What does כְּתֹנֶת (kĕtōnet) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew noun names a garment such as a tunic, with the passage giving its material and setting. Genesis says God makes garments of skin and clothes Adam and his wife.
Hebrew · H3801
כְּתֹנֶת
This Hebrew noun names a garment such as a tunic, with the passage giving its material and setting. Genesis says God makes garments of skin and clothes Adam and his wife.
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כְּתֹנֶתH3801
Pronunciationkĕtōnet
What does כְּתֹנֶת (kĕtōnet) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for כְּתֹנֶת (H3801) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3801?
The BSB source-word alignment has 29 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include garments (4), robe (4), the robe (3), a robe (2), the tunic (2).
Where does כְּתֹנֶת (kĕtōnet) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 3:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (9), Exodus (7), Leviticus (4), 2 Samuel (3).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew noun names a garment such as a tunic, with the passage giving its material and setting. Genesis says God makes garments of skin and clothes Adam and his wife. Later, Israel makes Joseph a robe of many colors in an account that expressly names unequal love and the brothers' hatred. Exodus specifies a fine-linen tunic among the garments made for priestly service.
Clothing therefore appears in provision, a troubled family relationship and appointed worship. The word does not by itself establish an atonement theory, approve favoritism or confer priesthood upon every wearer. Readers should preserve the translated wording and attend to the surrounding actions. The maker, recipient and stated purpose explain what the garment does in each account without a silent translation correction.
How the Bible Uses It
God's clothing provision, Joseph's garment amid favoritism and a specified priestly tunic show distinct uses. The surrounding account supplies material, relationship and purpose rather than the noun alone.
- Gen.3.21
And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.
God makes garments of skin and clothes Adam and his wife after the judgment statements and before their removal from the garden.
- Gen.37.3
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.
Israel's robe of many colors is explicitly linked to loving Joseph more than the other sons, followed by the brothers' hatred.
- Exod.28.39
You are to weave the tunic with fine linen, make the turban of fine linen, and fashion an embroidered sash.
The fine-linen tunic stands among specified priestly garments, with ordination and consecration for service named in the following instructions.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itgarments4×Genesis 3:21, Ezra 2:69, Nehemiah 7:70, Nehemiah 7:72
robe4×Genesis 37:31, Genesis 37:32, Genesis 37:33, 2 Samuel 13:19
the robe3×Genesis 37:23, Genesis 37:31, Genesis 37:32
a robe2×Genesis 37:3, 2 Samuel 13:18
the tunic2×Exodus 28:39, Leviticus 8:7
tunic2×Exodus 28:4, Leviticus 16:4
tunics2×Exodus 28:40, Exodus 39:27
with tunics2×Exodus 29:8, Exodus 40:14
my robe1×Song Of Solomon 5:3
of his robe1×Genesis 37:23
of my tunic1×Job 30:18
still in their tunics1×Leviticus 10:5
tunics on them1×Leviticus 8:13
with his robe1×2 Samuel 15:32
with the tunic1×Exodus 29:5
with your robe1×Isaiah 22:21
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 3:21כָּתְנ֥וֹתtogarmentsNoun - feminine plural constructGenesis 37:3כְּתֹ֥נֶתtoa robeNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 37:23כֻּתָּנְתּ֔וֹtoof his robeNoun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singularGenesis 37:23כְּתֹ֥נֶתtothe robeNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 37:31כְּתֹ֣נֶתtorobeNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 37:31הַכֻּתֹּ֖נֶתtothe robeArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 37:32כְּתֹ֣נֶתtothe robeNoun - feminine singular constructGenesis 37:32הַכְּתֹ֧נֶתtorobeArticle | Noun - feminine singular constructGenesis 37:33כְּתֹ֣נֶתtorobeNoun - feminine singular constructExodus 28:4וּכְתֹ֥נֶתtotunicConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 3:21
Aligned rows29
Books represented9
Genesis9Exodus7Leviticus42 Samuel3Ezra1Nehemiah2Job1Song Of Solomon1Isaiah1
Source forms
כְּתֹ֣נֶת4xkə·ṯō·neṯGenesis 37:31, Genesis 37:32, Genesis 37:33, 2 Samuel 13:18
וְכָתְנֹ֥ת2xwə·ḵā·ṯə·nōṯEzra 2:69, Nehemiah 7:72
כְּתֹ֥נֶת2xkə·ṯō·neṯGenesis 37:3, Genesis 37:23
כֻּתֳּנֹֽת׃2xkut·to·nōṯExodus 29:8, Exodus 40:14
כֻּתָּנְתּ֔וֹ2xkut·tā·nə·tōwGenesis 37:23, 2 Samuel 15:32
בְּכֻתֳּנֹתָ֔ם1xbə·ḵut·to·nō·ṯāmLeviticus 10:5
הַכְּתֹ֧נֶת1xhak·kə·ṯō·neṯGenesis 37:32
הַכְּתֹ֣נֶת1xhak·kə·ṯō·neṯExodus 28:39
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular construct7xGenesis 37:3, Genesis 37:23, Genesis 37:31, Genesis 37:32
Article | Noun - feminine singular4xGenesis 37:31, Exodus 28:39, Exodus 29:5, Leviticus 8:7
Noun - feminine plural4xExodus 28:40, Exodus 29:8, Exodus 40:14, Leviticus 8:13
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct2xEzra 2:69, Nehemiah 7:72
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct2xExodus 28:4, 2 Samuel 13:19
Noun - feminine plural construct2xGenesis 3:21, Nehemiah 7:70
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular2xJob 30:18, Song Of Solomon 5:3
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular2xGenesis 37:23, 2 Samuel 15:32
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Consider relational effects of unequal treatment rather than treating a gift as moral approval.
- Use explicit theological arguments before assigning a fixed doctrine to ordinary clothing.
Avoid claiming...
- The tunic noun does not independently establish an atonement doctrine or priestly office.
- The clothing account does not approve every act of favoritism or garment-based status.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Inner garment worn directly against skin; foundational layer of ancient Near Eastern dress, often marking social status or role.
Source Gloss
a shirt
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Inner garment worn directly against skin; foundational layer of ancient Near Eastern dress, often marking social status or role.
a shirt BDB: tunic Usage: coat, garment, robe.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
garments of skin made by God to clothe Adam and Eve after sin
Showing 1 selected witness from 29 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Genesis 37 states why Israel made Joseph's garment and immediately describes the brothers' hostility. The clothing participates in a troubled family story rather than certifying that favoritism is right. Later, the garment is stripped away and used in deception, showing how its significance changes with the actions around it. Genesis 3 describes God's clothing provision, but the garment noun alone cannot supply unstated ritual details.
Exodus makes priestly purpose explicit through its full instructions and consecration, rather than through a tunic's inherent power. Teaching is clearer when those settings remain distinct and the supplied translation is preserved. An ordinary garment can accompany provision, conflict or appointed service without becoming a universal symbol or authorization for unspoken doctrinal reconstruction.
Anchor passage
Gen.37.3
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 3:19-23 places God's clothing action after judgment and before leaving the garden.
- Genesis 37:3-4 explicitly names unequal parental love and the brothers' hostility.
- Genesis 37:23-24 narrates the stripping of Joseph's garment before his confinement.
- Genesis 37:31-33 describes the garment's use in deception of the father.
- Exodus 28:39-41 places the fine-linen tunic beside priestly ordination and consecration.
- Leviticus 16:4 specifies sacred linen clothing within the given entrance instructions.
The licensed Hebrew record gives shirt or tunic wording. The local translation renders Joseph's garment as a robe of many colors; that wording is retained without adjudicating disputed garment details or importing priestly status into every occurrence.
From Old to New Testament
Galatians 3:26-29 explicitly uses clothing with Christ within its teaching about faith, baptism, unity and inheritance. That statement supplies its own theological argument. It can be compared thematically with clothing language without making every Genesis or Exodus garment an unstated type of the same doctrine.