זָנָה
zânâh · zaw-naw'
to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment); figuratively, to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah)
Lexicon
Derivation: a primitive root (highly-fed and therefore wanton);
to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment); figuratively, to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah)
- to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment)
- figuratively, to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: (cause to) commit fornication, [idiom] continually, [idiom] great, (be an, play the) harlot, (cause to be, play the) whore, (commit, fall to) whoredom, (cause to) go a-whoring, whorish.
Letters
- זZayin7
Picture: a weapon, mattock or sword
- Concrete
- weapon · cutting tool · plough
- Extended
- to cut · to harvest · to sustain by cutting · food
- נNun50
Picture: a sprouting seed, or a fish in water
- Concrete
- seed · sprout · fish · offspring
- Extended
- life · continuation · heir · to perpetuate
- הHe5
Picture: a person with both arms raised
- Concrete
- a man calling out · a window · breath
- Extended
- behold! · revelation · to reveal · the (definite article)
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
to cut, to sustain › the seed, life continuing › to reveal, behold
To cut, to sustain of the seed, life continuing that works to reveal, behold.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of זָנָה above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
94 occurrences · 94 OT · 0 NT · 78 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- of an harlot4 · 11%
- and went a whoring3 · 9%
- to go a whoring2 · 6%
- and playedst the harlot2 · 6%
- go a whoring2 · 6%
- the harlot2 · 6%
- hath played the harlot2 · 6%
- fall to whoredom1 · 3%
- to cause her to be a whore1 · 3%
- whom they have gone a whoring1 · 3%
- and go a whoring1 · 3%
- and make1 · 3%
- which ye use to go a whoring1 · 3%
- and all that go a whoring1 · 3%
- and they go a whoring1 · 3%
- or an harlot1 · 3%
- herself by playing the whore1 · 3%
- that is a whore1 · 3%
- him, to commit whoredom1 · 3%
- to commit whoredom1 · 3%
- to play the whore1 · 3%
- of a whore1 · 3%
- her to be an harlot1 · 3%
- into an harlot's1 · 3%
- as with an harlot1 · 3%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.