Hebrew word · H2177

זַן

zan

kind

Kind, sort, species. A late word borrowed through Aramaic, probably from Old Persian.

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

kind, sort

Aramaic equivalent: zan (זַן "kind" H2178)

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 2 Chronicles 16:14

Range of meaning

Kind, sort, species. A late word borrowed through Aramaic, probably from Old Persian.

Against the English

KJV: 'divers kinds'. BSB: 'various'. The meaning is plain in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in Hebrew only in Psalm 144:13 ('from kind to kind'). It appears in the Aramaic of Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15 ('all kinds of music') and is common in later Aramaic. It is one of the features that date Chronicles to the Persian era or later.

From the study of Psalm 144:13

Range of meaning

Kind, sort, species. It is a loanword from Aramaic, where it is common (Dan 3:5, 7, 10, 15: 'all kinds of music'). In Hebrew it appears only here and in 2 Chr 16:14 ('kinds' of spices).

Against the English

KJV 'all manner of store,' BSB 'all manner of produce,' YLT keeps the idiom: 'from kind to kind.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Its spread in Aramaic and late books (Daniel, Chronicles) marks it as late Biblical Hebrew. Scholars often use it as evidence that vv. 12–15 were composed or reshaped after the exile. The Septuagint, perhaps unfamiliar with the word, translated 'from this to that.'

Where it appears

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 16:14 וּזְנִ֔ים and kinds

    And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.

    Here: "And kinds," meaning many sorts of aromatics. It is a rare, late word borrowed from Aramaic and Persian. The phrase stresses how many different fragrances there were.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 144:13 מִזַּ֗ן זַ֥ן from kind, kind

    Our storehouses will be full, supplying all manner of produce; our flocks will bring forth thousands, tens of thousands in our fields.

    Here: 'From kind…' This is a late word borrowed from Aramaic. It opens an idiom meaning 'every kind of thing.'

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