כֹּהֵן
kôhên · ko-hane'
literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
Lexicon
Derivation: active participle of H3547 (כָּהַן);
literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
- literally, one officiating, a priest
- also, (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: chief ruler, [idiom] own, priest, prince, principal officer.
Letters
- כKaf20
Picture: open palm
- Concrete
- palm · open hand · sole of the foot
- Extended
- to open · to allow · to cover · to tame · like / as
- הHe5
Picture: a person with both arms raised
- Concrete
- a man calling out · a window · breath
- Extended
- behold! · revelation · to reveal · the (definite article)
- נNun50
Picture: a sprouting seed, or a fish in water
- Concrete
- seed · sprout · fish · offspring
- Extended
- life · continuation · heir · to perpetuate
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
the open hand that covers › to reveal, behold › the seed, life continuing
The open hand that covers that works to reveal, behold of the seed, life continuing.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of כֹּהֵן 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
750 occurrences · 750 OT · 0 NT · 168 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- the priest147 · 25%
- and the priest113 · 19%
- the priests59 · 10%
- and the priests48 · 8%
- of the priests45 · 8%
- priest37 · 6%
- then the priest28 · 5%
- unto the priest20 · 3%
- priests14 · 2%
- unto the priests9 · 2%
- for the priest6 · 1%
- for the priests6 · 1%
- with the priests5 · 1%
- and if the priest5 · 1%
- so the priests4 · 1%
- of the priest4 · 1%
- her priests4 · 1%
- among the priests4 · 1%
- and of the priests4 · 1%
- to the priests4 · 1%
- were the priests4 · 1%
- shall the priest3 · 1%
- but if the priest3 · 1%
- them unto the priest3 · 1%
- of priests3 · 1%
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.