Hebrew word · H3655
כָּנָה
'akhanekha
to flatter
Piel (intensive form) of kanah: to address someone by an honorific name or title, to give an epithet or surname. It is rare: here, Isa 45:4, and Job 32:21–22.
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to title, surname, be surnamed, give an epithet or cognomen, give a flattering title
1a) (Piel) to call by name, give a title, betitle
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
- Range of meaning
Piel (intensive form) of kanah: to address someone by an honorific name or title, to give an epithet or surname. It is rare: here, Isa 45:4, and Job 32:21–22.
- Against the English
Strong's gloss 'to flatter' comes from Job 32:21–22, where Elihu refuses to 'give titles' (that is, flattering honorifics) to anyone. BSB 'take the name of Israel' and ESV 'name himself by' lose the note of honor. NASB 'name Israel's name with honor' and WEB 'honor the name of Israel' keep it. KJV and YLT 'surname' were accurate in older English (an added, often honorific name) but now sound like a family last name.
- How it drifted
'Surname' narrowed in modern English to 'inherited family name'. In 1611 it still meant an additional name or title someone was given or took.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 45:4: YHWH says to Cyrus, 'I give you a title (akhanneka), though you do not know me', meaning an honorific such as 'my anointed' or 'my shepherd' (44:28; 45:1). Job 32:21–22 uses the verb of flattering titles. Later Hebrew uses kinnuy for a by-name or epithet.
- Range of meaning
A rare verb that appears only four times: Job 32:21, 22 and Isa 44:5; 45:4. In Isaiah it means to give someone an honorific name or epithet. In Isa 44:5 a person 'surnames himself by the name of Israel'. In Isa 45:4 God 'gives a title' to Cyrus, though Cyrus does not know him. The sense is to call someone by a title of honour instead of their plain name. HALOT and BDB both give the root meaning as 'give an honorary name'. 'Flatter' is a contextual extension of that sense in Job.
- Against the English
BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB and NLT render it 'flatter', which focuses on insincere praise. KJV, WEB and YLT have 'give flattering titles', which keeps the root idea of titles while adding the flattery.
- How it drifted
The English word 'flatter' now suggests manipulative, insincere compliments meant to get something. The Hebrew word is about the conventions of honorific address: titles, epithets and courtesy names that mark someone's rank. Nothing in Isaiah's use is insincere, since God giving Cyrus a title is not flattery. In Job the deference becomes suspect because it would bend the truth, but the verb itself is about titles before it is about lies.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 44:5; 45:4. Later Hebrew and Aramaic use the related noun kinnûy for a substitute name, epithet or euphemism, which confirms the 'naming' core of the root.
Where it appears
Job · 2
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Job 32:21 אֲכַנֶּֽה׃ I will use flattery
I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.
Here: 'I will give a title', meaning address someone with honorific names and epithets instead of plainly. Elihu refuses the polite titles of deference that a junior was expected to use toward his elders.
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Job 32:22 אֲכַנֶּ֑ה I will use flattery
For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant.
Isaiah · 2
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Isaiah 44:5 יְכַנֶּֽה׃ פ he will name
One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”
Here: 'He will entitle himself.' The verb means to call someone by an honorific name or epithet. The speaker takes 'Israel' as a title of honor, not just a label.
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Isaiah 45:4 אֲכַנְּךָ֖ I will give a title you
For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.