קָטֹן
to diminish
‘to diminish’ 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 Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘lit. Inf. cstr.’
Form
- 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”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 2 times (50%)
- Verb, Hiphil, Infinitive Construct 1 time (25%)
- Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular 1 time (25%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 4 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H6994 appears — 4 distinct verses across 4 books. 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 1 verse
2 Samuel 1 verse
1 Chronicles 1 verse
Amos 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.
“to diminish” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb קטן (qâṭôn). With only 4 verses it sits in the long tail of Hebrew Bible vocabulary. More than a quarter of its appearances fall in Genesis. First canonically at Genesis 32:10, it enters the text early. Read the stem: it spans 2 stems, including Qal and Hiphil. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6994 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 →
- 4
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 4 distinct verses.
- 4 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 4 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,696
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,696 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 4 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Genesis 1 verse 25%
- 2 Samuel 1 verse 25%
- 1 Chronicles 1 verse 25%
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 4 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 2 verses · 50%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 25%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1 verse · 25%
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†: I am not worthy of the least 1×, Small 1×, Was a small thing 1×
- American Standard Version†: I am not worthy of the least 1×, Small 1×, Was a small thing 1×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Was a small thing 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: And 2×, Small 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6994 across 4† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6994 across 4† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6994 across 4† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6994 across 8† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 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.
קטן I be small, insignificant (NH Hiph. and deriv.
Qal
- Pf. 1 s. קָטֹנְתִּי Gn 32:11, c. מִן comp., I am too insignificant for all the kindnesses; Impf. 3 fs. וַתִּקְטַן זֹאת בְּעֵינֶיךָ 2 S 7:19 = 1 Ch 17:17. e.g. Genesis 32:11
Hiphil
- lit. Inf. cstr. לְהַקְטִין Am 8:5 making ephah small. e.g. Amos 8:5
קטן II small, insignificant
- 1. small: especially
- a. of youth = young, נַעַר ק׳ 1 S 20:35; 1 K 3:7; 2 K 5:14; Is 11:6; = younger of two brothers, Gn 48:17 (E) Ju 1:13; 3:9 (+ מִן comp.); הַקּ׳ youngest brother Gn 42:13 + 10 times Gn (JE), son Ju 9:5 2 Ch 22:1, so קְטֹן בַּנָיו 21:17; + גדול = young and old (v. קָטָן 1), i.e. everybody Gn 19:11 (J), 1 S 5:9; 30:2 + (of pers. and things) v 19. e.g. 1 Samuel 20:35
- b. of things 1 S 2:19; 1 K 8:64 (+ מִן comp.), Am 6:11 Is 54:7; opp. גָּדוֹל 1 S 22:15; 25:36; Gn 1:16 (P). e.g. 1 Samuel 2:19
- 2. = unimportant, things, Ex 18:22, 26 (E), 1 S 20:2 (all opp. גדול); pers., = feeble Am 7:2, 5; = insignificant Je 49:15 Ob 2 (both ‖ בָּזוּי), Is 60:22 (‖ צָעִיר); ק׳ בְּעֵינֶיךָ 1 S 15:17; especially + גָּדוֹל = low and high, = everybody, Dt 1:17; 1 K 22:31 = 2 Ch 18:30; Je 8:10; Jb 3:19, + 8 times—Vid. also קָטָן. e.g. Exodus 18:22
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 small, insignificant (NH Hiph. and deriv.; J.Aram. in deriv., Syriac ܩܛܰܢ; Old Aramaic קטין insignificant; Arabic قَطِىن parum edens; Ethiopic ቀጠነ be thin, chiefly in deriv.; prob. also Assyrian kuṭṭinnu, small, younger, ZehnpfBAS i. 505 (otherwise DlHWB 323); MeissnSuppl. ḳatânu, be short (of hair), cf. BezZA viii, 141 f.);—
II. adj. small, insignificant;—abs. ק׳ 1 S 2:19 +; cstr. קְטֹן 2 Ch 21:17;—f., pl. and sf. supplied by קָטָן;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from קטן (qâṭân) (H6996) — small.
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.
קטן
- , Yalk. Sam. 124, ק׳ השמן, read: קִיתוֹן.
קֹטֶן
- , v. קוֹטֶן
קָטֹן
- (b. h.) to be short, small, inferior. Gen. R. s. 76 (expl. קטנתי, Gen. XXXII, 11) איני כדאי … כדאי אני אכל קָטֹנְתִּי מכל וכ׳ I am not deserving (of any of the mercies &c.); R. L. says, I am deserving, but I am too small for (unworthy of) all the mercies &c. e.g. Genesis 32:11
- 1. to make small; to subordinate. B. Bath. 90ᵇ מַקְטִינֵי איפה those who make the Ephah (measure) small (Am. VIII, 5). Y. Sot. IX, 24ᵇ Samuel was surnamed ‘the small’, לפי שהוא מַקְטִין את עצמו because he made himself small (bore himself humbly). Gen. R. s. 37 (play on יקטן, Gen. X, 25) מקטין את עסקיו made his affairs small (was contented with subordinate services); מקטין את עצמו ואת עסקיו subordinated himself and his affairs, v. צָעַר. Meg. 11ᵃ, v. קַטְנוּת; a. e. e.g. Amos 8:5
- 2. to grow smaller, be narrower. Lev. R. s. 31 מַקְטִינוֹת, v. רָחב; Pesik. Ḳumi, p. 145ᵃ; ib. 145ᵇ מקיטנות (corr. acc.).
- to shrink. Snh. 81ᵇ עד שיוּקְטָן, v. מַעְיָן.
- to be reduced, become less. Tosef. Sot. XV, 5 Var. משמת … נִתְקַטְּנָה חסידות וכ׳ when Abba José ben Ḳiṭnith died, piety became rare in Israel; v. קִיטּוּנְתָּא.
קָטָן
- preced.) small, young; inferior. Y. Kil. IV, beg. 29ᵃ. Ab. IV, 19, a. fr. שמואל הק׳ Samuel the junior; Y. Sot. IX, 24ᵇ, v. preced. Yeb. II, 8 הק׳ a younger brother. Gen. R. s. 37 ומה אם הק׳ שהוא מקטין וכ׳ if an inferior person that is contented with a subordinate position (v. preced.) is thus rewarded, how much more a great man &c. Gen. R. s. 93 קְטַנָּן של שבטים one of the youngest of the tribes; Yalk. ib. 152 (not קטנו); Yalk. Ps. 762; a. fr.—Esp. minor, a boy under thirteen, a girl under twelve years. Gitt. 65ᵃ שלש מדות בק׳ וכ׳ there are three legal stages of a minor: when he throws away a pebble &c., v. צְרוֹר II; וכנגדן בק׳ מתקדשת וכ׳ and in the corresponding stage a girl may be betrothed subject to protest (מִיאוּן). Ib. II, 6 קבל הק׳ והגדיל if he received a letter of divorce (as a carrier) while he was a minor, and reached majority before delivery. Ber. 47ᵇ; a. fr.—Sot. 22ᵃ (among those who are a ruin to the world) ק׳ שלא כלו לו וכ׳ a child whose months are not complete (a prematurely born child), expl. ib. ‘a student who disregards his teacher’, or ‘a student who constitutes himself a teacher before regular ordination.’—Pl. קְטַנִּים; קְטַנּוֹת. Tosef. Snh. XIII, 1 קטנים בני רשעי ארץ ed. Zuck. (Var. קְטַנֵּי) children of the wicked of the land that died in childhood; Snh. 110ᵇ; Y. Shebi. IV, end, 35ᶜ ק׳ ישראל children of Israelites (that died); ק׳ גוים of gentiles. Keth. II, 3 ק׳ היינו we were minors (when we signed as witnesses). Ib. VII, 9 מומין הק׳ minor physical blemishes. Sot. 48ᵇ ק׳ אמנה, v. אֲמָנָה. Ib. 49ᵇ מק׳ חסידים of the youngest (last) of the pious men (v. next w.); a. fr.—Euphem. קְטַנִּים (sub. נקבים) the minor functions of the body, urinating. Ber. 23ᵇ; a. fr.
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 4 distinct written forms H6994 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.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| וַ/תִּקְטַ֨ן | Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular | 1 Chronicles 17:17 | 1 |
| וַ/תִּקְטַן֩ | Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular | 2 Samuel 7:19 | 1 |
| לְ/הַקְטִ֤ין | Verb, Hiphil, Infinitive Construct | Amos 8:5 | 1 |
| קָטֹ֜נְתִּי | Verb, Qal, Perfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular | Genesis 32:10 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6994, 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
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.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. 3 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 4 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 4 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
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.
