To hate (personally)
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שָׂנֵא (sane) is the Hebrew word for hatred — one of the most theologically precise verbs in the OT because it operates in three distinct moral registers: human hatred (interpersonal enmity), divine hatred (YHWH's disposition toward evil and covenant-breaking), and the commanded hatred (the moral imperative to hate what YHWH hates). The divine hatred passages are the most theologically important.
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Full entry for שָׂנֵא (H8130) · Open the biblical lexicon
שָׂנֵא (sane) is the Hebrew word for hatred — one of the most theologically precise verbs in the OT because it operates in three distinct moral registers: human hatred (interpersonal enmity), divine hatred (YHWH's disposition toward evil and covenant-breaking), and the commanded hatred (the moral imperative to hate what YHWH hates). The divine hatred.
The BSB source-word alignment has 146 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include I hate (11), hate (10), hates (8), Those who hate you (4), . . . (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 24:60. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (41), Proverbs (26), Deuteronomy (20), 2 Samuel (8).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
שָׂנֵא (sane) is the Hebrew word for hatred — one of the most theologically precise verbs in the OT because it operates in three distinct moral registers: human hatred (interpersonal enmity), divine hatred (YHWH's disposition toward evil and covenant-breaking), and the commanded hatred (the moral imperative to hate what YHWH hates).
The divine hatred passages are the most theologically important. Amos 5:21 gives the sharpest form: 'I hate (saneiti), I despise (maasti) your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.' YHWH's sane is directed at Israel's worship — not because worship is wrong but because worship separated from justice is a covenant-violation. The immediate context (Amos 5:24: 'but let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream') makes clear that what YHWH hates is liturgy used as a substitute for covenant fidelity.
Malachi 2:16 gives the domestic form: 'For I hate (sane) divorce (shalach), says YHWH God of Israel, and covering one's garment with violence (chamas), says YHWH of hosts.' YHWH's sane of divorce is covenant-language: marriage is the covenant-image (as in Hosea) and divorce violates it. The pairing of sane with chamas (violence, H2555) makes the point: treachery toward a covenant partner is in the same moral category as violence.
Proverbs 6:16-19 gives the taxonomic form: 'There are six things that YHWH hates (sane), seven that are an abomination (toevah) to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood (dam naqi), a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.' The sevenfold list of YHWH's sane is a moral inventory of covenant-violations — pride, deceit, murder, evil scheming, false witness, and relational destruction.
Psalm 97:10 gives the commanded form: 'O you who love the Lord, hate evil (sinu ra)!' The imperative sinu is the congregation being commanded to align their sane with YHWH's — to hate what he hates as the active expression of loving what he loves. The Psalter's moral formation is partly built on this convergence: the righteous person is defined not only by what they love but by what they hate (Ps 119:104: 'I hate every false way').
The 'Jacob I loved, Esau I hated' formula (Mal 1:2-3, quoted in Rom 9:13) uses sane in the Hebrew comparative idiom where 'hate' means 'love less' or 'reject in the covenant-election context.' This does not reduce YHWH's covenant-hatred to mere preference in all cases — but it does mean that sane in election-contexts must be read within the covenant's framework, not read as raw emotional antagonism.
For the preacher, שָׂנֵא (sane) is the moral-compass word: what does YHWH hate? The answer is specific (pride, deceit, covenant-treachery, empty liturgy). The commanded hate of Psalm 97:10 and Proverbs 8:13 ('the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil') frames hatred not as a spiritual failure to be overcome but as a moral-alignment to be cultivated. The congregation that loves YHWH will sane what he sanes.
שָׂנֵא (sane) is currently indexed about 148 times in the local Hebrew index. Its theological center is divine hatred of specific evils: YHWH's sane of empty liturgy (Amos 5:21), divorce and covenant-treachery (Mal 2:16), and the sevenfold list of moral abominations (Prov 6:16-19). The commanded form (Ps 97:10 — 'hate evil!') gives sane its moral-formation function: those who love YHWH are commanded to align their hatred with his.
The election-use ('Jacob I loved, Esau I hated,' Mal 1:2-3) requires careful reading within the covenant-preference idiom.
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
YHWH's sane of empty liturgy: 'saneiti maasti chaggeikhem (I hate, I despise your feasts).' The doubled verb (sane + maas) is the strongest possible expression of divine rejection. The context (Amos 5:10-15) is economic injustice: Israel is oppressing the poor in the gate (v. 10-12) while maintaining elaborate Temple worship. YHWH's sane is not directed at worship itself but at worship used to cover covenant violation.
The resolution (v. 24: 'let justice roll down like waters') shows what YHWH loves in place of the hated liturgy: embodied covenant-justice. The NT parallel is Matthew 5:23-24: 'if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift and go be reconciled first.'
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
The sevenfold inventory of YHWH's sane: pride (eyes of height), lying tongue, innocent blood (dam naqi, H5355), scheming heart, running feet toward evil, false witness, sower of discord. The numeric sequence (six... seven) is a wisdom-teaching device that signals completeness: these seven are the representative moral universe of what YHWH hates. The list moves from interior (the scheming heart) to exterior (the running feet) to relational (the discord-sower), covering the full arc of covenant-breaking.
Proverbs 8:13 distills this: 'the fear of the Lord is sinat ra (hatred of evil)' — wisdom begins with aligning one's sane with YHWH's.
Hate evil, O you who love the Lord! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
The imperative sane as moral-formation command: 'sinu ra (hate evil), you who love YHWH!' The command bridges love for YHWH and hatred of evil as co-activities — one cannot love YHWH without hating what he hates. Psalm 119:104 gives the parallel: 'I hate every false way (kol orach sheqer saneiti)' — the Torah-lover's hatred of falseness is the positive form of covenant-fidelity.
The congregation formed by this command is not merely avoiding evil passively but actively orienting the moral affections against it. Romans 12:9 echoes this in NT form: 'let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil (apostugountes to poneron); hold fast to what is good.'
“For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the Lord of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.
YHWH's sane of covenant-treachery in marriage: the MT of Mal 2:16 reads 'ki sane shalach (for he hates divorce)' in the classic rendering, though the verse has textual complexity. YHWH's sane of marital divorce is grounded in the covenant-image: Malachi 2:14 calls the wife 'your companion and your wife by covenant (eshet beriteka).' To divorce her is to be faithless (bagad) against the covenant.
The pairing of sane with chamas (violence, Mal 2:16b — 'covering his garment with violence') equates covenant-treachery with violence against a person.
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
The election-sane: 'Jacob ahavti (I loved) and Esau saneiti (I hated).' Malachi 1:2-3 reflects the Hebrew comparison idiom where 'hate' describes the non-chosen alternative rather than active antagonism — the same idiom appears in Deut 21:15 (the 'loved' and 'hated' wives) and Gen 29:30-31 (Leah 'hated' vs. Rachel 'loved'). Romans 9:13 quotes Malachi 1:2-3 in the context of election-sovereignty: 'Jacob I loved but Esau I hated' is YHWH's sovereign freedom in covenant-election.
The sane in this context is not the divine hatred of evil (as in Amos 5:21, Prov 6:16) but the covenant-rejection of the non-elect alternative. The two registers of sane (moral-hatred of evil and covenant-preference-rejection) must be distinguished.
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Hebrew word. Personal animosity or active hostility; often marks relational rupture rather than mere dislike
Personal animosity or active hostility; often marks relational rupture rather than mere dislike
to hate (personally) BDB: hate Usage: enemy, foe, (be) hate(-ful, -r), odious, × utterly.
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 148 lexical occurrence verses.
שָׂנֵא is a primitive root - no further derivation.
The word indicates deliberate avoidance of risky financial commitments. Proverbs 11:15
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
שָׂנֵא (sane) gives the congregation a theologically precise tool for moral formation: not all hatred is sin. YHWH hates (Amos 5:21, Prov 6:16-19, Mal 2:16) and those who love him are commanded to hate what he hates (Ps 97:10: 'O you who love the Lord, hate evil'). Proverbs 8:13 puts it most starkly: 'the fear of the Lord is sinat ra (hatred of evil)' — wisdom does not merely avoid evil but actively despises it.
The preacher can use sane to correct two opposite errors. The first is the error that treats all hatred as spiritually toxic and calls the congregation to a kind of affective neutrality toward evil. The Scripture's response is Psalm 97:10's imperative: love of YHWH produces and requires hatred of what he hates. The second is the error that reads the 'Jacob I loved, Esau I hated' formula (Mal 1:2-3, Rom 9:13) as expressing raw emotional antagonism toward non-elect persons.
This sane is the covenant-election-preference idiom: the chosen and the non-chosen, not an inventory of YHWH's emotional hostility. Keeping these two registers distinct — the moral sane of evil and the covenant-election sane — is essential for preaching both passages faithfully.
Ps.97.10
שָׂנֵא (sane, H8130) is a stative verb whose Qal active participle sone (one who hates) often functions as a noun meaning 'enemy' in the Psalms (Ps 18:40, 21:8, 35:19). The noun form שִׂנְאָה (sinah, H8135) means hatred as an abstract quality (Gen 26:27: 'you came to me, seeing that you hate me [senatani] and have sent me away from you' — the exile-sane). The wisdom-formula sinat ra (hatred of evil) links sane to ra (H7451 — evil/wickedness): Ps 97:10, Prov 8:13, Amos 5:15 ('hate evil [sinu ra] and love good').
In the NT, the Greek miseo (G3404 — to hate) is the primary heir: Matt 6:24 ('you cannot serve God and money; you will hate [misesei] the one and love the other'); Luke 14:26 ('if anyone comes to me and does not hate [miseo] his father and mother...') ; Rom 9:13 ('Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated [emisesa]'); Rev 2:6 ('you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate [miseis...
Miso]').
Romans 12:9 ('abhor what is evil [apostugountes to poneron]; hold fast to what is good') is the NT's clearest structural parallel to Psalm 97:10's sane-command. The Greek apostugeo (to detest, loathe) is stronger than ordinary aversion — it captures the sane-register of active moral hatred. Revelation 2:6 gives the divine sane its NT form: 'you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate' — YHWH's sane in the letters to the seven churches is directed at specific practices of compromise and moral teaching.
Luke 14:26's 'hating father and mother' is the most demanding NT use of miseo in the election-comparison idiom: discipleship that counts the cost must love Christ more than family — the comparative-rejection register of sane, not literal emotional hatred. Matthew 5:43-44 addresses the interpersonal sane directly: 'You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, Love your enemies.' The command to love enemies does not eliminate the commanded sane of evil (Ps 97:10) but transforms the object: the enemy-person is loved even as the evil they do is hated.
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