What does קָנָא (qānāʾ) mean in the Bible?
קָנָא (qānāʾ): Intense protective passion over possession or honor, easily darkening into destructive jealousy
Hebrew · H7065
קָנָא
To be (causatively, make ) zealous , i.e. (in a bad sense) jealous or envious
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קָנָא H7065
Pronunciation qānāʾ
What does קָנָא (qānāʾ) mean in the Bible?
קָנָא (qānāʾ): Intense protective passion over possession or honor, easily darkening into destructive jealousy
Full entry for קָנָא (H7065) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7065?
The BSB source-word alignment has 34 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include envy (5), and he suspects (3), . . . (2), I am jealous (2), I have been very zealous (2).
Where does קָנָא (qānāʾ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 26:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Numbers (6), 1 Kings (5), Proverbs (4), Psalms (4).
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 envy 5× Psalms 37:1, Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 23:17, Proverbs 24:1
and he suspects 3× Numbers 5:14, Numbers 5:30
. . . 2× 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14
I am jealous 2× Zechariah 8:2
I have been very zealous 2× 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14
jealous 2× Numbers 11:29, Zechariah 1:14
and I will be jealous 1× Ezekiel 39:25
and provoked His jealousy 1× Psalms 78:58
be envious 1× Proverbs 24:19
became jealous 1× Joel 2:18
but in his zeal 1× 2 Samuel 21:2
envied him 1× Genesis 26:14
for he was zealous 1× Numbers 25:11
have provoked My jealousy 1× Deuteronomy 32:21
he was zealous 1× Numbers 25:13
I envied 1× Psalms 73:3
she envied 1× Genesis 30:1
that provokes 1× Ezekiel 8:3
the envy 1× Ezekiel 31:9
they envied 1× Psalms 106:16
they provoked Him to jealous anger 1× 1 Kings 14:22
They provoked His jealousy 1× Deuteronomy 32:16
were jealous 1× Genesis 37:11
will make them jealous 1× Deuteronomy 32:21
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 26:14 וַיְקַנְא֥וּ to envied him Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Genesis 30:1 וַתְּקַנֵּ֥א to she envied Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular Genesis 37:11 וַיְקַנְאוּ־ to were jealous Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Numbers 5:14 וְקִנֵּ֥א to and he suspects Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 5:14 וְקִנֵּ֣א to and he suspects Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 5:30 וְקִנֵּ֣א to and he suspects Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Numbers 11:29 הַֽמְקַנֵּ֥א to jealous Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular Numbers 25:11 בְּקַנְא֥וֹ to for he was zealous Preposition-b | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular Numbers 25:13 קִנֵּא֙ to he was zealous Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular Deuteronomy 32:16 יַקְנִאֻ֖הוּ to They provoked His jealousy Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 26:14
Aligned rows 34
Books represented 11
Genesis 3 Numbers 6 Deuteronomy 3 2 Samuel 1 1 Kings 5 Psalms 4 Proverbs 4 Isaiah 1 Ezekiel 3 Joel 1 Zechariah 3
Source forms
וַיְקַנְא֣וּ 2x way·qan·’ū 1 Kings 14:22, Psalms 106:16
וְקִנֵּ֣א 2x wə·qin·nê Numbers 5:14, Numbers 5:30
יְקַנֵּ֣א 2x yə·qan·nê Proverbs 23:17, Isaiah 11:13
קַנֹּ֨א 2x qan·nō 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14
קִנֵּ֜אתִי 2x qin·nê·ṯî 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14
קִנֵּ֥אתִי 2x qin·nê·ṯî Zechariah 8:2
תְּ֝קַנֵּ֗א 2x tə·qan·nê Psalms 37:1, Proverbs 24:19
תְּ֭קַנֵּא 2x tə·qan·nê Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 24:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular 6x 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14, Psalms 73:3, Zechariah 1:14
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 4x Genesis 26:14, Genesis 37:11, 1 Kings 14:22, Psalms 106:16
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 4x Psalms 37:1, Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 24:1, Proverbs 24:19
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 3x Numbers 5:14, Numbers 5:30
Preposition-b | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular 2x Numbers 25:11, 2 Samuel 21:2
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular 2x Deuteronomy 32:16, Psalms 78:58
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Proverbs 23:17, Isaiah 11:13
Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute 2x 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Intense protective passion over possession or honor, easily darkening into destructive jealousy
Strong's H7065
Lexical occurrences 33 verses Word forms 1 form 15 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Genesis 37:1-11 Source Gloss
to be (causatively, make ) zealous , i.e. (in a bad sense) jealous or envious
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Intense protective passion over possession or honor, easily darkening into destructive jealousy
to be (causatively, make) zealous, i.e. (in a bad sense) jealous or envious BDB: be jealous Usage: (be) envy(-ious), be (move to, provoke to) jealous(-y), × very, (be) zeal(-ous).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 15
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 15×
Perfect 1Kgs 19:10 · 1Kgs 19:14 · Ps 73:3 · Zech 1:14 · Zech 8:2 · Num 25:13 7×
Jussive Prov 3:31 · Prov 24:1 · Prov 24:19 · Ps 37:1 · Prov 23:17 5×
Infinitive absolute 1Kgs 19:10 · 1Kgs 19:14 2×
Imperfect Isa 11:13 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
brothers' jealous hatred of Joseph due to his favored status and dreams
Philistines' jealous response to Isaac's agricultural prosperity and wealth
warning against envious desire for sinners, with exhortation to fear God instead
caution against coveting or being jealous of evil people and their ways
reassurance not to be jealous of the wicked, who have no future hope
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 33 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
קָנָא is a primitive root - no further derivation.
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