Hebrew word · H8385
תַּאֲנָה
to'anah
estrous
This form occurs only here. It is linked to the root 'nh, 'to meet, happen, be opportune' (compare to'anah, 'occasion, pretext', Judg 14:4). Here it means her time of meeting, that is, her heat or rut.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
occasion, time of heat or oestrous or copulation, sexual drive (of animal)
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 2:24
- Range of meaning
This form occurs only here. It is linked to the root 'nh, 'to meet, happen, be opportune' (compare to'anah, 'occasion, pretext', Judg 14:4). Here it means her time of meeting, that is, her heat or rut.
- Against the English
KJV 'her occasion' and YLT 'her meeting' follow the root sense, but modern readers would never guess a mating season from them. Modern versions ('heat', 'passion', 'lust') give the right sense.
- How it drifted
KJV's 'occasion' was an etymological guess in 1611 English. Today 'occasion' means an event or celebration.
- Used elsewhere in the period
BDB and HALOT both take it as the time of sexual readiness. The related verb appears in Exod 21:13 ('God let it happen') and 2 Kgs 5:7 ('seeking an occasion/quarrel').
- Range of meaning
This exact form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from the root ʾ-n-h (II), whose verbs mean 'to happen, to meet, to bring about an encounter'. Exodus 21:13 uses it of an accidental killing: 'God let it happen to his hand'. The reflexive form in 2 Kings 5:7 means 'to pick a quarrel': 'see how he is seeking a quarrel with me'. The noun therefore means an opening, an occasion, a pretext for confrontation. The noun in Jeremiah 2:24 (taʾănāh, 'her heat/rut') is listed under the same Strong's number but is usually treated as a separate word, which is why the supplied lemma is marked 'B'.
- Against the English
KJV/NASB 'occasion', ESV 'opportunity', NIV 'occasion to confront', YLT 'a meeting'. YLT follows the root meaning 'meet'. 'Opportunity' and 'occasion' are accurate but sound neutral. The word's real flavour is a pretext for a fight, as 2 Kings 5:7 shows.
- How it drifted
In modern English 'occasion' mostly means an event or celebration ('a special occasion'). The older sense of 'occasion' as an 'occasion against' someone, meaning grounds or a pretext, has faded.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The closest parallel is the verb in 2 Kings 5:7 (mitʾanneh hûʾ lî, 'he is seeking a quarrel with me'), where the idea of 'seeking' is even built into the verb. Daniel 6:4–5 (Aramaic) has the same idea with a different word: officials 'seeking to find a pretext (ʿillāh) against Daniel'. The Greek translation renders the idea as 'vengeance' or 'requital', at least in its main manuscript traditions. That is an interpretive move toward the outcome (see textual notes).
Where it appears
Judges · 1
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Judges 14:4 תֹאֲנָ֥ה an occasion
(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
Here: This exact form occurs only here in the Bible. From a root meaning 'to meet, to bring about': an opening, a pretext for a clash. It is put first in its clause for emphasis.
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 2:24 תַּאֲנָתָ֖הּ heat its
a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.
Here: This word appears only here in the Bible. It is related to words for an 'opportune meeting' or 'occasion'. Here it means her season of sexual readiness. By the Hebrew accents it opens the next question: 'her heat — who can turn it back?'
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.