Hebrew word · H2594

חֲנִינָה

chaninah

favor

Grace, favor, compassionate kindness. It belongs to the root ḥ-n-n, 'to be gracious': the verb ḥānan (be gracious, often in answer to a plea), the noun ḥēn ('favor, grace'), the adjective ḥannûn (the divine attribute 'gracious', Exod 34:6), and teḥinnāh ('plea for favor, supplication').

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

favour, compassion

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 Jeremiah 16:13

Range of meaning

Grace, favor, compassionate kindness. It belongs to the root ḥ-n-n, 'to be gracious': the verb ḥānan (be gracious, often in answer to a plea), the noun ḥēn ('favor, grace'), the adjective ḥannûn (the divine attribute 'gracious', Exod 34:6), and teḥinnāh ('plea for favor, supplication').

Against the English

'Favor' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV, NIV, NASB) is accurate but has grown pale in English, where 'a favor' is a small kindness. YLT's 'grace' keeps the theological weight better. The word means the response of a superior to someone begging for mercy.

How it drifted

English 'favor' has weakened to mean a small kindness or preferential treatment.

Used elsewhere in the period

This form of the noun is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The root is central to Israel's confession about God: 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious (ḥannûn)' (Exod 34:6). It also appears in the priestly blessing: 'The LORD… be gracious (viḥunnékkā) to you' (Num 6:25).

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 16:13 חֲנִינָֽה׃ ס favor

    So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

    Here: This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from ḥānan, 'to be gracious, to answer a plea with kindness'. It means the gracious response a superior gives to someone begging for help, and that response is what will be held back.

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