Hebrew word · H1598

גָּנַן

veganoti

to defend

To cover, screen, shield or defend. It belongs to a word family about enclosure and protection: magen (a shield), gan and gannah (a garden, meaning an enclosed and guarded plot), and possibly megillah-type wrappings in later Hebrew.

Appears 8 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to defend, cover, surround

1a) (Qal) to defend

1b) (Hiphil) to defend

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 31:5

Range of meaning

To cover, screen, shield or defend. It belongs to a word family about enclosure and protection: magen (a shield), gan and gannah (a garden, meaning an enclosed and guarded plot), and possibly megillah-type wrappings in later Hebrew. The verb is rare and theologically narrow: Yahweh is always the subject and Jerusalem or its people is always the object.

Against the English

English 'defend' or 'protect' is accurate but generic. The Hebrew carries a concrete picture of a shield held over something, or a wall thrown round it. YLT's 'cover over' gets closest to the picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb occurs only about eight times: 2 Kgs 19:34 and 20:6 with Isa 37:35 and 38:6 ('I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for my servant David's sake'), Isa 31:5 (twice), Zech 9:15 and 12:8. Every occurrence is in this Zion-protection setting, so the word works almost like a technical term for Yahweh's shielding of his city.

From the study of Isaiah 37:35

Range of meaning

To cover over protectively, to shield, to enclose for defense. The same root gives māgēn, 'shield', and gan / gannâ, 'garden', literally an enclosed, fenced plot. Lexicons (HALOT, BDB) compare Arabic janna, 'to cover, conceal'.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'defend', which is accurate but abstract. YLT's 'covered over' keeps the physical picture of a covering. 'Defend' can suggest fighting back, but the verb's picture is a shield placed over something.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is rare, and every occurrence describes YHWH protecting Jerusalem or its people: Isaiah 31:5 (twice); 37:35; 38:6; 2 Kings 19:34; 20:6; Zechariah 9:15; 12:8. Isaiah 31:5 is the closest parallel: 'Like birds hovering, so YHWH of hosts will shield Jerusalem; shielding, he will deliver.' The LXX translates with hyperaspizō, 'to hold a shield over'.

From the study of Zechariah 12:8

Range of meaning

To shield, cover protectively, defend. A rare verb, used only for God defending a city or people. It shares a root with magen ('shield') and probably with gan ('garden', an enclosed and protected space).

Against the English

'Defend' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV) is accurate but general. YLT's 'cover over' keeps the shield picture: God puts himself between the city and its attackers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Almost every occurrence is about God protecting Jerusalem: 'Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will shield Jerusalem' (Isa 31:5); 'I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David' (2 Kgs 19:34 = Isa 37:35; also 2 Kgs 20:6 = Isa 38:6), in the story of the Assyrian siege under Hezekiah. Zechariah uses the same verb in 9:15: 'the LORD of hosts will shield them.'

Where it appears

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 19:34 וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י and I will defend

    I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

    Here: "And I will shield." The verb comes from the same root as magen, "shield." It pictures God holding a covering over the city, not fighting outside its walls. The "and" plus the verb form looks forward, so this is a promise: "and so I will shield."

  2. 2 Kings 20:6 וְגַנּוֹתִי֙ and I will defend

    I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

    Here: A rare verb meaning to cover or shield, from the same root family as “shield” (magen). God pictures himself spread protectively over the city.

Isaiah · 4

  1. Isaiah 31:5 יָגֵ֛ן גָּנ֥וֹן he will defend, he will defend [it]

    Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”

    Here: Future-looking: 'he will put a shield over, cover.' The root is the one behind magen ('shield') and gan ('walled garden'). The picture is of something enclosed and screened off.

  2. Isaiah 37:35 וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י and I will defend

    ‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

    Here: A perfect verb with the joining 'and' that Hebrew uses for a fixed future: 'and I will shield'. It carries on the promise of v. 34 that Sennacherib 'will not enter this city'. The root means covering something with protection, like a shield or an enclosure. In the Bible it is used only of God protecting Jerusalem.

  3. Isaiah 38:6 וְגַנּוֹתִ֖י and I will defend

    And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

Zechariah · 2

  1. Zechariah 9:15 יָגֵ֣ן he will defend

    The LORD of Hosts will shield them. They will destroy and conquer with slingstones; they will drink and roar as with wine. And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls, drenched like the corners of the altar.

    Here: 'Will shield.' The verb comes from the same root as magen, 'shield'. Elsewhere it is used almost only for God protecting Jerusalem: he covers his people while they fight.

  2. Zechariah 12:8 יָגֵ֤ן he will defend

    On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

    Here: 'He will shield'. From the same root as magen, 'shield'. It pictures God putting a protective cover over a city under siege, and echoes Isaiah's promises that God would shield Jerusalem from Assyria.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.