What does מְעַט (kim'at) mean in the Bible?
H4592 means few, a little, a short time, or a small amount. 7, Israel is the fewest of the peoples, so election cannot be explained by numerical strength.
Hebrew · H4592
מְעַט
A little or few (often adverbial or comparative)
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מְעַטH4592
Pronunciationkim'at
What does מְעַט (kim'at) mean in the Bible?
H4592 means few, a little, a short time, or a small amount. 7, Israel is the fewest of the peoples, so election cannot be explained by numerical strength.
Reader summary
Full entry for מְעַט (H4592) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4592?
The BSB source-word alignment has 101 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a little (18), . . . (8), few (8), Is it not enough (5), Little (5).
Where does מְעַט (kim'at) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 18:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (11), Proverbs (10), Psalms (10), Isaiah (7).
What This Word Actually Means
H4592 means few, a little, a short time, or a small amount. In Deut. 7. 7, Israel is the fewest of the peoples, so election cannot be explained by numerical strength. In 1Sam. 14. 6, Jonathan confesses that nothing hinders the Lord from saving by many or by few. In Eccl. 5. 2, worshipers are told to let their words be few before God. H4592 opens teaching on grace unrelated to impressive numbers, divine freedom, measured speech, scarcity, brief respite, and remnants preserved.
It does not promise that small forces always win, shame prudent planning, or treat little provision as sufficient without sharing and material help.
How the Bible Uses It
H4592 marks small quantities, few people, brief time, limited provision, restrained speech, near events, and comparative insufficiency. Its value can be positive, painful, deceptive, or simply descriptive.
- Deut.7.7
The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
Israel's election rests in God's love and oath rather than the people being more numerous than others.
- 1Sam.14.6
Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Jonathan trusts that the Lord's capacity to save is not restricted by whether human forces are many or few.
- Eccl.5.2
Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
Awareness of God in heaven and humanity on earth should restrain hasty vows and multiply fewer words.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita little18×Genesis 24:17, Genesis 24:43, Genesis 43:11, 1 Samuel 14:29
. . .8×Exodus 17:4, 2 Chronicles 12:7, Ezra 9:8, Psalms 8:5
few8×Genesis 47:9, Numbers 13:18, Deuteronomy 28:62, 1 Samuel 17:28
Is it not enough5×Genesis 30:15, Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:13, Isaiah 7:13
Little5×Exodus 23:30, Deuteronomy 7:22, Deuteronomy 28:38, Ecclesiastes 5:12
a few3×Nehemiah 2:12, Isaiah 1:9, Ezekiel 5:3
not enough3×2 Chronicles 29:34, Job 15:11, Ezekiel 16:20
and a little2×Genesis 43:11, 1 Kings 17:12
by little2×Exodus 23:30, Deuteronomy 7:22
few indeed2×1 Chronicles 16:19, Psalms 105:12
in an instant2×Job 32:22, Psalms 2:12
[has] little worth1×Proverbs 10:20
a little more1×Genesis 43:2
a little while1×Isaiah 10:25
a short time1×Ruth 2:7
a smaller one1×Numbers 35:8
and smaller tribes1×Numbers 26:56
are so few1×Joshua 7:3
but soon you were1×Ezekiel 16:47
but there were few1×Nehemiah 7:4
by few1×1 Samuel 14:6
could easily1×Genesis 26:10
enough1×Joshua 22:17
few in number1×Deuteronomy 26:5
for a brief1×Ezra 9:8
for a moment1×Job 24:24
for a small one1×Numbers 26:54
give me a little1×Judges 4:19
had almost1×Psalms 73:2
how soon1×Psalms 81:14
I had just1×Song Of Solomon 3:4
in a little while1×Haggai 2:6
it amounted to little1×Haggai 1:9
Let a little1×Genesis 18:4
on the brink1×Proverbs 5:14
only a few1×Leviticus 25:52
only a short distance1×2 Samuel 19:36
short1×Isaiah 29:17
so a little1×Ecclesiastes 10:1
some1×Genesis 44:25
that was not enough1×2 Samuel 12:8
the little1×Psalms 37:16
They almost1×Psalms 119:87
to a smaller one1×Numbers 33:54
to diminish1×Hosea 8:10
very little1×Genesis 30:30
was a little1×Zechariah 1:15
were the fewest1×Deuteronomy 7:7
will be few1×Isaiah 16:14
with few1×Ecclesiastes 9:14
with only a few1×Daniel 11:23
would soon1×Psalms 94:17
yet for a little while1×Ezekiel 11:16
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 18:4מְעַט־toLet a littleAdjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 24:17מְעַט־toa littleAdjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 24:43מְעַט־toa littleAdjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 26:10כִּ֠מְעַטtocould easilyPreposition-k | Adjective - masculine singularGenesis 30:15הַמְעַט֙toIs it not enoughArticle | Adjective - masculine singularGenesis 30:30מְעַט֩tovery littleAdjective - masculine singularGenesis 43:2מְעַט־toa little moreAdjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 43:11מְעַ֤טtoa littleAdjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 43:11וּמְעַ֣טtoand a littleConjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular constructGenesis 44:25מְעַט־tosomeAdjective - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 18:4
Aligned rows101
Books represented28
Genesis11Exodus3Leviticus1Numbers7Deuteronomy6Joshua2Judges1Ruth11 Samuel42 Samuel31 Kings22 Kings11 Chronicles12 Chronicles2Ezra2Nehemiah2Job5Psalms10Proverbs10Ecclesiastes4Song Of Solomon1Isaiah7Jeremiah2Ezekiel5Daniel2Hosea2Haggai3Zechariah1
Source forms
מְעַ֣ט11xmə·‘aṭGenesis 47:9, Deuteronomy 7:22, Job 10:20, Proverbs 6:10
מְעַט־7xmə·‘aṭ-Genesis 18:4, Genesis 24:17, Genesis 24:43, Genesis 43:2
מְעַ֖ט5xmə·‘aṭExodus 17:4, Joshua 7:3, 1 Samuel 14:29, Ezra 9:8
מְעָ֑ט5xmə·‘āṭDeuteronomy 7:22, Deuteronomy 26:5, 2 Kings 10:18, Ecclesiastes 9:14
כִּ֭מְעַט4xkim·‘aṭPsalms 73:2, Psalms 81:14, Psalms 119:87, Proverbs 5:14
מְ֭עַט4xmə·‘aṭPsalms 37:10, Psalms 37:16, Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 16:8
הַמְעַ֣ט3xham·‘aṭNumbers 16:9, Job 15:11, Ezekiel 34:18
הַמְעַ֖ט3xham·‘aṭNumbers 35:8, Deuteronomy 7:7, Ezekiel 16:20
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular39xGenesis 30:30, Genesis 47:9, Exodus 17:4, Exodus 23:30
Adjective - masculine singular construct19xGenesis 18:4, Genesis 24:17, Genesis 24:43, Genesis 43:2
Preposition-k | Adjective - masculine singular16xGenesis 26:10, 2 Samuel 19:36, 1 Chronicles 16:19, 2 Chronicles 12:7
Article | Adjective - masculine singular10xGenesis 30:15, Numbers 13:18, Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:13
Adjective - masculine plural2xPsalms 109:8, Ecclesiastes 5:2
Adverb2xHaggai 1:6, Haggai 2:6
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct2xGenesis 43:11, 1 Kings 17:12
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular2xNumbers 26:54, Numbers 33:54
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not use Jonathan's words to send an under-equipped team into avoidable danger or to shame risk assessment.
- Do not tell hungry or indebted people that their little is enough while refusing concrete assistance.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that small numbers prove greater faithfulness or that large numbers prove compromise.
- Do not claim that God always rescues a smaller force from the immediate danger it chooses to face.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Minimizing marker: conveys littleness, scarcity, or proximity, often with comparative or temporal force.
Source Gloss
a little or few (often adverbial or comparative)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Minimizing marker: conveys littleness, scarcity, or proximity, often with comparative or temporal force.
a little or few (often adverbial or comparative) BDB: a little Usage: almost (some, very) few(-er, -est), lightly, little (while), (very) small (matter, thing), some, soon, × very.
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.
Old Testament Witnesses
small, insignificant, or lacking value
Showing 1 selected witness from 101 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Why This Word Matters
The phrase highlights the moral emptiness of the wicked heart.Proverbs 10:20
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
H4592 teaches that quantity matters but does not master God. Israel's small population cannot explain election; covenant love and God's oath do. Jonathan's confession likewise rejects the idea that divine help is limited by troop count, yet his story is a particular act of courage, not a ban on planning or a promise that every under-resourced venture succeeds.
Ecclesiastes applies smallness to speech. Before God, haste and many words can produce careless vows, so reverence slows the mouth. Other passages name a widow's little oil, a remnant's few survivors, brief comfort, or a deceptively small beginning in political power. Faithful application names scarcity honestly, shares resources, plans wisely, and refuses to confuse numerical weakness with divine abandonment.
It also refuses to market smallness as automatic authenticity. God can save by many or few, and His people remain responsible for truth, provision, and wise limits.
Anchor passage
Deut.7.7
Doctrinal connections
- H4592: Israel's election rests in God's love and promise rather than numerical impressiveness.
- H4592: God's power to save is not constrained by human force size.
- H4592: courage based on God's freedom still requires discernment and does not guarantee every proposed action.
- H4592: few words before God resist hasty vows and performative spirituality.
- H4592: little provision should be named honestly and met with practical generosity.
- H4592: a preserved few can testify to grace without becoming a basis for pride over the many.
H4592 functions as a noun, adjective, or adverbial expression for fewness, littleness, short duration, or near occurrence. Paired comparisons and temporal phrases clarify its sense.
From Old to New Testament
Jesus teaches about small beginnings and a narrow band of disciples without despising crowds, while Paul says God's power is displayed in weakness and still organizes substantial material support for need.