StrongerBible

ranan

רָנַן

HebrewH7442sing, shout for joy, ...

Appears 54 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Lev 9:24Deu 32:431Ch 16:33Job 29:13Job 38:7Psa 5:11(12)Psa 20:5(6)Psa 32:11Psa 33:1Psa 35:27Psa 51:14(16)Psa 59:16(17)Psa 63:7(8)Psa 65:8(9)Psa 67:4(5)Psa 71:23Psa 78:65Psa 81:1(2)Psa 84:2(3)Psa 89:12(13)Psa 90:14Psa 92:4(5)Psa 95:1Psa 96:12Psa 98:4Psa 98:8Psa 132:9Psa 132:16 (2×)Psa 145:7Psa 149:5Pro 1:20Pro 8:3Pro 29:6Isa 12:6Isa 16:10Isa 24:14Isa 26:19Isa 35:2Isa 35:6Isa 42:11Isa 44:23Isa 49:13Isa 52:8Isa 52:9Isa 54:1Isa 61:7Isa 65:14Jer 31:7Jer 31:12Jer 51:48
Word studyrah-NAHNverb

What ranan means

to send up a loud, ringing cry: most often a shout or song of joy, but at heart simply to call out at full voice

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

At its core this word names a loud, piercing cry that carries on the air. The picture is not quiet humming or careful singing but a voice raised to its fullest, ringing out so it can be heard at a distance.

Almost everywhere in the Bible that cry is one of joy. People shout for gladness, break into song, and let creation itself join in: hills, trees, and seas are pictured raising the same glad noise. This is the celebration of people who have been rescued, forgiven, or simply caught up in praise, and it usually points toward God as the reason for the joy.

The same loud cry can occasionally carry other feelings. In one place it is a desperate cry wrung out in the night by people in anguish, and in the book of Proverbs it is the loud public call of Wisdom pictured as a woman calling out in the streets for anyone to hear. The thread tying every use together is the volume and reach of the voice, not the emotion behind it; the joy is what the word is normally used for, not what the word itself means.

Nuances

1ato shout or sing for joy: a jubilant, ringing cry, very often in praise of God
Lev 9:241Ch 16:33Psa 5:11(12)Psa 20:5(6)Psa 32:11Psa 33:1Psa 35:27Psa 51:14(16)Psa 59:16(17)Psa 63:7(8)Psa 65:8(9)Psa 67:4(5)
1bto cry out in anguish or urgent appeal: the same full-voiced cry, but a desperate one
Lam 2:19
1cto call out aloud in public: to raise the voice so all can hear, used of Wisdom crying out in the streets
Pro 1:20Pro 8:3

What scholars say about ranan

The standard lexica (BDB, HALOT, DCH) treat רנן as a single root denoting a loud, ringing cry, with the overwhelming majority of attestations expressing jubilation (frequently cultic praise of YHWH) and a small minority voicing distress or, in the Proverbs Wisdom passages, a loud public proclamation. The seed gloss "to overcome" (the STEPBible H7442A sub-entry) reflects no recognized lexical sense and is best read as a tagging artifact; the lexica do not posit a distinct homonym here. TWOT and TDOT note the verb's strong association with the noun rinnah and its concentration in the Psalter and Isaiah, where it characterizes eschatological and creational rejoicing.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. רנןlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. רנן Ilexicon
  • DCH, s.v. רנןlexicon
  • R. Ficker, "רנן rnn to rejoice," in TLOTtheological-dictionary

All attested forms of רָנַן

piel imperfect 3mp

יְרַנֵּנוּ, יְרַנְּנוּ

Psa 5:11, Psa 89:12, Psa 98:8, Psa 132:9, Psa 132:16, Psa 145:7, Isa 52:8, 1Ch 16:33

qal imperative 2fs

רָנִּי, רֹנִּי

Isa 54:1, Zep 3:14, Zec 2:10, Isa 12:6, Lam 2:19

qal imperfect 3mp

יָרֹנּוּ

Psa 35:27, Isa 24:14, Isa 42:11, Isa 61:7, Isa 65:14

piel imperative 2mp

רַנְּנוּ

Psa 33:1, Psa 98:4, Isa 26:19, Isa 52:9

hiphil imperative 2mp

הַרְנִינוּ

Deu 32:43, Psa 32:11, Psa 81:1

piel cohortative 1cp

נְרַנְּנָה

Psa 20:5, Psa 90:14, Psa 95:1

qal imperative 2mp

רָנּוּ

Isa 44:23, Isa 49:13, Jer 31:7

piel consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְרִנְּנוּ

Jer 31:12, Jer 51:48

piel imperfect 1cs

אֲרַנֵּן

Psa 63:7, Psa 92:4

piel infinitive-construct construct

רַנֵּן

Psa 132:16, Isa 35:2

qal imperfect 3fs

תָּרֹנָּה

Pro 1:20, Pro 8:3

hiphil imperfect 1cs

אַרְנִן

Job 29:13

hiphil imperfect 2ms

תַּרְנִין

Psa 65:8

hithpael participle m s absolute

מִתְרוֹנֵן

Psa 78:65

piel conjunctive-imperfect 1cs

וַאֲרַנֵּן

Psa 59:16

piel conjunctive-imperfect 3mp

וִירַנְּנוּ

Psa 67:4

piel imperfect 3fp

תְּרַנֵּנָּה

Psa 71:23

piel imperfect 3fs

תְּרַנֵּן

Psa 51:14

pual imperfect 3ms

יְרֻנָּן

Isa 16:10

qal conjunctive-imperfect 3fs

וְתָרֹן

Isa 35:6

qal consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיָּרֹנּוּ

Lev 9:24

qal imperfect 3ms

יָרוּן

Pro 29:6

qal infinitive-construct construct

רָן

Job 38:7