Properly, to be erect (i.e. stand perpendicular); hence (causatively) to set up , in a great variety of applications, whether literal ( establish , fix , prepare , apply ), or figurative ( appoint , render sure , proper or prosperous )
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KUN, H3559, carries the sense of something being made firm, prepared, fixed, ordered, or established. It can describe ordinary readiness, but in load-bearing biblical places it often helps readers see the difference between human instability and what the Lord himself sets in place.
Reader summary
Full entry for כּוּן (H3559) · Open the biblical lexicon
KUN, H3559, carries the sense of something being made firm, prepared, fixed, ordered, or established. It can describe ordinary readiness, but in load-bearing biblical places it often helps readers see the difference between human instability and what the Lord himself sets in place.
The BSB source-word alignment has 219 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include established (9), . . . (7), Prepare (6), and I will establish (5), will be established (5).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 41:32. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (52), 2 Chronicles (27), 1 Chronicles (24), Proverbs (20).
KUN, H3559, carries the sense of something being made firm, prepared, fixed, ordered, or established. It can describe ordinary readiness, but in load-bearing biblical places it often helps readers see the difference between human instability and what the Lord himself sets in place. A house, throne, path, offering, people, or future may be prepared, but Scripture presses the word toward God as the one who confirms what human strength cannot finally secure.
The word should not be reduced to generic preparation. It helps shepherds and teachers show that faithful readiness is real, but final stability belongs to the Lord who establishes his purposes, his throne, and the hope of his people.
H3559 moves from readiness and preparation into the deeper question of what God himself makes firm. It can describe human action, but its strongest theological uses show the Lord establishing kingship, creation order, worship, and future hope.
Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”
The Davidic promise uses establishment language for a house and throne that endure by divine covenant rather than by royal strength.
In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Isaiah uses the word for the mountain of the Lord being established above the nations, making stability eschatological and worship-centered.
The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
The psalm ties a firmly established world to the reigning Lord, showing that creation stability rests under divine kingship.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
The throne of God is founded on righteousness and justice, so establishment is moral and covenantal, not merely structural.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. To establish or make firm; God's foundational act of securing covenant order and human readiness.
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 219 lexical occurrence verses.
כּוּן is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H3559 can describe preparation, readiness, firmness, or establishment, so the interpreter must first ask who acts and what is being made ready or secure. Human beings prepare offerings, hearts, roads, and plans, but the word's strongest theological uses place lasting stability in God's action. Second Samuel 7 promises that David's house and throne will be established by covenant, not preserved by royal competence.
Psalm 93 connects the stability of the world to the Lord's reign, and Psalm 89 says righteousness and justice establish His throne. Isaiah 2 looks beyond present instability to the mountain of the Lord established as the place toward which the nations stream. These texts do not belittle preparation. They put preparation in its proper creaturely place. Faithful readiness is obedience; final security belongs to the God whose character and promise make His purposes firm.
2Sam.7.16
The root carries a family of ideas involving firmness, readiness, preparation, and establishment. Stem and syntax help determine whether the subject prepares something, is made ready, or causes it to stand firm. Theological conclusions should follow the actual construction rather than treating every occurrence as a promise of permanence.
The Davidic promise that God will establish a throne carries forward to the New Testament's announcement of Jesus as David's enduring Son and King. The wider theme also supports Christian confidence that God's kingdom cannot be secured by human planning. The bridge comes through covenant promise and divine kingship, not through a claim that every use of H3559 points directly to Christ.
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