the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Prepare
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verb.
Kûn (כּוּן, Strong's #3559), “to be established, be readied, be prepared, be certain, be admissible.” This verb occurs in nearly every Semitic language (not in biblical Aramaic). Kûn appears in the Bible about 220 times and in all periods of Hebrew.
This root used concretely connotes being firmly established, being firmly anchored and being firm. The first meaning is applied to a roof which is “firmly established” on pillars. So Samson said to the lad who was leading him: “Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them” (Judg. 16:26). In a similar sense the inhabited earth “is firmly established or anchored”; it is immovable: “… The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved” (Ps. 93:1). In Ps. 75:3 the image shifts to the earth “firmly established” upon pillars. In Ps. 65:6 the divine establishing of the mountains is synonymous with divine creating. The verb also means “to be firm”: “And you grew up and became tall and arrived at [the age for fine ornaments]; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown” (Ezek. 16:7, RSV),
Used abstractly, kûn can refer to a concept as “established,” or “fixed” so as to be unchanging and unchangeable: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:32—the first occurrence of the word). In somewhat the same sense one can speak of the light of day “being firmly established,” or having fully arrived: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18). Kûn can be used of the “establishing” of one’s descendants, of seeing them prosperous (Job 21:8).
Something can be “fixed” in the sense of “being prepared or completed”: “Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord …” (2 Chron. 8:16).
An “established” thing can be something that is enduring. In 1 Sam. 20:31 Saul tells Jonathan: “For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom.” Truthful lips (what they say) “shall be established,” or will endure forever (Prov. 12:19). One’s plans “will endure” (be established) if he commits his works to the Lord (Prov. 16:3).
Kun can also mean “to be established” in the sense of “being ready.” So Josiah told the people “to prepare” themselves for the Passover (2 Chron. 35:4). This same sense appears in Exod. 19:11 “And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” A somewhat different nuance appears in Job 18:12; Bildad says that wherever godlessness breaks out, there is judgment: “… Destruction shall be ready at his side.” That is, calamity is “fixed or prepared” so that it exists potentially even before godlessness breaks out.
Something “fixed” or “established” can “be certain”: “Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain …” (Deut. 13:14). In a somewhat different nuance the thing can be trustworthy or true. The psalmist says of the wicked that “there is no faithfulness in their mouth” (Ps. 5:9). A further development of this emphasis is that a matter “may be admissible”—so Moses said to Pharaoh: “It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God …” (Exod. 8:26).
When one “fixes” an arrow on the bow, he takes aim or “prepares” to shoot his bow (cf. Ps. 7:12).
B. Nouns.
Mekônâh (מְכֹנָה, Strong's #4350), “proper place; base.” This noun occurs 25 times; it means “proper place” in Ezra 3:3: “And they set the altar upon his bases.…” The word refers to “bases” in 1 Kings 7:27.
Two other nouns are related to the verb kun. Makon, which appears 17 times, means “an established place or site” (Exod. 15:17). Tekunah, which makes 3 appearances, means “fixed place” as in Job 23:3 or “fixed matter” as in Ezek. 43:11: “… Show them the form of the house, and the fashion [tekunah] thereof …”
C. Adjective.
Kên (כֵּן, Strong's #3651), “right; veritable; honest.” This adjective occurs 24 times in biblical Hebrew. The word implies “honest or righteous” in Gen. 42:11 “We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.” The word means not “right” in 2 Kings 17:9.
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Prepare'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/p/prepare.html. 1940.
