StrongerBible

kun

כּוּן

HebrewH3559“establish, prepare, ...”

Appears 217 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 41:32Gen 43:16Gen 43:25Exo 8:26(22)Exo 19:11Exo 19:15Exo 23:20Exo 34:2Num 23:1Num 23:29Deu 13:14(15)Deu 17:4Deu 19:3Deu 32:6Jos 1:11Jos 4:3Jos 4:4Jos 8:4Jdg 12:6Jdg 16:26Jdg 16:291Sa 7:31Sa 13:131Sa 23:221Sa 23:231Sa 26:42Sa 5:122Sa 7:122Sa 7:162Sa 7:261Ki 2:121Ki 2:241Ki 2:451Ki 5:18(32)1Ki 6:191Ch 9:321Ch 12:39(40)1Ch 14:21Ch 15:11Ch 15:31Ch 15:121Ch 16:301Ch 17:111Ch 22:31Ch 22:51Ch 22:101Ch 22:14 (2×)1Ch 28:21Ch 28:71Ch 29:2
Names & words formed with this
Word studyResearch-gradekoonverb

What kun means

to be firm or to make firm: to be set solidly in place and lasting, or to set something solidly in place so it stands, endures, and is ready for its purpose.

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

At its heart this is a word about firmness. Picture something planted so solidly that it will not be moved, knocked over, or proven wrong. From that one idea the word reaches in several directions depending on who is acting and on what.

When nothing is being acted on, it describes a thing that simply stands firm:

  • the world that cannot be shaken
  • a throne that lasts for generations
  • a heart that is steady and unafraid
  • a report that turns out to be solidly true

When someone makes something firm, it means to found it or establish it so it endures, the way God sets the earth on its place or secures a kingdom. And because a thing that is firmly set in advance is a thing that is ready, the word also covers getting something ready ahead of time:

  • laying in food
  • gathering materials
  • clearing a road
  • fixing one's heart on God before the moment comes

These are not separate words but one idea seen from different sides. Being established, establishing, and preparing all turn on the same picture of something set solidly and reliably in place. The Bible leans on that single thread to tie things together: the same verb founds the world, secures David's throne, steadies a devoted heart, and gets a meal ready, as if to say these are all the same kind of work.

English needs many words for it (establish, prepare, fix, make ready, be steadfast, be sure), which is why a single Hebrew verb here can sound so different from one verse to the next.

Nuances

1ato stand firm, be steady or immovable: a thing held so solidly in place that it cannot be shaken.
1Ch 16:30Psa 89:37(38)Psa 93:1Psa 93:2Psa 96:10Psa 101:7Psa 102:28(29)Pro 12:3Pro 12:19Pro 16:12Pro 25:5Pro 29:14
1bof a throne, kingdom, or house: to be firmly established and secure, set to last for generations.
1Sa 20:312Sa 7:162Sa 7:261Ki 2:121Ki 2:451Ki 2:461Ch 17:141Ch 17:24Psa 48:8(9)Psa 89:21(22)Isa 16:5Jer 30:20
1cof the heart or mind: to be steadfast, settled, and unshaken.
Psa 51:10Psa 57:7Psa 78:37Psa 108:1Psa 112:7
1dof a report or word: to prove solidly true, to be confirmed and certain.
Gen 41:32Deu 13:14(15)Deu 17:41Sa 23:231Sa 26:4
1eto be right, proper, or well-founded: fitting and correct rather than wrong.
Exo 8:26(22)Jdg 12:6Job 42:7Job 42:8Psa 5:9(10)
1fto be ready or set to happen: standing prepared for the moment, or close at hand and bound to come.
Exo 19:11Exo 19:15Exo 34:2Jos 8:4Job 12:5Job 15:23Job 18:12Psa 38:17Pro 19:29Pro 21:31Ezk 38:7Amo 4:12
1gto found or establish so it endures: to set the earth, world, or heavens solidly in place.
Psa 8:3(4)Psa 9:7(8)Psa 24:2Psa 65:6(7)Psa 74:16Psa 119:90Pro 3:19Pro 8:27Isa 45:18Isa 51:13Jer 10:12Jer 51:15
1hto set up and secure a throne, kingdom, people, or city: to make it firm so it lasts.
1Sa 13:132Sa 5:122Sa 7:122Sa 7:131Ki 2:241Ch 14:21Ch 17:111Ch 17:121Ch 22:101Ch 28:72Ch 17:5Psa 89:4
1ito make ready or provide in advance: to lay in food, gather materials, build, or arrange something beforehand.
Gen 43:16Gen 43:25Exo 16:5Deu 19:3Jos 1:111Ch 22:31Ch 29:22Ch 26:14Psa 7:13Psa 78:20Pro 6:8Ezk 7:14
1jto fix or set the heart, steps, or way: to direct something firmly toward its goal.
1Ch 29:182Ch 12:142Ch 19:32Ch 20:332Ch 27:62Ch 30:19Ezr 7:10Psa 10:17Psa 78:8Psa 119:133Pro 16:9Jer 10:23

What scholars say about kun

The standard lexica treat this as a single verb whose core is firmness and being solidly set in place, worked out through its derived stems: the Niphal (nakhon) covers being firm, verified, and steadfast; the Hiphil (hekhin) is the causative to establish and to prepare; the Polel (konen) dominates the poetic language of cosmic founding, with the Hophal, Polal, and Hithpolel filling out passive and reflexive shades. BDB, HALOT, and DCH map the same fields (firmness, establishment, preparation, rightness, certainty), though DCH declines to posit any single root meaning. Two features are uncontroversial: the root clusters heavily in Psalms, Proverbs, and Chronicles, and the Niphal participle can stretch from a wall standing up to a verdict standing up, giving the legal formula of Deuteronomy 13:14 and 17:4 (a charge verified as fact). Koch's TDOT article and Chisholm's NIDOTTE entry argue for one unifying idea from which the senses radiate; Jenni's TLOT entry rejects that method and describes the stems independently. Japhet identifies the Hiphil idiom to set the heart to seek the LORD as a signature of the Chronicler, running through his verdicts on the kings and carried onto Ezra (Ezra 7:10). Comparative Semitic work (Koch, Kutsch, Huehnergard) argues that the sense firm or established is the older one, with the copular to be, to exist of Arabic and Ge'ez a later development.

Where scholars disagree about kun

Whether the verb is best described as a single semantic field radiating from one underlying idea of firmness, or whether its stems are better described independently without positing a common core meaning.

  • majorityOne unified root: being firm or verified, establishing or founding, and preparing all radiate from a single core sense of standing firm and being solidly in place.; K. Koch, "כון kun," TDOT 7:89-101; R. B. Chisholm, "כון," NIDOTTE 2:615-617; BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. כון
  • minorityThe stems should be described on their own terms; positing one basic meaning from which the rest developed is methodologically unsound.; E. Jenni, "כון kun," TLOT 2:602-606; DCH (Clines, ed.), s.v. כון
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner), s.v. כוןlexicon
  • BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. כוןlexicon
  • DCH (Clines, ed.), s.v. כוןlexicon
  • K. Koch, "כון kun," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT) 7:89-101dictionary
  • E. Jenni, "כון kun," in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (TLOT) 2:602-606dictionary
  • R. B. Chisholm, "כון," in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTTE) 2:615-617dictionary
  • Sara Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought, 2nd ed. (Eisenbrauns, 2009), 251-265monograph
  • TWOT (Harris, Archer, Waltke, eds.), s.v. כוןdictionary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of כּוּן

niphal participle m s absolute

נָכוֹן

Gen 41:32, Exo 8:26, Exo 34:2, Deu 13:14, Deu 17:4, Jdg 16:26, Jdg 16:29, 1Sa 23:23

hiphil perfect 3ms

הֵכִין, הֱכִינ, הֱכִינַ, הֱכִינָ

Jos 4:4, 1Sa 13:13, 1Ki 6:19, 1Ch 15:3, 1Ch 22:3, 2Ch 1:4, 2Ch 2:7, 2Ch 3:1

hiphil infinitive-construct construct

הָכִין, הֲכִינ, הֲכִינָ

Jos 4:3, 1Ch 9:32, 2Ch 2:9, 2Ch 12:1, 2Ch 31:11, Isa 9:7, Isa 40:20, Jer 10:23

hiphil imperative 2ms

הָכֵן

Gen 43:16, Num 23:1, Num 23:29, 1Ch 29:18, Psa 119:133, Pro 24:27, Jer 46:14, Ezk 38:7

niphal imperfect 3fs

תִּכּוֹן

1Ch 16:30, Psa 89:21, Psa 93:1, Psa 96:10, Psa 141:2, Pro 12:19, Pro 20:18, Jer 30:20

hiphil imperative 2mp

הָכִינוּ

Jos 1:11, 1Sa 7:3, 1Sa 23:22, 2Ch 35:4, 2Ch 35:6, Isa 14:21, Jer 51:12

hiphil imperfect 2ms

תָּכִין, תְּכִינֶ, תָּכִן

Deu 19:3, Psa 10:17, Psa 65:9, Psa 68:10, Ezk 4:7, Psa 65:9, Psa 89:2

hiphil perfect 1cs

הֲכִינוֹתִי, הֲכִנֹתִי

1Ch 15:12, 1Ch 22:14, 1Ch 22:14, 1Ch 29:2, 1Ch 29:3, 1Ch 29:19, Exo 23:20

niphal imperfect 3ms

יִכּוֹן

Psa 89:37, Psa 101:7, Psa 102:28, Psa 140:11, Pro 12:3, Pro 16:12, Pro 29:14

hiphil imperfect 3ms

יָכִין

Jdg 12:6, Job 27:16, Job 27:17, Job 38:41, Psa 78:20, Pro 16:9

hiphil perfect 3cp

הֵכִינוּ

1Ch 12:39, 2Ch 20:33, 2Ch 35:14, 2Ch 35:14, 2Ch 35:15, Psa 57:6

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיָּכִינוּ

Gen 43:25, 1Ki 5:18, 2Ch 31:11, Ezr 3:3, Pro 30:25

hiphil consecutive-perfect 1cs

וַהֲכִינוֹתִי, וַהֲכִינֹתִי

1Ch 17:11, 1Ch 22:10, 1Ch 28:2, 1Ch 28:7, 2Sa 7:12

niphal consecutive-imperfect 3fs

וַתִּכּוֹן, וַתִּכֹּן

2Ch 29:35, 2Ch 35:10, 2Ch 35:16, 1Ki 2:12, 2Ch 8:16

piel perfect 3ms

כּוֹנֵן, כוֹנְנָ

Psa 9:7, Psa 40:2, Pro 3:19, Isa 51:13, Isa 45:18

hiphil consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיָּכֶן

1Ch 15:1, 1Ch 22:5, 2Ch 17:5, 2Ch 26:14

piel imperfect 3ms

יְכוֹנְנֶ, יְכוֹנֵן

Psa 24:2, Psa 48:8, Psa 87:5, Isa 62:7

piel perfect 2ms

כּוֹנַנְתָּ, כּוֹנָנְתָּה

Psa 68:9, Psa 99:4, Psa 119:90, Psa 8:3

hiphil participle m s absolute

מֵכִין, מֵּכִין

Psa 65:6, Jer 10:12, Psa 147:8

hophal consecutive-perfect 3ms

וְהוּכַן, וְהֻכַן

Isa 16:5, Zec 5:11, Nam 2:5

niphal imperfect 3mp

יִכֹּנוּ

Psa 119:5, Pro 4:26, Pro 22:18

niphal participle f s absolute

נְכוֹנָה

Job 42:7, Job 42:8, Psa 5:9

niphal participle m p absolute

נְכֹנִים

Exo 19:11, Exo 19:15, Jos 8:4

piel consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיְכוֹנְנֶ, וַיְכֻנֶ, וַיְכֹנְנֶ

Psa 7:12, Job 31:15, Deu 32:6

piel imperative 2ms

וְכוֹנֵן, כּוֹנְנֵ, כּוֹנְנָ

Job 8:8, Psa 90:17, Psa 90:17

hiphil consecutive-perfect 2ms

וַהֲכִינוֹתָ, וַהֲכִינֹתָה

2Ch 19:3, Ezk 4:3

hiphil imperfect 1cs

אָכִין

Job 29:7, Psa 89:4

hiphil imperfect 3fs

תָּכִין

Job 15:35, Pro 6:8

hiphil perfect 1cp

הֲכִינֹנוּ, הֵכַנּוּ

1Ch 29:16, 2Ch 29:19

hiphil perfect 2ms

הֲכִינוֹתָ

Job 11:13, Psa 74:16

niphal imperative 2ms

הִכּוֹן, הִכֹּן

Amo 4:12, Ezk 38:7

niphal perfect 3cp

נָכוֹנוּ, נָכֹנוּ

Pro 19:29, Ezk 16:7

piel consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיְכוֹנְנוּ

Psa 107:36, Psa 119:73

piel consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְכֹנַנְתִּי

2Sa 7:13, 1Ch 17:12

piel perfect 3cp

כּוֹנְנוּ

Exo 15:17, Psa 11:2

pual perfect 3cp

כּוֹנָנוּ

Psa 37:23, Ezk 28:13

hiphil cohortative 1cs

אָכִינָה

1Ch 22:5

hiphil consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְהֵכִינוּ

Exo 16:5

hiphil infinitive-absolute absolute

הָכֵן

Jos 3:17

hiphil participle m s construct

מֵכִין

Jer 51:15

18 further parsings are listed under Syntax.