Hebrew word · H7065

קָנָא

kano'

be jealous

The root is about intense, heated emotion that is protective or possessive. The intensive form with the preposition bĕ and a person means 'be envious of / get heated about' that person.

Appears 34 times in 29 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to envy, be jealous, be envious, be zealous

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to be jealous of

1a2) to be envious of

1a3) to be zealous for

1a4) to excite to jealous anger

1b) (Hiphil) to provoke to jealous anger, cause jealousy

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 Proverbs 3:31

Range of meaning

The root is about intense, heated emotion that is protective or possessive. It covers jealousy for what belongs to you (a husband's jealousy, Num 5:14; God's jealousy for his people), zeal for a cause (Phinehas, Num 25:11, 13; Elijah, 1 Kgs 19:10), and envy of what belongs to someone else (Gen 26:14; 30:1; 37:11). The intensive form with the preposition bĕ and a person means 'be envious of / get heated about' that person.

Against the English

'Envy' is accurate but cooler than the Hebrew. In modern English envy is often a quiet private resentment or wanting someone's things. The Hebrew word has heat in it, the same word used for zeal, and it can slide toward admiring and copying, which is why the next line moves straight to 'choosing his ways'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The exact warning recurs as a set phrase in Israel's wisdom tradition: Ps 37:1 ('do not be envious of wrongdoers'), Prov 23:17 ('let not your heart envy sinners'), Prov 24:1 ('do not envy evil men'), Prov 24:19. Ps 73:3 has the psalmist confess, 'I envied the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.' The Greek translators often used zēloō ('be zealous, envy'), which has the same two-sided range.

From the study of Deuteronomy 32:16

Range of meaning

The root covers intense, focused passion about a relationship or cause: jealousy over a spouse (Num 5:14, 30), zeal for a person or for God (Num 25:11, 13; 2 Kgs 10:16), and also envy of a rival (Gen 26:14; 30:1). The causative form used here means 'to make someone jealous' or 'to rouse someone's zeal'. Applied to God, it names his exclusive claim on Israel: 'YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God' (Exod 34:14; cf. Exod 20:5; Deut 4:24; 5:9; 6:15).

Against the English

English 'jealous' today mostly suggests insecurity, possessiveness, or resentment of someone else's success. That is the sense of 'envy'. KJV-era English still used 'jealous' for vigilant, protective devotion ('jealous for his honour'). YLT's 'zealous' captures the energy but loses the marital tone. 'Provoked his jealousy' (BSB, KJV) is accurate, provided the reader hears the older sense.

How it drifted

Over the last few centuries English 'jealousy' narrowed toward the emotional insecurity sense and moved closer to 'envy'. The biblical sense, a rightful and exclusive claim being violated, now has to be explained.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint usually renders the root with zēlos/zēloō ('zeal', 'be zealous') and, in v. 21, parazēloō ('provoke to jealousy'). Paul picks up that word in Rom 10:19, 11:11, 14 and 1 Cor 10:22. Ancient Near Eastern treaties such as Esarhaddon's succession treaties (7th c. BC) required vassals to 'love' the overlord and have no other master. Biblical 'jealousy' is the divine counterpart of that exclusive covenant loyalty. The prophets turn it into marriage imagery (Ezek 16:38, 42; Hos 2).

From the study of Deuteronomy 32:21

Range of meaning

Intense, focused passion directed at something one has a claim on or wants. Depending on context it means (1) jealousy in a marriage-like bond, guarding an exclusive relationship (Num 5:14, the husband's "spirit of jealousy"); (2) zeal, ardent devotion that acts (Num 25:11, Phinehas "zealous with my zeal"; 2 Kgs 10:16); (3) envy of a rival's goods or standing (Gen 26:14, the Philistines envied Isaac; Gen 30:1, Rachel envied Leah). The causative forms used here mean "to provoke someone's jealousy."

Against the English

English "jealous" now leans toward insecurity, possessiveness or petty envy, and is usually thought a vice. In Hebrew, applied to God, qinʾāh is the proper passion of a partner in an exclusive covenant. It belongs with God's name and nature ("the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God," Exod 34:14). "Zealous" (YLT) catches the energy but loses the relational injury. "Jealous" keeps the injury but risks the petty connotation.

How it drifted

Modern English separates "jealousy" (bad) from "zeal" (good). Hebrew used one root for both. Translators had to choose, and the vice-sense of "jealous" has since grown stronger in ordinary speech.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 20:5; 34:14; Deut 4:24; 5:9; 6:15 (ʾēl qannāʾ, "a jealous God"); Deut 32:16 ("they made him jealous with strange gods"); Ps 78:58 ("they moved him to jealousy with their idols"); Ezek 8:3 ("the image of jealousy that provokes jealousy"). The Septuagint translates it here with parazēloō, "provoke to jealousy/rivalry," the verb Paul takes up in Rom 10:19; 11:11, 14 and 1 Cor 10:22.

Where it appears

Genesis · 3

  1. Genesis 26:14 וַיְקַנְא֥וּ and they envied

    He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

    Here: "And they became jealous of him." The word means strong, heated rivalry, the kind that leads to action. The next verse shows the result: they fill in his wells. It also sounds like miqneh ("possessions") earlier in the verse, so the story moves from what Isaac had to the resentment it caused.

  2. Genesis 30:1 וַתְּקַנֵּ֥א and she was jealous

    When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

    Here: Intensive form of the verb for jealousy, zeal and burning rivalry. With the preposition 'in/against' it means she burned with rivalrous jealousy toward her sister. This is not a quiet wish for what Leah has but a heated contest of standing between them.

  3. Genesis 37:11 וַיְקַנְאוּ־ and they were jealous

    And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

    Here: An intensive verb form describing a heated, consuming resentment. The verb comes first, so the sentence opens on the emotion itself: 'and they seethed.' This is the feeling that will soon turn into a plot to kill him (37:18–20).

Numbers · 6

  1. Numbers 5:14 וְקִנֵּ֥א וְקִנֵּ֣א and he will be jealous of

    and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself—

  2. Numbers 5:30 וְקִנֵּ֣א and he will be jealous of

    or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.

  3. Numbers 11:29 הַֽמְקַנֵּ֥א ¿ zealous

    But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

    Here: A question marker (ha-) joined to a participle of the intensive form of qanaʾ: "Are you burning with zeal…?" The participle describes Joshua's present, ongoing passion. It is protective zeal for someone else's rights, not envy for himself.

  4. Numbers 25:11 בְּקַנְא֥וֹ because was zealous he

    “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal.

    Here: 'In his being zealous', meaning when he burned with zeal, and because he did. The form is a verb-noun with 'in' and 'his'. It states both when and why the anger turned back.

  5. Numbers 25:13 קִנֵּא֙ he was zealous

    It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

    Here: An intense, protective passion for an exclusive relationship that has been violated. Verse 11 says Phinehas was zealous 'with my zeal', so he acted out God's own outrage at Israel's betrayal.

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 32:16 יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ they made jealous him

    They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.

    Here: The causative form: 'they made him jealous', 'they stirred up his zeal'. This is the passionate, exclusive claim of someone whose rightful bond has been betrayed, like a husband's toward an unfaithful wife. It is not petty envy.

  2. Deuteronomy 32:21 קִנְא֣וּנִי אַקְנִיאֵ֣ם they have made jealous me, I will make jealous them

    They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

    Here: "They made me jealous." A completed action: the betrayal has already happened. It is the jealousy of a covenant partner whose exclusive claim has been violated, as a husband's would be. It repeats v.16, "they made him jealous with strange gods."

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 21:2 בְּקַנֹּאת֥וֹ because was zealous he

    At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

1 Kings · 5

  1. 1 Kings 14:22 וַיְקַנְא֣וּ and they made jealous

    And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.

    Here: A causative form: they stirred up Yahweh's jealousy, his fierce and exclusive claim on a partner who has turned to rivals. It is the language of a betrayed marriage, not of petty envy.

  2. 1 Kings 19:10 קַנֹּ֨א קִנֵּ֜אתִי certainly <to be zealous>, I have been zealous

    “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

    Here: This form of the verb (the 'infinitive absolute') is placed before the main verb to make it stronger: “I have been zealous, really zealous.” The doubling is the source of the English “very.”

  3. 1 Kings 19:14 קַנֹּ֨א קִנֵּ֜אתִי certainly <to be zealous>, I have been zealous

    “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 37:1 תְּ֝קַנֵּ֗א you be jealous

    Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.

    Here: The verb of passionate jealousy and zeal. With 'of' (bə-) aimed at people, it usually means envying them: looking at their success and wanting it, or being bitter that they have it (compare Psalm 73:3). Like the first verb, it is a word of heat and strong feeling.

  2. Psalm 73:3 קִ֭נֵּאתִי I was jealous

    For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

    Here: An intensive verb form meaning 'I burned with envy'. With the preposition 'at/in' it names whom the envy was aimed at. The past form presents it as a settled state he went through. It is a hot feeling, not a passing wish.

  3. Psalm 78:58 יַקְנִיאֽוּהוּ׃ they made jealous him

    They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.

    Here: A causative form: they roused God's jealousy, his burning, exclusive zeal for a bond that belonged to him alone, like a husband's toward a wife's unfaithfulness. The verb form here can carry a sense of repeated action ('they kept rousing his jealousy'), though in poetry it often just parallels a past verb. Like the first word, it ends in 'him', so the verse opens and closes on God.

  4. Psalm 106:16 וַיְקַנְא֣וּ and they were envious

    In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 3:31 תְּ֭קַנֵּא you be jealous

    Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;

    Here: An intensive form: to burn with envy or hot feeling toward someone. With 'at' (bĕ) plus a person, it means getting worked up over that person's success. Wanting what someone has can easily become wanting to be like them, and the second line goes there.

  2. Proverbs 23:17 יְקַנֵּ֣א it be jealous

    Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

    Here: An intensive verb form expressing a wish or command ('may it not burn'). The verb names hot, possessive passion. Followed by 'at' (בְּ) and a person, it means looking at someone's position and burning to have it. Its subject is not 'you' but 'your heart'.

  3. Proverbs 24:1 תְּ֭קַנֵּא you be jealous

    Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;

    Here: 'Let yourself be heated up with jealousy.' The verb names a hot, consuming passion fixed on someone. Here it is the burning look at harm-doers who seem to be doing well, a look that half resents them and half wants to be like them.

  4. Proverbs 24:19 תְּ֝קַנֵּ֗א you be jealous

    Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.

    Here: 'Be envious', in the sense of being passionately worked up about someone. The word covers resentment at their success and also being drawn toward their way of life. Elsewhere in Proverbs the same warning sits beside 'do not desire to be with them' (24:1).

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 11:13 יְקַנֵּ֣א it will be jealous of

    Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor will Judah harass Ephraim.

    Here: "Will be jealous of". It is the verb form of the same root as "jealousy" above, so the noun from the first half comes back as an action. Genesis 30:1 uses this verb for Rachel envying her sister Leah.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 8:3 הַמַּקְנֶֽה׃ which provokes to jealousy

    He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.

    Here: 'The one that provokes jealousy.' It comes from the same root as the word before it, giving a deliberate echo: 'the jealousy-statue that makes jealous.' Some scholars hear a parody of a goddess title from a similar-sounding root meaning 'create/acquire.'

  2. Ezekiel 31:9 וַיְקַנְאֻ֙הוּ֙ and they envied it

    I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’

  3. Ezekiel 39:25 וְקִנֵּאתִ֖י and I will be zealous

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Now I will restore Jacob from captivity and will have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.

    Here: 'And I will be jealous/zealous'. This is intense, exclusive passion to protect what rightly belongs to oneself. Earlier in Ezekiel this passion burned against Israel. Now it acts on Israel's behalf.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 2:18 וַיְקַנֵּ֥א and he became jealous

    Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.

    Here: The verb is in the form Hebrew uses to tell a story in sequence ("and then he…"), so it presents God's response as an event that followed the priests' prayer in 2:17. The intensive stem expresses heated, protective passion. With 'for' (le-) it means zeal on behalf of something, not resentment against it.

Zechariah · 3

  1. Zechariah 1:14 קִנֵּ֧אתִי I am jealous

    Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,

    Here: 'I burn with zeal.' This is the intense form of the verb, describing a settled state. It is passionate, protective, possessive commitment that is about to turn into action, not petty envy.

  2. Zechariah 8:2 קִנֵּ֥אתִי קִנֵּ֥אתִי I am jealous

    This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

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