Hebrew word · H6793
צִנָּה
tzinah
shield
A large shield, often rectangular or oval, covering most of the body. It is distinct from the smaller round magen. Separate words spelled the same way mean 'coolness' (Prov 25:13) and 'hook' (Amos 4:2), which is why the supplied data marks this one with a letter (H6793C).
Appears 22 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) shield, large shield, buckler
1a) shield
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
A large shield, often rectangular or oval, covering most of the body. It is distinct from the smaller round magen. Separate words spelled the same way mean 'coolness' (Prov 25:13) and 'hook' (Amos 4:2), which is why the supplied data marks this one with a letter (H6793C).
- Against the English
English "shield" does not say how big it is. The tsinnah is the full-body shield, the kind a shield-bearer carried in front of a champion.
- Used elsewhere in the period
1 Sam 17:7, 41 (Goliath's shield-bearer carries the tsinnah); 1 Kgs 10:16-17 (Solomon's 200 large gold shields of 600 shekels each, against 300 smaller magen shields of 3 minas); Ps 5:12 [Heb 13]: 'as with a tsinnah you surround him with favour'; Ps 35:2.
- Range of meaning
A large shield, oblong or rectangular, covering most or all of the body. It was often carried by a shield-bearer in front of a warrior, and it is different from the smaller round shield (magen).
- Against the English
'Shield' in English calls up any kind of shield, often the small round one. The Hebrew chooses the biggest kind.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Goliath's shield-bearer carries his tsinnah (1 Samuel 17:7, 41). Solomon's gold shields come in two sizes: tsinnah shields using 600 shekels of gold each and magen shields using three minas (1 Kings 10:16–17). Psalm 91:4 pairs tsinnah with another word for protection. Assyrian palace carvings show tall body shields used in sieges.
From the study of 1 Samuel 17:41
- Range of meaning
A large shield covering most of the body, as opposed to the magen, the smaller round shield carried on the arm. The difference in size shows in 1 Kgs 10:16–17: Solomon's ceremonial tsinnot took 600 shekels of gold each, his maginnim only three minas. The two words are paired for complete protection in Ps 35:2 ('take hold of magen and tsinnah') and Ezek 23:24. In Ps 91:4 God's faithfulness is called 'a tsinnah and a buckler'.
- Against the English
Most English versions just say 'shield'. That is not wrong, but it does not tell the reader this was the big standing or body shield. YLT's 'buckler' is misleading, because a buckler is a small round hand-shield, the opposite end of the range.
- How it drifted
Archaic English 'buckler' (KJV-era vocabulary) named a small shield. YLT and some older versions used it loosely for any shield.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Near Eastern reliefs, especially Assyrian siege scenes, show attendants holding tall shields in front of archers and other fighters. This 'shield-bearer in front' arrangement is the same one described here and in v. 7. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT s.v. צִנָּה) define it as the large shield.
Where it appears
1 Samuel · 2
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1 Samuel 17:7 הַצִּנָּ֖ה the body shield
The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him.
Here: "The large shield": the tall shield that covers most of the body, heavy enough to need its own carrier. It is different from the smaller round shield (magen).
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1 Samuel 17:41 הַצִּנָּ֖ה of the body shield
Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.
Here: The big shield that covered the body, not the small round hand-shield (magen). The same shield-bearer was mentioned in v. 7, and this verse brings him back into view.
1 Kings · 2
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1 Kings 10:16 צִנָּ֖ה הַצִּנָּ֥ה body shield[s], the body shield
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
1 Chronicles · 3
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1 Chronicles 12:8 צִנָּ֖ה shield
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:
Here: The large shield that covered most of the body. It is the kind carried for Goliath (1 Samuel 17:7), heavier than the small round shield (magen).
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1 Chronicles 12:24 צִנָּ֖ה shield
From Judah: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.
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1 Chronicles 12:34 בְּצִנָּ֣ה with shield
From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.
2 Chronicles · 5
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2 Chronicles 9:15 צִנָּ֖ה הַצִּנָּ֥ה body shield[s], the body shield
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.
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2 Chronicles 11:12 צִנּ֣וֹת body shields
He also put shields and spears in all the cities and strengthened them greatly. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
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2 Chronicles 14:8 צִנָּ֣ה body shield[s]
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.
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2 Chronicles 25:5 וְצִנָּֽה׃ and body shield
Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield.
Psalms · 3
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Psalm 5:12 כַּ֝צִּנָּ֗ה like <the> shield
For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.
Here: The tsinnah was the big shield that covered the whole body, not the small round hand shield. The image is cover from head to foot.
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Psalm 35:2 וְצִנָּ֑ה and body shield
Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
Here: The big shield, tall enough to cover the whole body, often carried by a shield-bearer. Putting it next to the magen calls for every kind of protection there is: the full defensive kit.
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Psalm 91:4 צִנָּ֖ה [is] a shield
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
Here: "A (large) shield": the big shield that covers the whole body, sometimes carried by a shield-bearer in front of a warrior (1 Sam 17:7). The picture shifts from a bird to battle equipment.
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 25:13 כְּצִנַּת־ [is] like [the] cold of
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 46:3 וְצִנָּ֔ה and body shield
“Deploy your shields, small and large; advance for battle!
Ezekiel · 4
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Ezekiel 23:24 צִנָּ֤ה body shield
They will come against you with a host of peoples, with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will array themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will punish you according to their own standards.
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Ezekiel 26:8 צִנָּֽה׃ a body shield
He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you.
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Ezekiel 38:4 צִנָּ֣ה body shield
I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army—your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords.
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Ezekiel 39:9 וְצִנָּה֙ and body shield
Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, kindle fires, and burn up the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
Amos · 1
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Amos 4:2 בְּצִנּ֔וֹת with barbs
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
Here: The instrument used to haul them off. Most likely 'hooks' or 'barbs', related to the word for thorns; but the word usually means 'large shield', and some scholars read 'baskets'. The meaning is genuinely uncertain.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.