Hebrew word · H7077

קִנֵּן

kinu

to make a nest

To make a nest, to nest. It is used of birds and, by extension, of anyone who settles securely somewhere high.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to make a nest

1a) (Piel) to make a nest

1b) (Pual) to be nested

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 22:23

Range of meaning

To make a nest, to nest. It is used of birds and, by extension, of anyone who settles securely somewhere high.

Against the English

BSB 'nestled' can sound cosy and snug. The Hebrew picture is a bird's nest perched high and unreachable. The point is a feeling of safety, and implicitly arrogance.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 104:17 (birds nest in the cedars); Isaiah 34:15. The closest parallels are taunts against pride: Jeremiah 49:16 and Obadiah 4 ('though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down'), and Habakkuk 2:9 (woe to the one who 'sets his nest on high' with unjust gain), which is thematically close to the indictment of Jehoiakim's palace in Jeremiah 22:13–17.

From the study of Psalm 104:17

Range of meaning

To build a nest, to nest. The verb is built from qēn ('nest'). It is used of birds (Ps 104:17; Ezek 31:6), of the owl or snake (Isa 34:15), and figuratively of people 'nesting' in cedar palaces (Jer 22:23).

Against the English

English versions differ between 'make nests,' 'build nests,' and 'nest.' The differences do not matter much.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezek 31:6 and Dan 4:12, 21 birds nest in a great tree's branches, an image of a tree that shelters every creature. Jer 22:23 uses the verb ironically of Jerusalem's elite 'nested in the cedars.'

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 104:17 יְקַנֵּ֑נוּ they make nests

    where the birds build their nests; the stork makes her home in the cypresses.

    Here: A verb made from the noun qēn, 'nest': 'they nest.' The verb form describes something that happens over and over, season after season, not one past event.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 34:15 קִנְּנָ֤ה it will make a nest

    There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 22:23 מְקֻנַּ֖נְתְּ [who is] nested

    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”

    Here: A passive feminine participle: 'you who are nested'. It pictures a bird settled high in a tall tree, safe and out of reach. The image is of a security that turns out to be false.

  2. Jeremiah 48:28 תְּקַנֵּ֖ן [which] it makes a nest

    Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.

    Here: '[That] she nests'. The verb is feminine to agree with the dove, and it opens a relative clause without the word 'that', as Hebrew poetry often does. The word is built from 'nest' (qēn), so it describes a bird setting up a fragile home on a ledge.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 31:6 קִֽנְנוּ֙ they made nests

    All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.

    Here: "They nested": built nests and settled there. A nest means birds chose this tree as a safe, lasting home for their young. The past tense describes the tree's greatness as something already established.

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