Hebrew word · H6994

קָטֹן

katoneti

be small

To be small, slight or insignificant; in one causative use, to make something smaller (the short measure of Amos 8:5). As a verb it is rare.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

1) to be small, be insignificant

1a) (Qal) to be insignificant

1b) (Hiphil) to make small, reduce significantly

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

Range of meaning: To be small, slight or insignificant; in one causative use, to make something smaller (the short measure of Amos 8:5). As a verb it is rare.
Against the English: KJV and WEB say plainly "this was a small thing." BSB adds "as if," which is not in the Hebrew. KJV adds "yet" and "also," and those words do have a basis in the Samuel parallel but not here.
Used elsewhere in the period: Jacob uses the same verb in Genesis 32:10 (32:11 in Hebrew): "I am too small for all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown." 2 Samuel 7:19 is the direct parallel. The Septuagint uses a matching word for being made small (esmikrunthē).

Range of meaning: As a verb: to be small, to be insignificant, to be too little (for something). Related to the adjective qāṭān/qāṭōn, 'small, young, least' (H6996), used for the youngest son (e.g. David in 1 Sam 16:11) and for small things or people of low standing.
Against the English: BSB/NIV/NASB 'unworthy,' KJV/WEB/ESV 'not worthy of the least.' 'Unworthy' is a fair interpretation, but it moves the image from size to merit. The Hebrew says 'I am small compared with all of it.' The Vulgate's 'minor sum' ('I am smaller') keeps the picture.
How it drifted: The KJV's 'not worthy of the least' came from reading the comparison 'small... from all' as 'not deserving even the smallest part.' Since then 'unworthy' has become the standard English. Later Christian devotional language heard 'unworthy' as confession of sin and deserving nothing, which is a theme the verse does not raise.
Used elsewhere in the period: The verb is rare. It appears in 2 Sam 7:19 / 1 Chr 17:17, where David says of God's promise to his dynasty, 'this was too small [wattiqṭan] in your eyes,' meaning God thought it too little and promised more. That is the same language of proportion between a human and God's generosity. The adjective is common for 'youngest' and 'least' (Gen 9:24; 27:15, 42; Judg 6:15).

Genesis · 1

Genesis 32:10 קָטֹ֜נְתִּי I am [too] insignificant

I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.

Here: A verb of state: 'I am small.' Paired with the following 'from' (min), it means 'I am too small for' or 'smaller than' everything God has done. It is about size and proportion, not moral guilt.

2 Samuel · 1

2 Samuel 7:19 וַתִּקְטַן֩ and it was small

And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD?

Here: "And it was small." Everything God had already done for David, raising him from shepherd boy to king (v. 18, "brought me this far"), counted as a minor thing by God's standard. The same verb appears in Jacob's prayer, "I am too small for all your steadfast love" (Genesis 32:10/11). Here it is God's gift, not David, that is called small.

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 17:17 וַתִּקְטַ֨ן and it was small

And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction, O LORD God.

Here: "And it was small." Everything God has already done for David, lifting him "this far" (v. 16), counted as a small thing by God's measure. The Hebrew states this flatly, with no "as if."

Amos · 1

Amos 8:5 לְהַקְטִ֤ין to make small

asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales.

Here: 'Making small.' This and the next two verbs spell out how they mean to trade: shrinking the measure the buyer receives.

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