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Bible Lexicons
Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's #2205 - זָקֵן
- Brown-Driver-Briggs
- Strong
- old
- old (of humans)
- elder (of those having authority)
- Book
- Word
did not use
this Strong's Number
2132) nqz (זקנ ZQN) AC: Old CO: Beard AB: ?
V) nqz (זקנ ZQN) - Old: To be old. KJV (27): (vf: Paal, Hiphil) old, aged - Strongs: H2204 (זָקֵן)
Nm) nqz (זקנ ZQN) - I. Beard:A long beard as a sign of old age. II. Elder:One who is old. KJV (197): elder, old, ancient, age, senator, beard - Strongs: H2205 (זָקֵן), H2206 (זָקָן)
dm) nfqz (זקונ ZQWN) - Old age: KJV (4): old - Strongs: H2208 (זְקֻנִים)
ef1) enqiz (זיקנה ZYQNH) - Old age: KJV (6): old - Strongs: H2209 (זִקְנָה)
gm) nqfz (זוקנ ZWQN) - Old age: KJV (1): old - Strongs: H2207 (זֹקֶן)
Jeff Benner, Ancient Hebrew Research Center Used by permission of the author.
1 old, of human beings, as adjective predicate Genesis 18:11 (J), Job 32:4 (מִמֶּנּוּ לְיָמִים׳ז, in comparison), or attributive אָב זָקֵן Genesis 44:20 (J), ׳אִישׁ ז Judges 19:16,17,20,22, ׳נָבִיא ז 1 Kings 13:11,25,29, ׳מֶלֶךְ ז Ecclesiastes 4:13; probably also וּשְׂבַע ימים׳ז Genesis 35:29 (P), Job 42:17 and Genesis 25:8 (P) according to ᵐ5 Sam Di; compare also Ezra 3:12.
2 usually as substantive:
a. old man (or woman),
b. elder; a. old man Genesis 43:27 (J), Leviticus 19:32 (H), Deuteronomy 28:50; Deuteronomy 32:7 ("" אָב), 1 Samuel 2:31,32; 1 Samuel 28:14; Isaiah 47:6; Job 12:20; Job 32:9; Proverbs 17:6; Proverbs 20:29; Psalm 119:100; Joel 1:2; old men and old women Zechariah 8:4 (twice in verse); compare זְקַן בֵּיתוֺ Genesis 24:2 (J), זִקְנֵי בֵיתוֺ 2 Samuel 12:17; especially opposed to נַעַר Exodus 10:9 (E), Isaiah 3:5; Isaiah 20:4; Jeremiah 51:22; Lamentations 2:21; Psalm 148:12, and in phrase מִנַּעַר וְעַד זָקֵן Genesis 19:4 (J), Joshua 6:21 (JE), Esther 3:13; opposed to ילדים 1 Kings 12:6,8,13 2 Chronicles 10:6; 10:8; 10:13; opposed to בַּחוּרִים Jeremiah 31:13; Ezekiel 9:6; Joel 3:1, compare 2 Chronicles 36:17 (+ יָשֵׁשׁ) and Jeremiah 6:11 (+ מְלֵא ימים); opposed to עוּלימים Isaiah 65:20; opposed to יונקי שׁדים and עוללים Joel 2:16. b. usually plural elders, as having authority, term techn. (100t. +); elders of a people, especially Israel Exodus 3:16,18; Exodus 12:21 (all J), Exodus 17:5,6; Exodus 18:12; Exodus 19:7; Exodus 24:1,9,14; Joshua 24:1 (all E), Numbers 11:16 (twice in verse) (שֹׁטְרָיו), Numbers 11:24; Numbers 11:25; Numbers 11:30; Numbers 16:25; Joshua 7:6; Joshua 8:10; Joshua 9:11 (all J E), Deuteronomy 5:20 ("" רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם), Deuteronomy 27:1; Deuteronomy 29:9 ("" ראשׁי שׁבטיכם, שֹׁטְרֵיכֶם), Deuteronomy 31:9,28; Joshua 8:33 ("" שֹׁטְרִיםוְשֹׁפְטָיו), Joshua 23:2 ("" רָאשׁיו, שֹׁפְטָיו, שֹׁטְרָיו); compare also probably Joshua 24:31 = Judges 2:7 (all D); Leviticus 9:1, compare זִקְנֵי הָעֵדָה Leviticus 4:15 ( both P), Judges 21:16; see also 1 Samuel 4:3; 1 Samuel 8:4; 1 Samuel 15:30; 2 Samuel 3:17; 2 Samuel 5:3 = 1 Chronicles 11:3; 2 Samuel 17:4,15; 1 Kings 8:1,32Chronicles 5:2,4, also 1 Chronicles 15:25; 1 Chronicles 21:16; compare Isaiah 3:2 (גִּבּוֺר וְאִישׁ מִלְחָמָ֑ה׳שׁוֺפֵט וְנָבִיא וְקֹסֵם וְז), Isaiah 9:14 ("" נְשׂוּאפָֿנִים, but see probably gloss, compare Ew Che Di Du and others); elders of one tribe (Judah) 1 Samuel 30:26; 2 Samuel 19:12, so of Gilead Judges 11:5,7,8,9,10,11; after the division of the kingdoms, of Northern Israel זקני הארץ 1 Kings 20:7 compare 1 Kings 20:8, also 2 Kings 6:32 (twice in verse); 2 Kings 10:1 ("" שָׂרִים etc.) compare 2 Kings 10:5; under Josiah זקני יְהוּדָה 2 Kings 23:1 2 Chronicles 34:29; see also הארץ׳ז Jeremiah 26:17, compare זקני ארץ Proverbs 31:23, compare Lamentations 1:19; Lamentations 2:10; Lamentations 4:16; Lamentations 5:12,14 ("" שׂרים; + שַׁעַר); often in Ezek.: Ezekiel 7:26 ("" כהן), of Judah Ezekiel 8:1, of Israel Ezekiel 8:11,12; Ezekiel 14:1; Ezekiel 20:1,3, also Ezekiel 9:6 (but strike out Co). Exilic הַגּוֺלָה׳ז Jeremiah 29:1 ("" הכהנים, הנביאים); post-exile Ezra 10:8 ("" שׂרים), possibly also Joel 1:14; elders of ׳י Isaiah 24:23 (compare Exodus 24:1,9), זִקְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים 2 Kings 19:2 = Isaiah 37:2, so Jeremiah 19:1 ("" זקני העם); of other peoples, Midian Numbers 22:4,7, Moab Numbers 22:7 (all E), Egypt Psalm 105:22 ("" שׂרים); of Gebal Ezekiel 27:9; elders of a city, especially as sitting in the gate to judge Deuteronomy 19:12; Deuteronomy 21:2 (+ שֹׁפְטֶיךָ) Deuteronomy 21:3; Deuteronomy 21:4; Deuteronomy 21:6; Deuteronomy 21:19 (+ שַׁעַרמְֿקֹמוֺ), Deuteronomy 21:20; Deuteronomy 22:15 (+ הַשָּׁ֑עְרָה), Deuteronomy 22:16; Deuteronomy 22:17; Deuteronomy 22:18; Deuteronomy 25:7 (+ הַשַּׁ֫עֲרָה), Deuteronomy 25:8; Deuteronomy 25:9 (all in Deuteronomic code, and only so therein), Ruth 4:2,4,9,11 (compare שַׁעַר Ruth 4:1; Ruth 4:11), מוֺשַׁב זְקֵנִים Psalm 107:32 ("" קְהַלעָֿ֑ם); Judges 8:14 ("" שׂרים), Judges 8:16; 1 Samuel 11:3; 1 Samuel 16:4; 1 Kings 21:8,11; Ezra 10:14.
זָקֵן fut. יִזְקַן to be old, to become old, to grow old (properly to have the chin hanging down, from זָקָן, like ذِقْنُ an old man with a chin hanging down, decrepid; in which perhaps may be found the origin of the Latin senex, senectus, which others have absurdly taken as used for seminex). This word, however, is used not merely of decrepit, but also of vigorous old age, Genesis 18:12, 13 Genesis 18:13, 19:31 24:1 27:1 1 Samuel 2:22, etc. [But is not decrepitude implied in all these passages?]. For the difference between זָקֵן and its synonyms יָשַׁן, שָׂב, יָשִׁישׁ see those words.
Hiphil, intrans. to be old, to become old (as if to contract old age, comp. הֶחֱזִיק [“in Heb. Gr. § 52.2, note”]), Proverbs 22:6 also of plants, Job 14:8 just as Pliny applies senesco to trees.
זָקֵן constr. זְקַן Genesis 24:2, pl. זְקֵנִים, זִקְנֵי m. an old man [“either put as an adj. with a subst., as אֲבִיכֶם הַזָּקֵז ‘the old man your father,’ Genesis 43:27, or alone as a subst., as Genesis 19:4, etc.” Thes.], Genesis 18:11, 19:4 25:8 followed by מִן older than some one. Job 32:4, כְּי זְקֶנִים־הֵמָּה מִמֶּנּוּ לְיָמִים “for they were older than he;” מִצְרַיִם, הָעִיר, זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל the elders of Israel, of the city, of Egypt, i.e. the chief men, rulers, magistrates, without reference to the idea of age; Exodus 3:16, 4:29 Deuteronomy 19:12, 21:3, Deuteronomy 21:4, Deuteronomy 21:6, 22:15, 17 Deuteronomy 22:17, 18 Deuteronomy 22:18. (The use is similar of the Arab. شَيْخُ sheikh, an old man, hence the captain of a tribe; and in the languages sprung from the Latin, Ital. Signor, French Seigneur, Spanish Señor, Engl. Sir, all of which are from the Latin Senior; as Germ. Graf, is properly i.q. graw, krawo, grey-headed. In no language, however, does this reverence for old age appear more habitual and familiar, than in the Chinese; in which the ministers of a king, even though young, are called great king father, i.e. a man of very high eminence; and men of the same rank address each other “O my elder brother!”) Metaph. used of an old nation, become weak, Isaiah 47:6. Plur. f. זְקֵנוֹת Zechariah 8:4.