What does עָנָן (anan) mean in the Bible?
עָנָן (anan): Cloud as divine presence and concealment—obscuring yet revealing God's glory and judgment simultaneously
Hebrew · H6051
עָנָן
A cloud (as covering the sky), i.e. the nimbus or thunder-cloud
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עָנָן H6051
Pronunciation anan
What does עָנָן (anan) mean in the Bible?
עָנָן (anan): Cloud as divine presence and concealment—obscuring yet revealing God's glory and judgment simultaneously
Full entry for עָנָן (H6051) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6051?
The BSB source-word alignment has 87 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include The cloud (18), of cloud (11), cloud (4), of clouds (4), with a cloud (4).
Where does עָנָן (anan) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 9:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (20), Numbers (20), Ezekiel (11), Job (6).
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 The cloud 18× Exodus 14:20, Exodus 24:15, Exodus 24:16, Exodus 24:18
of cloud 11× Exodus 13:21, Exodus 13:22, Exodus 14:19, Exodus 33:9
cloud 4× Exodus 19:9, Exodus 19:16, Ezekiel 1:4, Ezekiel 8:11
of clouds 4× Ezekiel 30:3, Ezekiel 34:12, Joel 2:2, Zephaniah 1:15
with a cloud 4× 2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalms 78:14, Lamentations 3:44, Ezekiel 32:7
a cloud 3× Psalms 105:39, Isaiah 4:5, Ezekiel 30:18
and the cloud 3× Leviticus 16:13, Numbers 10:34, Deuteronomy 31:15
in a cloud 3× Exodus 16:10, Exodus 34:5, Ezekiel 1:28
in the clouds 3× Genesis 9:13, Genesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16
clouds 2× Genesis 9:14, Psalms 97:2
in the cloud 2× Leviticus 16:2, Numbers 11:25
like a cloud 2× Ezekiel 38:9, Ezekiel 38:16
mist 2× Hosea 6:4, Hosea 13:3
of the cloud 2× 1 Kings 8:11, 2 Chronicles 5:14
the clouds 2× Job 37:15, Job 38:9
[that] Your cloud 1× Numbers 14:14
and a cloud 1× Ezekiel 10:3
and cloud 1× Exodus 14:24
and clouds 1× Nahum 1:3
and in the cloud 1× Deuteronomy 1:33
and suddenly the cloud 1× Numbers 16:42
and when [it] 1× Numbers 9:21
As a cloud 1× Job 7:9
as long as the cloud 1× Numbers 9:22
As the cloud 1× Numbers 12:10
Even when the cloud 1× Numbers 9:19
His cloud 1× Job 26:9
like a mist 1× Isaiah 44:22
like the clouds 1× Jeremiah 4:13
Then the cloud 1× Exodus 40:34
through them 1× Job 37:11
until the cloud 1× Numbers 10:12
when the cloud 1× Numbers 9:21
Whenever the cloud 1× Exodus 40:36
with black clouds 1× Deuteronomy 4:11
with the cloud 1× Ezekiel 10:4
yet the clouds 1× Job 26:8
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 9:13 בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן to in the clouds Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 9:14 עָנָ֖ן to clouds Noun - masculine singular Genesis 9:14 בֶּעָנָֽן׃ to in the clouds Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 9:16 בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן to in the clouds Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 13:21 עָנָן֙ to of cloud Noun - masculine singular Exodus 13:22 הֶֽעָנָן֙ to of cloud Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 14:19 הֶֽעָנָן֙ to of cloud Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 14:20 הֶֽעָנָן֙ to The cloud Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 14:24 וְעָנָ֑ן to and cloud Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 16:10 בֶּעָנָֽן׃פ to in a cloud Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 9:13
Aligned rows 87
Books represented 18
Genesis 4 Exodus 20 Leviticus 2 Numbers 20 Deuteronomy 5 1 Kings 2 2 Chronicles 2 Nehemiah 2 Job 6 Psalms 4 Isaiah 2 Jeremiah 1 Lamentations 1 Ezekiel 11 Hosea 2 Joel 1 Nahum 1 Zephaniah 1
Source forms
הֶעָנָ֖ן 8x he·‘ā·nān Exodus 24:15, Exodus 24:16, Exodus 24:18, Exodus 40:34
הֶֽעָנָן֙ 7x he·‘ā·nān Exodus 13:22, Exodus 14:19, Exodus 14:20, Exodus 40:36
עָנָ֣ן 5x ‘ā·nān Job 26:8, Job 38:9, Psalms 97:2, Psalms 105:39
הֶֽעָנָ֔ן 4x he·‘ā·nān Exodus 33:9, Exodus 33:10, Numbers 9:17, Numbers 10:11
הֶעָנָ֑ן 4x he·‘ā·nān Exodus 40:35, Exodus 40:37, Numbers 16:42, 2 Chronicles 5:14
עָנָ֖ן 4x ‘ā·nān Genesis 9:14, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Ezekiel 34:12, Zephaniah 1:15
הֶֽעָנָ֛ן 3x he·‘ā·nān Numbers 9:19, Numbers 9:20, Numbers 9:21
עָנָ֔ן 3x ‘ā·nān Numbers 12:5, Nehemiah 9:12, Ezekiel 30:3
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - masculine singular 34x Exodus 13:22, Exodus 14:19, Exodus 14:20, Exodus 19:9
Noun - masculine singular 21x Genesis 9:14, Exodus 13:21, Numbers 12:5, Numbers 14:14
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular 11x Genesis 9:13, Genesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16, Exodus 16:10
Noun - masculine singular construct 4x Exodus 40:38, Leviticus 16:13, Job 37:11, Ezekiel 8:11
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 3x Exodus 14:24, Exodus 19:16, Nahum 1:3
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular 3x Numbers 12:10, 1 Kings 8:10, Ezekiel 10:3
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 2x Job 26:9, Job 37:15
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct 2x Hosea 6:4, Hosea 13:3
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Cloud as divine presence and concealment—obscuring yet revealing God's glory and judgment simultaneously
Source Gloss
a cloud (as covering the sky), i.e. the nimbus or thunder-cloud
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Cloud as divine presence and concealment—obscuring yet revealing God's glory and judgment simultaneously
a cloud (as covering the sky), i.e. the nimbus or thunder-cloud BDB: cloud-mass Usage: cloud(-y).
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.
Old Testament Witnesses
cloud
Cloud associated with divine presence.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 87 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עָנָן is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The cloud imagery signals the Lord’s majestic approach in judgment. Hosea 6:4-6
Imagery of transience describing shallow repentance. Isaiah 19:1-4
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