StrongerBible

sinah

שִׂנְאָה

HebrewH8135hatred, hate, ...

Appears 17 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Num 35:20Deu 1:27Deu 9:282Sa 13:15 (2×)Psa 25:19Psa 109:3Psa 109:5Psa 139:22Pro 10:12Pro 10:18Pro 15:17Pro 26:26Ecc 9:1Ecc 9:6Ezk 23:29Ezk 35:11
Root family
Word studysin-AHnoun

What sinah means

hatred: active hostility and ill will toward another, the settled opposite of love

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

Hatred names the strong, active dislike one person holds against another, and the Old Testament almost always sets it directly against love as its opposite. It is the noun form of the verb "to hate" (שָׂנֵא), naming the emotion itself rather than the act of hating.

The word covers a wide field. It can be quiet malice that a person hides behind smooth words, the kind Proverbs keeps warning about. It can be open enmity, close to a standing feud (אֵיבָה), fierce enough to drive violence, as when hatred turns a shove into murder, or when Amnon's craving for Tamar curdles into a loathing greater than the desire he had felt for her. Israel even flung the word at God, accusing him of rescuing them out of hatred rather than love.

Because it is the flat opposite of love, hatred often appears in paired sayings that weigh the two against each other: a simple meal shared in love against a lavish one soured by hatred, or a future in which no one can tell in advance whether love or hatred lies ahead. In a few places it is turned toward evil itself, as when the psalmist claims to hate God's enemies with a whole and complete hatred.

Num 35:20Deu 1:27Deu 9:282Sa 13:15 (2×)Psa 25:19Psa 109:3Psa 109:5Psa 139:22Pro 10:12Pro 10:18Pro 15:17Pro 26:26

What scholars say about sinah

The standard lexica (BDB; HALOT) treat שִׂנְאָה as the abstract noun of the verb שָׂנֵא "to hate," glossing it uniformly as "hatred" and treating it as the settled antonym of אַהֲבָה "love," with which it is repeatedly paired (Prov 10:12; 15:17; Eccl 9:1, 6; Ps 109:5). While the verb שָׂנֵא is well known for a comparative, non-affective use ("love less, be un-preferred," as of Leah in Gen 29:31 or in the Jacob/Esau contrast of Mal 1:2-3), the noun consistently denotes the full emotion of hostility rather than mere disfavor. No meaningful polysemy is recognized for the noun.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. שִׂנְאָהlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. שִׂנְאָהlexicon
  • TWOT §2272 (שׂנא)theological-dictionary

All attested forms of שִׂנְאָה

f s absolute

שִׂנְאָה, שִּׂנְאָה

Num 35:20, 2Sa 13:15, Psa 109:3, Psa 109:5, Psa 139:22, Pro 10:12, Pro 10:18, Pro 15:17

f s construct

שִׂנְאַת

Deu 1:27, Psa 25:19

f s construct

שִּׂנְאָתֶיךָ

Ezk 35:11

f s construct

שִׂנְאָתָם

Ecc 9:6

f s construct

שִּׂנְאָתוֹ

Deu 9:28