Hebrew word · H8505

תָּכַן

tiken

to measure

To measure, weigh, assess, or set the right proportion. In Ezekiel 18:25, 29 and 33:17, 20 the passive form means 'to be fair, to be correctly measured': 'the way of the Lord is not fair'. HALOT also gives 'examine, test'.

Appears 18 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to regulate, measure, estimate, ponder, balance, make even, level, weigh, be equal, be weighed out, test, prove

1a) (Qal) estimate (participle)

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be estimated

1b2) to be made even or right, be adjusted to the standard

1c) (Piel) to weigh out, mete out

1d) (Pual)

1d1) to be weighed out, be measured out

1d2) measured out (participle)

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 16:2

Range of meaning

To measure, weigh, assess, or set the right proportion. It is used for measuring out quantities (Isa 40:12, 'who has measured the waters…'), for silver 'weighed out' (2 Kgs 12:11/12, the related form hammetukkan), and for God assessing actions or hearts (1 Sam 2:3, 'by him actions are weighed'; Prov 21:2 and 24:12, 'he who weighs hearts'). In Ezekiel 18:25, 29 and 33:17, 20 the passive form means 'to be fair, to be correctly measured': 'the way of the Lord is not fair'. HALOT also gives 'examine, test'.

Against the English

KJV, ESV, WEB and NASB say 'weighs', which keeps the picture of scales. The NLT's 'examines' keeps the idea but drops the picture. The BSB's 'weighed out' points toward the measuring-out sense. YLT's 'pondering' is now archaic and can be misheard as 'musing'.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 2:3; Isa 40:12-13 ('who has measured the Spirit of the LORD?'); Prov 16:2; 21:2; 24:12; Ezek 18:25-29. In Egyptian thought, the judgment of the dead centred on weighing the person's heart on a balance against the feather of Ma'at (truth and right order), with the god Thoth recording the result (Book of the Dead, spell 125). Egyptian wisdom literature, which Proverbs knew (cf. Prov 22:17–24:22 and the Instruction of Amenemope), uses balance and scale imagery for divine judgment.

From the study of Ezekiel 18:25

Range of meaning

A measuring and weighing word. In its basic form it means 'to examine, assess, weigh' (Prov 16:2; 21:2; 24:12: the LORD 'weighs' hearts and spirits). In its intensive form it means 'to measure out, regulate, mark off' (Isa 40:12, measuring the heavens with a span; Isa 40:13; Ps 75:3). In its passive form, used here, it means 'to be weighed, be properly measured, be in correct order or proportion' (1 Sam 2:3: 'by him actions are weighed'). Related nouns are תֹּכֶן 'fixed quantity, quota' (Exod 5:18, the brick quota; Ezek 45:11) and תָּכְנִית 'proportion, pattern' (Ezek 28:12; 43:10).

Against the English

English versions render it 'just' (BSB, NIV, ESV), 'right' (NASB), 'equal' (KJV, WEB), 'unfair' (NRSV) or 'pondered' (YLT). 'Just' and 'right' get the sense across but lose the picture of scales and measures. KJV's 'equal' meant 'level, equitable' in 1611. YLT's 'pondered' comes from Latin ponderare, 'to weigh', but modern readers hear 'thought about'.

How it drifted

The drift comes from English, not Hebrew. KJV followed the Latin Vulgate's 'aequa' ('level, fair'), and at the time 'equal' could mean 'fair, impartial'. That sense is now obsolete, so a modern reader hears 'the same as' or 'identical'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is uncommon and concentrated in measuring and assessing contexts. 1 Samuel 2:3 is the closest parallel: God is the one by whom deeds 'are weighed' (the same passive form). Proverbs uses the plain form for God weighing motives. This passive form appears only in Ezekiel's twin disputes, 18:25, 29 and 33:17, 20. The Greek translation (LXX) uses κατευθύνω, 'go straight, be set right', and the Latin Vulgate uses 'aequa', 'level/fair'.

From the study of Proverbs 21:2

Range of meaning

To measure, weigh, estimate, assess. In one verb form it means to set something to the right measure or regulate it (Isa 40:12: who has 'marked off' the heavens). Its passive means 'be weighed' or 'be fair.' Related nouns are tokhen, a fixed amount or quota (Exod 5:18; Ezek 45:11), and tokhnit, a measured design or pattern (Ezek 28:12; 43:10). The common thread is checking something against a true standard.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, WEB: 'weighs.' KJV and YLT: 'pondereth/pondering,' which in 1611 still meant 'weighs' (Latin ponderare, from pondus, 'weight') but now sounds like 'thinks it over.' NASB 2020 and NLT have 'examines,' which is accurate but loses the picture of scales.

How it drifted

KJV 'ponder' has drifted from 'weigh' to 'reflect on.' Modern readers of the KJV can hear God musing over hearts rather than putting them on a scale and giving a verdict.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Sam 2:3: 'by him actions are weighed' (passive form). Prov 16:2: 'Yahweh weighs (tokhen) spirits.' Prov 24:12: 'does not the weigher of hearts (tokhen libbot) perceive it?', the same phrase as here, followed by 'he will repay each person according to his work.' Ezek 18:25, 29: the people complain that 'the way of the Lord is not fair (not yittakhen, does not measure true).' LXX translators sometimes read the verb as 'set straight, direct' (see textual notes). Vulgate here: appendit, 'weighs out.'

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 2:3 נִתְכְּנ֖וּ they are measured

    Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.

    Here: "Are weighed, measured, gauged." The word comes from measuring and weighing. Proverbs uses it for YHWH "weighing" hearts and spirits (Prov 16:2; 21:2; 24:12). Deeds are put on God's scale and judged for their real worth.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 12:11 הַֽמְתֻכָּ֔ן <the> weighed out

    Then they would put the counted money into the hands of those who supervised the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn would pay those doing the work—the carpenters, builders,

Job · 1

  1. Job 28:25 תִּכֵּ֥ן he has measured

    When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 75:3 תִכַּ֖נְתִּי I put in order

    When the earth and all its dwellers quake, it is I who bear up its pillars. Selah

    Here: An intensive form of a verb about measuring and weighing. It is a builder's or assayer's word: to fix something to the right measure, to true it up and make it level. The form is a completed action ('I have set firm'), which may point back to creation or describe a settled, standing fact.

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 16:2 וְתֹכֵ֖ן and [is] weighing

    All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

    Here: The word means to weigh or measure something to find its true amount. The 've-' can mean 'and' or 'but', and here it sets up a contrast. The verb form describes ongoing, habitual action, so it almost works as a title: 'the Weigher of spirits'.

  2. Proverbs 21:2 וְתֹכֵ֖ן and [is] weighing

    All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.

    Here: The verb form describes ongoing activity, as if 'is a weigher of.' The verb comes from measuring and weighing, the work of checking whether a load or a payment is what it claims to be. The word 'and' here sets up a contrast: 'but.'

  3. Proverbs 24:12 תֹ֘כֵ֤ן [one who] weighs

    If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

    Here: 'The one who weighs.' It works as a title for God, the assessor who puts things on the scale and fixes their true value. Proverbs uses it for God's judgment of what is inside a person (16:2; 21:2).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 40:12 תִּכֵּ֔ן has he marked off?

    Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

    Here: Means to mark off, gauge or fix the right proportions. The same verb opens v. 13 ('who has gauged the Spirit of the LORD?'), so v. 13 turns the measuring language back on God himself.

  2. Isaiah 40:13 תִכֵּ֥ן has he directed

    Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor?

    Here: 'Has measured / gauged / taken the measure of.' It is the same verb used one verse earlier for God marking off the heavens with the span of his hand. The one who measured the sky cannot himself be measured.

Ezekiel · 9

  1. Ezekiel 18:25 יִתָּכֵ֖ן יִתָּכֵ֔ן יִתָּכֵֽנוּ׃ it is correct, is it correct, are they correct

    Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

    Here: In this passive form the verb means 'to be correctly measured, properly adjusted, in true proportion'. The people are saying God's dealings don't balance, as if he were weighing with rigged scales.

  2. Ezekiel 18:29 יִתָּכֵ֖ן יִתָּֽכְנּוּ֙ יִתָּכֵֽן׃ it is correct, are they correct, is it correct

    Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

  3. Ezekiel 33:17 יִתָּכֵ֖ן יִתָּכֵֽן׃ it is correct

    Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.

  4. Ezekiel 33:20 יִתָּכֵ֖ן it is correct

    Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”

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