What does מָנָה (mānāh) mean in the Bible?
מָנָה (mānāh): Portion deliberately measured or weighed out; emphasizes deliberate allocation over mere division
Hebrew · H4490
מָנָה
Properly, something weighed out, i.e. (generally) a division ; specifically (of food) a ration ; also a lot
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מָנָה H4490
Pronunciation mānāh
What does מָנָה (mānāh) mean in the Bible?
מָנָה (mānāh): Portion deliberately measured or weighed out; emphasizes deliberate allocation over mere division
Full entry for מָנָה (H4490) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4490?
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include portion (3), portions (3), gifts (2), [is] my chosen portion (1), a portion (1).
Where does מָנָה (mānāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 29:26. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (3), Esther (3), Leviticus (2), Nehemiah (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 portion 3× Exodus 29:26, Leviticus 8:29, 1 Samuel 1:5
portions 3× 1 Samuel 1:4, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 8:12
gifts 2× Esther 9:19, Esther 9:22
[is] my chosen portion 1× Psalms 16:5
a portion 1× 2 Chronicles 31:19
and the special diet 1× Esther 2:9
as a portion 1× Leviticus 7:33
the portion 1× 1 Samuel 9:23
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 29:26 לְמָנָֽה׃ to portion Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 7:33 לְמָנָֽה׃ to as a portion Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 8:29 לְמָנָ֔ה to portion Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular 1 Samuel 1:4 מָנֽוֹת׃ to portions Noun - feminine plural 1 Samuel 1:5 מָנָ֥ה to portion Noun - feminine singular 1 Samuel 9:23 הַמָּנָ֔ה to the portion Article | Noun - feminine singular 2 Chronicles 31:19 מָנ֗וֹת to a portion Noun - feminine plural Nehemiah 8:10 מָנוֹת֙ to portions Noun - feminine plural Nehemiah 8:12 מָנ֔וֹת to portions Noun - feminine plural Esther 2:9 מָנוֹתֶ֙הָ֙ to and the special diet Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Exodus 29:26
Aligned rows 13
Books represented 7
Exodus 1 Leviticus 2 1 Samuel 3 2 Chronicles 1 Nehemiah 2 Esther 3 Psalms 1
Source forms
לְמָנָֽה׃ 2x lə·mā·nāh Exodus 29:26, Leviticus 7:33
מָנוֹת֙ 2x mā·nō·wṯ Nehemiah 8:10, Esther 9:22
הַמָּנָ֔ה 1x ham·mā·nāh 1 Samuel 9:23
לְמָנָ֔ה 1x lə·mā·nāh Leviticus 8:29
מָנָ֥ה 1x mā·nāh 1 Samuel 1:5
מָנ֗וֹת 1x mā·nō·wṯ 2 Chronicles 31:19
מָנ֔וֹת 1x mā·nō·wṯ Nehemiah 8:12
מָנ֖וֹת 1x mā·nō·wṯ Esther 9:19
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine plural 6x 1 Samuel 1:4, 2 Chronicles 31:19, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 8:12
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular 3x Exodus 29:26, Leviticus 7:33, Leviticus 8:29
Article | Noun - feminine singular 1x 1 Samuel 9:23
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular 1x Esther 2:9
Noun - feminine singular 1x 1 Samuel 1:5
Noun - feminine singular construct 1x Psalms 16:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Portion deliberately measured or weighed out; emphasizes deliberate allocation over mere division
Source Gloss
properly, something weighed out, i.e. (generally) a division ; specifically (of food) a ration ; also a lot
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Portion deliberately measured or weighed out; emphasizes deliberate allocation over mere division
properly, something weighed out, i.e. (generally) a division; specifically (of food) a ration; also a lot BDB: part Usage: such things as belonged, part, portion.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
An allotted share or ration of food given to individuals at a meal
Allocated divisions or shares assigned to priests and Levites from temple offerings
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מָנָה is built from this root:
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.
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