What does גָּנַן (gānan) mean in the Bible?
גָּנַן (gānan): Divine protective enclosure: God's vigilant defense that surrounds and safeguards His covenant people completely.
Hebrew · H1598
גָּנַן
To hedge about, i.e. (generally) protect
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גָּנַן H1598
Pronunciation gānan
What does גָּנַן (gānan) mean in the Bible?
גָּנַן (gānan): Divine protective enclosure: God's vigilant defense that surrounds and safeguards His covenant people completely.
Full entry for גָּנַן (H1598) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H1598?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include I will defend (4), He will shield it (1), will defend (1), will protect (1), will shield (1).
Where does גָּנַן (gānan) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Kings 19:34. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (4), 2 Kings (2), Zechariah (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It I will defend 4× 2 Kings 19:34, 2 Kings 20:6, Isaiah 37:35, Isaiah 38:6
He will shield it 1× Isaiah 31:5
will defend 1× Zechariah 12:8
will protect 1× Isaiah 31:5
will shield 1× Zechariah 9:15
Show sample aligned rows
2 Kings 19:34 וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י to I will defend Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular 2 Kings 20:6 וְגַנּוֹתִי֙ to I will defend Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Isaiah 31:5 יָגֵ֛ן to will protect Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Isaiah 31:5 גָּנ֥וֹן to He will shield it Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Isaiah 37:35 וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י to I will defend Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Isaiah 38:6 וְגַנּוֹתִ֖י to I will defend Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Zechariah 9:15 יָגֵ֣ן to will shield Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Zechariah 12:8 יָגֵ֤ן to will defend Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Kings 19:34
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 3
2 Kings 2 Isaiah 4 Zechariah 2
Source forms
וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י 2x wə·ḡan·nō·w·ṯî 2 Kings 19:34, Isaiah 37:35
גָּנ֥וֹן 1x gā·nō·wn Isaiah 31:5
וְגַנּוֹתִי֙ 1x wə·ḡan·nō·w·ṯî 2 Kings 20:6
וְגַנּוֹתִ֖י 1x wə·ḡan·nō·w·ṯî Isaiah 38:6
יָגֵ֛ן 1x yā·ḡên Isaiah 31:5
יָגֵ֣ן 1x yā·ḡên Zechariah 9:15
יָגֵ֤ן 1x yā·ḡên Zechariah 12:8
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular 4x 2 Kings 19:34, 2 Kings 20:6, Isaiah 37:35, Isaiah 38:6
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Zechariah 9:15, Zechariah 12:8
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 1x Isaiah 31:5
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute 1x Isaiah 31:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Divine protective enclosure: God's vigilant defense that surrounds and safeguards His covenant people completely.
Strong's H1598
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Word forms 1 form 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Isaiah 31:5 Source Gloss
to hedge about, i.e. (generally) protect
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Divine protective enclosure: God's vigilant defense that surrounds and safeguards His covenant people completely.
to hedge about, i.e. (generally) protect BDB: cover Usage: defend.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 4
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 4×
Imperfect Isa 31:5 · Zech 9:15 · Zech 12:8 3×
Infinitive absolute Isa 31:5 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God's protective action over Jerusalem, shielding it from harm
Showing 1 selected witness from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
גָּנַן is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain