What does מְעַט (kim'at) mean in the Bible?
מְעַט (kim'at): Minimizing marker: conveys littleness, scarcity, or proximity, often with comparative or temporal force.
Hebrew · H4592
מְעַט
A little or few (often adverbial or comparative)
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מְעַט H4592
Pronunciation kim'at
What does מְעַט (kim'at) mean in the Bible?
מְעַט (kim'at): Minimizing marker: conveys littleness, scarcity, or proximity, often with comparative or temporal force.
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).
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 a little 18× 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
few 8× Genesis 47:9, Numbers 13:18, Deuteronomy 28:62, 1 Samuel 17:28
Is it not enough 5× Genesis 30:15, Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:13, Isaiah 7:13
Little 5× Exodus 23:30, Deuteronomy 7:22, Deuteronomy 28:38, Ecclesiastes 5:12
a few 3× Nehemiah 2:12, Isaiah 1:9, Ezekiel 5:3
not enough 3× 2 Chronicles 29:34, Job 15:11, Ezekiel 16:20
and a little 2× Genesis 43:11, 1 Kings 17:12
by little 2× Exodus 23:30, Deuteronomy 7:22
few indeed 2× 1 Chronicles 16:19, Psalms 105:12
in an instant 2× Job 32:22, Psalms 2:12
[has] little worth 1× Proverbs 10:20
a little more 1× Genesis 43:2
a little while 1× Isaiah 10:25
a short time 1× Ruth 2:7
a smaller one 1× Numbers 35:8
and smaller tribes 1× Numbers 26:56
are so few 1× Joshua 7:3
but soon you were 1× Ezekiel 16:47
but there were few 1× Nehemiah 7:4
by few 1× 1 Samuel 14:6
could easily 1× Genesis 26:10
enough 1× Joshua 22:17
few in number 1× Deuteronomy 26:5
for a brief 1× Ezra 9:8
for a moment 1× Job 24:24
for a small one 1× Numbers 26:54
give me a little 1× Judges 4:19
had almost 1× Psalms 73:2
how soon 1× Psalms 81:14
I had just 1× Song Of Solomon 3:4
in a little while 1× Haggai 2:6
it amounted to little 1× Haggai 1:9
Let a little 1× Genesis 18:4
on the brink 1× Proverbs 5:14
only a few 1× Leviticus 25:52
only a short distance 1× 2 Samuel 19:36
short 1× Isaiah 29:17
so a little 1× Ecclesiastes 10:1
some 1× Genesis 44:25
that was not enough 1× 2 Samuel 12:8
the little 1× Psalms 37:16
They almost 1× Psalms 119:87
to a smaller one 1× Numbers 33:54
to diminish 1× Hosea 8:10
very little 1× Genesis 30:30
was a little 1× Zechariah 1:15
were the fewest 1× Deuteronomy 7:7
will be few 1× Isaiah 16:14
with few 1× Ecclesiastes 9:14
with only a few 1× Daniel 11:23
would soon 1× Psalms 94:17
yet for a little while 1× Ezekiel 11:16
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 18:4 מְעַט־ to Let a little Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 24:17 מְעַט־ to a little Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 24:43 מְעַט־ to a little Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 26:10 כִּ֠מְעַט to could easily Preposition-k | Adjective - masculine singular Genesis 30:15 הַמְעַט֙ to Is it not enough Article | Adjective - masculine singular Genesis 30:30 מְעַט֩ to very little Adjective - masculine singular Genesis 43:2 מְעַט־ to a little more Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 43:11 מְעַ֤ט to a little Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 43:11 וּמְעַ֣ט to and a little Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct Genesis 44:25 מְעַט־ to some Adjective - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 18:4
Aligned rows 101
Books represented 28
Genesis 11 Exodus 3 Leviticus 1 Numbers 7 Deuteronomy 6 Joshua 2 Judges 1 Ruth 1 1 Samuel 4 2 Samuel 3 1 Kings 2 2 Kings 1 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 2 Ezra 2 Nehemiah 2 Job 5 Psalms 10 Proverbs 10 Ecclesiastes 4 Song Of Solomon 1 Isaiah 7 Jeremiah 2 Ezekiel 5 Daniel 2 Hosea 2 Haggai 3 Zechariah 1
Source forms
מְעַ֣ט 11x mə·‘aṭ Genesis 47:9, Deuteronomy 7:22, Job 10:20, Proverbs 6:10
מְעַט־ 7x mə·‘aṭ- Genesis 18:4, Genesis 24:17, Genesis 24:43, Genesis 43:2
מְעַ֖ט 5x mə·‘aṭ Exodus 17:4, Joshua 7:3, 1 Samuel 14:29, Ezra 9:8
מְעָ֑ט 5x mə·‘āṭ Deuteronomy 7:22, Deuteronomy 26:5, 2 Kings 10:18, Ecclesiastes 9:14
כִּ֭מְעַט 4x kim·‘aṭ Psalms 73:2, Psalms 81:14, Psalms 119:87, Proverbs 5:14
מְ֭עַט 4x mə·‘aṭ Psalms 37:10, Psalms 37:16, Proverbs 15:16, Proverbs 16:8
הַמְעַ֣ט 3x ham·‘aṭ Numbers 16:9, Job 15:11, Ezekiel 34:18
הַמְעַ֖ט 3x ham·‘aṭ Numbers 35:8, Deuteronomy 7:7, Ezekiel 16:20
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 39x Genesis 30:30, Genesis 47:9, Exodus 17:4, Exodus 23:30
Adjective - masculine singular construct 19x Genesis 18:4, Genesis 24:17, Genesis 24:43, Genesis 43:2
Preposition-k | Adjective - masculine singular 16x Genesis 26:10, 2 Samuel 19:36, 1 Chronicles 16:19, 2 Chronicles 12:7
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 10x Genesis 30:15, Numbers 13:18, Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:13
Adjective - masculine plural 2x Psalms 109:8, Ecclesiastes 5:2
Adverb 2x Haggai 1:6, Haggai 2:6
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct 2x Genesis 43:11, 1 Kings 17:12
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular 2x Numbers 26:54, Numbers 33:54
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 definition Source: 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.
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