil (“he was caused to…”). Here: ‘be established’
- Polal
- The passive counterpart of the Polel. Here: ‘set up’
- Hithpolel
- The reflexive counterpart of the Polel. Here: ‘set up’
Form
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
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).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
17 verses where H3559 appears in the Niphal stem in the Book of Psalms. 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.
Psalms
- Psalms 5:9 נְכוֹנָה֮ Niphal ptcp.act fs For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
- Psalms 38:17 נָכ֑וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
- Psalms 51:10 נָ֝כ֗וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
- Psalms 57:7 נָ֘כ֤וֹן נָכ֣וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms Niphal ptcp.act ms My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.
- Psalms 78:37 נָכ֣וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they faithful in his covenant.
- Psalms 89:21 תִּכּ֣וֹן Niphal impf 3fs With whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him.
- Psalms 89:37 יִכּ֣וֹן Niphal impf 3ms It will be established forever like the moon, The faithful witness in the sky." Selah.
- Psalms 93:1 תִּכּ֥וֹן Niphal impf 3fs Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can't be moved.
- Psalms 93:2 נָכ֣וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting.
- Psalms 96:10 תִּכּ֣וֹן Niphal impf 3fs Say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns." The world is also established. It can't be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Psalms 101:7 יִ֝כּ֗וֹן Niphal impf 3ms He who practices deceit won't dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won't be established before my eyes.
- Psalms 102:28 יִכּֽוֹן Niphal impf 3ms The children of your servants will continue. Their seed will be established before you."
- Psalms 108:1 נָכ֣וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul.
- Psalms 112:7 נָכ֥וֹן Niphal ptcp.act ms He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh.
- Psalms 119:5 יִכֹּ֥נוּ Niphal impf 3mp Oh that my ways were steadfast To obey your statutes!
- Psalms 140:11 יִכּ֪וֹן Niphal impf 3ms An evil speaker won't be established in the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
- Psalms 141:2 תִּכּ֤וֹן Niphal impf 3fs Let my prayer be set before you like incense; The lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
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.
The Hebrew verb כון centers on the idea of “to be established.” Older and newer Bibles part ways — “prepare” in the King James Version, “and” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) in modern versions. See the renderings breakdown. It turns up in 211 verses across 27 books, a common footprint. Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 41:32. Across 4 stems, its meaning turns on the binyan (Niphal, Hiphil). Dig into 211-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3559 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 →
- 211
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 211 distinct verses.
- 27 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 27 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #216
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 216 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 211 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 49 verses 23%
- 2 Chronicles 25 verses 12%
- 1 Chronicles 22 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 211 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 136 verses · 64%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 58 verses · 27%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 17 verses · 8%
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 5 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†: Prepare 17×, Shall be established 15×, Prepared 7×
- American Standard Version†: Shall be established 14×, Prepare 13×, Is established 9×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Prepare 13×, Established 11×, I will establish 7×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: And 13×, Prepare 13×, Prepared 13×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3559 across 219† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 97 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 2 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3559 across 220† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 116 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 H3559 across 212† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 111 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 7 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3559 across 252† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 94 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
29 senses and sub-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. This entry also uses Hophal (the passive of Hiphil) and one or more reduplicated stems (the Pōlēl/Pilpēl type), which for hollow or geminate roots behave much like Piel — often intensive or iterative.
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 29 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.
כון I ob. be firm, only in der. conj. (NH Aramaic כּוּן, in der. conj., כִּיוֵּן arrange, direct
Niphal
- Pf. (on 3 ms. v. Pt. infr.), 2 fs. נָכ֫וֹנָה 1 K 2:46; 3 pl. נָכ֫וֹנוּ Pr 19:29; נָכֹ֫נוּ Ez 16:7; Impf. יִכּוֹן Pr 12:3 +; 3 fs. תִּכּוֹן Je 30:20 +; וַתִּכֹּן 1 K 2:12 2 Ch 8:16, etc.; Imv. חִכּוֹן Am 4:12; הִכֹּן Ez 38:7; pl. הכונוּ 2 Ch 35:4 Kt (Qr הָכִינוּ Hiph.); Pt. נָכוֹן Gn 41:32 + (in ψ 93:2 and perhaps elsewhere the Pf. would be poss.); cstr. נְכוֹן Pr 4:18; f. נְכוֹנָה ψ 5:10 + 2 times; pl. נְכֹנִים Ex 19:11 + 2 times; pass. or neut., and (less often) reflex.:— e.g. 1 Kings 2:46
- 1. be set up, established, fixed:
- a. lit., of house upon (עַל) pillars Ju 16:26, 29, so, in metaph., of temple-mt. Is 2:2 = Mi 4:1, עֲדָתוֹ Je 30:20; be firm, of breasts at puberty Ez 16:7; firmly established, of תֵּבֵל ψ 93:1 = 96:10 = 1 Ch 16:30; firm, i.e. a strong support, of י׳’s hand יָדִי תִּכּוֹן עִמּוֹ ψ 89:22 (‖ זְרוֹעִי תְאַמְּצֶנּוּ). e.g. Judges 16:26
- b. fig., of throne 2 S 7:16 = 1 Ch 17:14, 1 K 2:45 ψ 89:38; 93:2 Pr 16:12; 25:5; 29:14; of king, royal family, kingdom 1 S 20:31 1 K 2:12, 46 2 S 7:26 = 1 Ch 17:24. e.g. 2 Samuel 7:16
- c. of any persons, be established, stable, secure, enduring Jb 21:8 (c. לִפְנֵי) Pr 12:3, also v 19 (subj. שְׂפַת אֱמֶת), ψ 101:7 (c. לְנֶגֶד עֵינָ֑י), 102:29 (c. לְפָנֶיךָ), 140:12 (c. בָּאָרֶץ); of plans Pr 16:3; 20:18; נְכוֹן הַיּוֹם 4:18 the established, stable, (part) of the day, i.e. mid-day, when the sun seems motionless in mid-heaven.—2 S 6:6 v. נָכוֹן n.pr. infr. e.g. Job 21:8
- d. fixed, securely determined נ׳ הַדָּבָר מֵעִם הָאֱלֹהִים (‖ אֱמֶת) Gn 41:32 (E); so כְּשַׁחַר נָכוֹן מֹצָאוֹ Ho 6:3 MT, but read כְּשַׁחֲרֵנוּ כֵּן נִמְצָאֵהוּ Gie Beiträge 208 Wead loc.; substantiated, certain, of an allegation Dt 13:15 = 17:4; אֶל־נָכוֹן according to (what is) certain, = certainly, assuredly 1 S 23:23; 26:4 (v. Dr). e.g. Genesis 41:32
- 2. in moral sense, be directed aright, of ways Pr 4:26 ψ 119:5 (cf. Hiph. 3); be fixed aright, stedfast נָכוֹן לִבִּי ψ 57:8(×2); 108:2, so 112:7; לִבָּם לֹא נָכוֹן עִמּוֹ 78:37; רוּחַ נָכוֹן 51:12 (‖ לֵב טָהוֹר); לא נָכוֹן לעשׂות כן Ex 8:22 (J) is is not right, proper, etc.; pt. f. נְכוֹנָה as subst. = what is right, the right Jb 42:7, 8; = uprightness ψ 5:10. e.g. Proverbs 4:26
- 3. prepare, be ready, pers. Am 4:12 (c. ל inf.); words Pr 22:18; הִכֹּן וְהָכֵן לְךָ Ez 38:7; 2 Ch 35:4 Kt (Qr Hiph.); pt. as adj. = prepared, ready, often c. הָיָה, of persons Ex 19:11, 15; 34:2 Jos 8:4 (all JE); of things, sq. ל pers. Jb 12:5 Ne 8:10, ל loc. Jb 18:12, ל nom. act. ψ 38:18; ב loc. Jb 15:23; e.g. Amos 4:12
- 4. pass. be prepared, of judgments Pr 19:29 (ל pers.); of work be arranged, settled 2 Ch 8:16; fig. of prayer ψ 141:2 be arranged, set in order, as incense before thee (> present itself as incense); be arranged, ordered, of temple service 2 Ch 29:35; 35:10, 16. e.g. Proverbs 19:29
Hiphil
- Pf. הֵכִין Jos 4:4 +; sf. הֱכִינַנִי 1 K 2:24; הֱכִינוֹ 2 S 5:12 1 Ch 14:2; הֱכִינָהּ Jb 28:27; 2 ms. הֲכִינוֹתָ Jb 11:13 +; 3 pl. הֵכִינוּ 1 Ch 12:39 +; וְהֵכִינוּ consec. Ex 16:5; 1 pl. הֲכִינוֹנוּ 1 Ch 29:16; הֵכַנּוּ (Ges§ 72, R. 6) 2 Ch 29:19, etc. Impf. יָכִין Ju 12:6 +; וַיָּ֫כֶן 1 Ch 15:1 + 3 times etc.; Imv. הָכֵן Gn 43:16 +; pl. הָכִינוּ Jos 1:11 +; Inf. abs. הָכֵן Jos 3:17, so הָכִין 4:3 (read הָכֵרו, v. Di), Je 10:23 (v. Gie), Ez 7:14 (v. Sm Co and infr.; see on all Köni. 468); cstr. הָכִין Is 9:6 +; sf. הֲכִינוֹ Na 2:4 Pr 8:27; הֲכִינָתּ Je 33:2; Pt. מֵכִין Je 10:12 + 4 times;—(favourite word in Ch., in various applications) e.g. Joshua 4:4
- 1. establish, set up:
- a. king (or, one as king) 2 S 5:12 1 K 2:24 1 Ch 14:2, royal seed ψ 89:5, kingdom 1 S 13:13 2 S 7:12 = 1 Ch 17:11, 1 Ch 28:7 2 Ch 12:1; 17:5, throne ψ 103:19 1 Ch 22:10; the world תֵּבֵל Je 10:12 = 51:15; mts. ψ 65:7; heavens Pr 8:27; an altar upon (עַל) its base Ezr 3:3. e.g. 2 Samuel 5:12
- b. God’s faithfulness ψ 89:3; heart of humble 10:17. e.g. Psalms 89:3
- c. = accomplish, do Je 33:2 (‖ עשׂה), = make Is 40:20 Jb 28:27. e.g. Jeremiah 33:2
- d. make firm, only inf. abs., as adv. = firmly הָכֵן Jos 3:17; הָכִין 4:3 (v. supr.) e.g. Joshua 3:17
- 2.
- a. fix, so as to be ready, make ready, prepare, a gift Gn 43:25 (J), place Ex 23:20 (JE), 2 Ch 3:1; c. לְ rei 1 Ch 15:1, 3, also (obj. om.) v 12 (vid. Be, and DaSynt. § 144), 2 Ch 1:4 (בַּהֵכִין), v. Ges§ 138 i); often prepare food, acc. + לְ pers. Jos 1:11 (D), ψ 78:20; לְ om. Pr 6:8; 30:25; obj. om. 1 Ch 12:39 2 Ch 35:14(×2), 15; both om. Gn 43:16 (J), 1 Ch 9:32; prepare a road Dt 19:3, a sacrifice Zp 1:7, ambuscades Je 51:12, one’s work Pr 24:27, materials for (לְ) temple 1 Ch 22:3, 14, also v 14b (no לְ), 29:2, 3; weapons (c. לְ pers.) 2 Ch 26:14 and (hostile purpose) ψ 7:14, cf. 57:7, Is 14:21 prepare slaughter-place for (לְ) his children; store-rooms 2 Ch 31:11a, also v 11b (obj. om.); gallows (c. לְ pers.) Est 6:4; 7:10; corn (produce of land) ψ 65:10; land v 10, so (= restore) 68:11; persons (ל) 2 Ch 35:6; fig. of belly preparing deceit Jb 15:35; make preparation (for, לְ rei) 1 Ch 22:5, and v 5 (לְ om.); sq. לִבְנוֹת 1 Ch 28:2, c. acc. material + לִבְנוֹת 1 K 5:32 1 Ch 29:16; without לְ, make ready 1 S 23:22 Na 2:4; Ez 7:14 (read הָכִינוּ הָכֵן Co, for ה׳ הַכֹּל MT) = make full preparation! make thee ready! Je 46:14 (לְ dat. ethiopic), Ez 38:7 (id.), 2 Ch 35:4. e.g. Genesis 43:25
- b. provide for, provide, furnish Nu 23:1, 29; 29:7 Jos 4:4 (all JE), Jb 27:16, 17, food for (לְ) raven Jb 38:41, rain for (לְ) earth ψ 147:8; 1 Ch 29:19 2 Ch 2:6 ψ 74:16. e.g. Numbers 23:1
- 3. direct one’s face towards (אֶל־) Ez 4:3, 7; in moral and spiritual sense, direct one’s step (צַעֲדוֹ) = order aright, Je 10:23 (v. supr.), Pr 16:9, so (פְּעָמַי) ψ 119:133; הֵכִין דְּרָכָיו לִפְנֵי י׳ אֱלֹהָיו 2 Ch 27:6, also (sq. דרכיו only) Pr 21:29 Kt (Qr יָבִין); עַל הַהֵכִין הָאֱלֹהִים לָעָם 2 Ch 29:36 that which God had ordered aright for the people (on art. = pron. rel. v. Ges§ 138, 3, b); sq. לֵב Jb 11:13 ψ 78:8; + לְ, לֹא הֵכִין לִבּוֹ לִדְרוֹשׁ אֶת־י׳ 2 Ch 12:14, so 19:3; 30:19; + לִדְרוֹשׁ אֶת־תּוֹרַת י׳ Ezr 7:10; הכין לבב אֶל־י׳ 1 S 7:3 direct the heart towards י׳, 1 Ch 29:18 (י׳ subj.), so (c. לֵאלֹהִים) 2 Ch 20:33; hence (no obj. expr.) = give attention, sq. inf. Ju 12:6. e.g. Ezekiel 4:3
- 4. arrange, order 2 Ch 29:19 (of sacred vessels; + הִקְדַּשְׁנוּ), 35:20 (of temple). e.g. 2 Chronicles 29:19
Hophal
- Pf. הוּכַן Is 30:33, וְהוּכַן consec. Is 16:5 Zc 5:11; וְהֻכַן Na 2:6; Pt. מוּכָן Pr 21:31, pl. מוּכָנִים Ez 40:43;— e.g. Isaiah 30:33
- 1. be established, of throne Is 16:5; be fastened, of hooks Ez 40:43. e.g. Isaiah 16:5
- 2. be prepared for (לְ pers.) Is 30:33 and (לְ temp.) Pr 21:31; abs. Na 2:6; be ready Zc 5:11. e.g. Isaiah 30:33
Poʿlēl
- Pf. 3 ms. כּוֹנֵן ψ 9:8 + 3 times, וְכוֹנֵן consec. Hb 2:12; sf. כּוֹנְנָהּ Is 45:18; 2 ms. כּוֹנֲנְתָּ ψ 99:4; 119:90, כּוֹנָ֑נְתָּה ψ 8:4, etc.; Impf. 3 ms. יְכוֹנֵן Is 62:7; sf. וַיְכֹנְנֶ֑ךָ Dt 32:6, יְכוֹנְנֶהָ ψ 24:2 +, sf. 1 pl. וַיְכֻנֶנּוּ Jb 31:15 (וַיְכוּנֶּנוּ van d. H.); 2 ms. תְּכוֹנֵן ψ 7:10; 21:13, etc.; Imv. כּוֹנֵן Jb 8:8 (but on text v. infra), כּוֹנְנָה ψ 90:17, sf. כּוֹנְנֵהוּ ψ 90:17;—orig. make firm;— e.g. Psalms 9:8
- 1. set up, establish:
- a. of men, found, a city Hb 2:12 (‖ בנה), ψ 107:36. e.g. Habakkuk 2:12
- b. of God, establish, king’s throne 2 S 7:13 = 1 Ch 17:12, his own throne ψ 9:8 (לְמִשְׁפָּט), sanctuary Ex 15:17 (song), a nation Dt 32:6 (poem; ‖ קנה, עשׂה), a city ψ 48:9; 87:5 Is 62:7, תֵּבֵל ψ 24:2 (c. עַל, ‖ יָסַד), אֶרֶץ 119:90, cf. Is 45:18, also ψ 68:10 (obj. om., read perhaps אֶרֶץ צִיָּה Bi Che), heavens Pr 3:19 (‖ יָסַד־אָ֑רֶץ), moon and stars ψ 8:4; fig., steps of men 40:3, work of men’s hands 90:17(×2), justice 99:4; establish, i.e. vindicate and make secure to righteous (צַדִּיק) 7:10. e.g. 2 Samuel 7:13
- 2. constitute, make, a man (in womb) Jb 31:15 (‖ עשׂה), cf. ψ 119:73 (‖ id.); c. acc. + לְ rei + לְ pers. reflex. 2 S 7:24 thou hast made for thyself (לְךָ), thy people (אֶת־עַמְּךָ) Israel for thyself (לְךָ) into a people (לְעָם) for ever. e.g. Job 31:15
- 3. fix, so as to be ready, arrow upon (עַל) string ψ 11:2 so (חֵץ om.) ψ 21:13 (c. עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם), and poss. (חֵץ om.) Is 51:13 (Di Che al.; but dub., cf. Du; verse corrupt according to CheIntr. Is. 427), a bow ψ 7:13. e.g. Psalms 11:2
- 4. direct (sc. לֵב), sq. לְחֵקֶר Jb 8:8, i.e. give attention to (but no ‖ in Poʿl.; read perhaps בּוֹנֵן, cf. Dt 32:10 v. Ol Di). Poʿlal. Pf. be established: מי׳ מִצְעֲדֵי־גֶבֶר כּוֹנָ֑נוּ ψ 37:23 from י׳ are a man’s steps established; = be prepared כּוֹנָנ֑וּ Ez 28:13 but del. Co Da after A B 𝔖 al. Hithpoʿl. Impf.; be established, of house, 3 ms. יִתְכּוֹנָ֑ן Pr 24:3 (‖ יִבָּנֶה), of nation, 2 fs. תִּכּוֹנָ֑נִי (Ges§ 54. 2. b) Is 54:14; 3 fs. תִּכּוֹנֵן = be restored, of city Nu 21:27 (JE; ‖ תִּבָּנֶה); set oneself, take one’s stand 3 mpl. יִכּוֹנָ֑נוּ ψ 59:5. e.g. Job 8:8
כון II loc. city of Hadarezer (מִטִּבְחַת) וּמִכּוּן עָרֵי ה׳ 1 Ch 18
כון III m. only in גֹּרֶן נ׳ 2 S 6
כון IV [m.] = blow Jb 12
כון V m. v. sub כון, and v. כִּידֹן.
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. prob. be firm, only in der. conj. (NH Aramaic כּוּן, in der. conj., כִּיוֵּן arrange, direct; ܟܰܘܶܢ put right, correct; Assyrian kânu, be firm, right DlHWB 321; Arabic كَانَ (med. و) exist, occur, be; so Ethiopic ኮነ Sab. כון DHM ZMG 1875, 599, Ph. כון be (often));—
II. n.pr.loc. city of Hadarezer (מִטִּבְחַת) וּמִכּוּן עָרֵי ה׳ 1 Ch 18:8, 𝔊 ἐκ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν πολέ(μ)ων (= בֵּרֹתַי 2 S 8:8); = mod. Kuna, near Bereitan (betw. Laodicea and Heliopolis), according to FurrerZPV viii, 34, v. בֵּרוֹתָה p. 92 supr., and Thes.
I. n.pr.m. only in גֹּרֶן נ׳ 2 S 6:6; 𝔊 Νωδαβ, A Ναχων, 𝔊L Ορνα τοῦ Ἰεβουσαίου;=כִּידֹן 1 Ch 13:9.
II. n.[m.] = blow Jb 12:5 according to Schult Di Bu, but precarious; כון q.v.
III. n.pr.m. v. sub כון, and v. כִּידֹן.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
כּוּן
- (b. h.) to stand, exist, be firm.
- 1. to straighten. Sifré Deut. 308 מְכַוְּונוֹ במעגילה he tries to straighten the wood in a press; Yalk. Deut. 942 (not מכינן); Pesik. Zutr. Haăz. (ed. Bub. V, p. 111) נתנו לאומן שיְכַוְּונוֹ he gave it to a mechanic to straighten it.
- 2. to place in a line, direct. Macc. II, 5 (9ᵇ) מְכַוְּונִין להן דרך וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. ומְכוּוָּנוֹת להן דרכים, v. infra) we make for them direct roads from one place of refuge to the other.
- 3. to determine exactly (place, time &c.). Y. Erub. V, 22ᶜ לְכַוֵּין את הרוחות how to determine exactly the four cardinal points (v. רָבַע). Ib. bot. הארון היה מְכַוֵּין וכ׳ the Ark indicated for them the points of the compass. Gen. R. s. 15, beg., v. כִּוּוּן. M. Kat. 10ᵃ אין יכול לכַוֵּין אימרא וכ׳ is unable to sew the fringe accurately on the bosom of the shirt. Ber. 7ᵃ לכַוֵּין אותה שעה to seize the opportunity of just that moment; a. fr.
- 4. (with לב or sub. לב) to direct or prepare one’s mind, to pay attention, to do a thing with an intention. Ber. II, 1 אם כ׳ לבו if he (while reading in the Law) had his mind directed (to the Sh’ma); ib. 13ᵃ אם כ׳ לבו לקרות it means, he read with attention (to the sense, not merely like one going over the text for correction). R. Hash. 28ᵇ כ׳ לבו לצאת he had the intention of complying with the law (v. יָצָא); opp. (כ׳) לשמוע he directed his attention to listening, i.e. heard the sound with consciousness (but without devotion); v. כַּוָּונָה. Ber. V, 1 היו שוהין … כדי שיְכַוְּונוּ לבם וכ׳ tarried a while before prayer, in order to direct their hearts to their Father in heaven. Y. ib. II, 5ᵃ חזקה כִּוֵּין the presumption is that he read with attention; a. fr.—Part. pass. מְכוּוָּן, f. מְכוּוָּנָה, מְכוּוֶּנֶת; pl. מְכוּוָּנִים, … נִין; מְכוּוָּנוֹת a) in a line, corresponding. Y. Kil. V, beg. 30ᵇ עריס המכ׳ a straight bed of vines, opp. מעוקם. Ib. מכ׳ הן they (the vines) are in a straight line. Y. Ber. IV, 8ᶜ top בית … מ׳ כנגד … של מעלן the situation of the earthly Holy of Holies corresponds with that of the heavenly &c. Macc. II, 5 ומכוונות להן דרכים (not … נת), v. supra. Ib. 9ᵇ ומכוונות היו כמין וכ׳ (Ms. M. ומכוונין הן) and they (the three towns on this side and those on the other side of the Jordan respectively) were in straight parallel lines like two rows in a vineyard; a. fr.—b) exact, precise. Toh. III, 1 sq. כביצה מ׳ exactly the quantity of an egg. Mikv. VII, 6; Ḥag. 19ᵃ; Gitt. 16ᵃ
- to put in proper position, to prepare; to hold ready, to designate. Bets. 2ᵇ (ref. to Ex. XVI, 5) חול מֵכִין לשבתוכ׳ a week day prepares for the Sabbath (that which has become ready for use on a week day may be used on the Sabbath), but a Holy Day does not prepare for the succeeding Sabbath, ואין שבת מֵכִינָה ליו"ט nor can the Sabbath prepare for a succeeding Holy Day, v. הֲכָנָה.—Meg. 12ᵇ (play on ממוכן, Esth. I, 14) כלום הֵכִינוּ וכ׳ have they (the Persians) arranged a table before thee?; Esth. R. to l. c. מי מֵכִין וכ׳ who arranges an altar &c.?; a. fr.—[Tosef. Maasr. I, 4 משיכינו ed. Zuck., Var. משייבינו, read: משיניצו.]—Part. pass. מוּכָן prepared, designated, ready. Bets. I, 2 עפר מ׳ מבעוד יום dust (for covering the blood) made ready a day before. Ib. אפר כירה מ׳ הוא ashes of the stove are considered ready (destined to be used for the purpose). Ib. III, 4 אין זה מן המ׳ this is not among the things designated for use on the Holy Day. Ib. IV, 6.—Meg. l. c. (play on ממוכן, v. supra) שמ׳ לפורענות he was ready for evil; a. fr. e.g. Exodus 16:5
- 1. to be made straight, to be remedied (cmp. תכן). Pesik. Zutr. l. c. אין אתם מִתְכַּוְּונִים אלא באור you (your crookedness) can be remedied only through fire; Sifré Deut. l. c. אין אתם הולכים אלא לאור; Yalk. Deut. l. c. הולכין אלא לאחור (corr. acc.).
- 2. to prepare one’s self. Y. Meg. I, 71ᶜ (ref. to הִכּוֹן, Am. IV, 12) הִתְכַּוֵּון לקראת וכ׳ put thyself in proper condition to meet thy God. e.g. Amos 4:12
- 3. to intend, propose. B. Kam. VIII, 1 עד שיהא מִתְכַּ יֵן unless he did it with malicious intent. Tosef. Naz. III, 10 לא נִתְכַּוַּונְתִּי אלא כמותה my intention was to be exactly like her (as to her vow). Ib. 14 מי שנ׳ לעלות וכ׳ if he who had the intention to eat the flesh of swine &c.; v. עָלָה. Sabb. 22ᵃ ובלבד שלא יִתְכַּוֵּין וכ׳ provided he has not the intention of making a groove.—Bets. 23ᵃ, a. fr. דבר שאינו מִתְכַּ׳ a forbidden act which was produced without intent, i.e. an unintended but unavoidable effect of a permitted act. R. Hash. 28ᵇ. Pes. 53ᵇ, a. fr. שניהם … נִתְכַּוְּונוּ both meant the same thing; a. fr.
- to establish, base firmly. Ex. R. s. 15 מבקש לְכוֹנֵן עולמים wanted to establish worlds. Ib. על אלו אני מְכוֹנֵן וכ׳ upon those (the patriarchs) I will establish the world.—Part. pass. מְכוֹנָן, f. מְבוֹנֶנֶת. Midr. Sam. ch. XVI (ref. to הכינני, I Kings II, 24) בזכות התורה המ׳ בארון (the world exists) for the sake of the Law that is put up straight in the holy Ark. e.g. 1 Kings 2:24
כּוּן ²
- ; Pa. כַּוֵּון
- 1. to direct, aim, draw a direct line. Targ. Y. Num. XXII, 23. Targ. Num. XXXIV, 7, sq. (h. text תאה). Targ. Y. Deut. X, 5 וכוונית (h. text פנה). Ib. XIX, 3 (h. text תכין, v. preced.); a. e.
- 2. to draw a parallel, compare. Targ. Is. XLVI, 5 (h. text תמשילני).
- 3. (with דעתא, or sub. דעתא) to direct the mind, to pay attention; to do a thing intentionally. Targ. Y. Num. XI, 1 מכ׳ והגיאן ביש intentionally speaking evil.—Ber. 17ᵇ לא מצי לְכַוּוּנֵי דעתיה he cannot collect his mind (for prayer). Ib. 30ᵇ מעיקרא לא כ׳ וכ׳ the first time he read without attention. Ḥull. 31ᵃ דלא קָמְכַוֵּין (or קָמִכַּוֵּין Ithpa.) when he had no intention whatever (to cut); a. fr.—Part. pass. מְכַוַּון a) directed towards, corresponding. Targ. Ez. I, 9. Targ. Ex. XXVI, 5; a. fr.—b) straight, firm, upright. Targ. Job XXI, 8 מְכַוְּונִין Bxt. (Ms. מְכַוְּונַן; ed. מכוין, מְכַוַּון, corr. acc.; h. text נכון). Targ. Ps. LI, 12. Ib. LVII, 8 (ed. Wil. מכוֵן, corr. acc.); a. fr.—Yoma 28ᵇ לא מְכַוְּונֵי Ms. M. (ed. לא מ׳ טובא) the Temple walls were not exactly straight (the lower portions being thicker than the upper); [Ms. M. 2 משום דמכווני because the walls were exactly built in correspondence with the points of the compass]. Y. Snh. IV, beg. 22ᵃ; III, 21ᶜ top [read:] כד הוא חמי סהדו מכַוְּונָא … הכן והכן מְכַוֵּון when he found evidences (of two) exactly corresponding, he cross-examined; but when he found them turning hither and thither (differing in details), he tried to harmonize (allowing for errors in time &c., v. חֲקִירָה).
- , כַּוֵּין …
- 1. to place one’s self, to stand. Targ. Ps. CI, 7.
- 2. to be precise in doing. Ib. XC, 12 מן יִתְכַּ׳ להודע ed. Lag. (oth. ed. כן, corr. acc.) who can exactly make known? (h. text כן הודע). Targ. Y. Lev. XIII, 12.
- 3. to be trained, to be in the habit of. Targ. Y. Num. XXII, 30 (h. text הסכן).
- 4. to intend, mean. Ib. XXX, 5 ויתכ׳ וישתוק and keeps silence intentionally. Targ. Y. Deut. XIX, 4; a. e.—Ḥull. 95ᵃ דאיכ׳ לצעורי׳ וכ׳ who meant to vex his neighbor. Ib. 31ᵃ מִיכַּוֵּין לשום חתיכה had the intention merely to cut (not to slaughter according to the ritual, v. זְבִיחָה). Ib. מה כלים דלא מִיכַּוְּונֵי וכ׳ as vessels (lifeless things) which have no thought &c.; a. e.
- to be prepared, ready (מוּכָן, v. preced.). Ib. 14ᵃ כיון דלא א׳ וכ׳ because it was not prepared (designated for use) yesterday.—V. תכן.
כֵּוָן
- , v. sub כֵּיוָ׳.
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 165 distinct written forms H3559 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’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; 105 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3559, 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.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- יכין Yâkîyn H3199 Jachin
- יכניה Yᵉkonyâh H3204 Jeconiah
- כון Kûwn H3560 Chun
- כונניהו Kôwnanyâhûw H3562 Cononiah
- כיון Kîyûwn H3594 Chiun
- נכון Nâkôwn H5225 Nachon
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 11 — not the complete family. 6 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 195 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 211 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 41:32
- Exodus 8:26
- Numbers 21:27
- Deuteronomy 13:14
- Joshua 1:11
- Judges 12:6
- 1 Samuel 7:3
- 2 Samuel 5:12
- 1 Kings 2:12
- 1 Chronicles 9:32
- 2 Chronicles 1:4
- Ezra 3:3
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.
