קינא

See also: קינאָ

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
ק־נ־א (q-n-ʾ)
6 terms

Related to Arabic قَنَأَ (qanaʔa, “to become red”), as feelings of anger or envy are associated with being expressed by a reddening of the face. In a more positive sense, jealousy is seen as being concerned or eager for someone or something, out of which springs the third meaning of this word; for a parallel development see Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zêlos, “jealousy; zeal, passion”), whence also English zeal originates.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /kiˈne/

Verb

קינא / קִנֵּא • (kiné) (pi'el construction)

1. to envy [with בְּ־]
   • Tanach, Genesis 30:1a:

     וַתֵּרֶא רָחֵל כִּי לֹא יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב וַתְּקַנֵּא רָחֵל בַּאֲחֹתָהּ

     Rachel saw that she hadn't borne [children] to Jacob and envied her sister.

   • Tanach, Genesis 26:14:

     וַיְהִי־לוֹ מִקְנֵה־צֹאן וּמִקְנֵה בָקָר וַעֲבֻדָּה רַבָּה וַיְקַנְאוּ אֹתוֹ פְּלִשְׁתִּים׃

     He owned herds of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle, and also many slaves and servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

      
2. to be jealous [with בְּ־]
   • Tanach, Numbers 5:14a:

     וְעָבַר עָלָיו רוּחַ־קִנְאָה וְקִנֵּא אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְהִוא נִטְמָאָה

     And a fit of jealousy has come over him and he became jealous of his wife because she had defiled herself [by committing adultery];

      
3. to be zealous or fervent for someone or something [with לְ־]
   • Tanach, Numbers 25:13:

     וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹהָיו וַיְכַפֵּר עַל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

     It will be for him and his seed after him an eternal covenant of priesthood because he was zealous for his God, so that he obtained exoneration for the children of Israel.

   • Tanach, 1 Samuel 21:2:

     וַיִּקְרָא הַמֶּלֶךְ לַגִּבְעֹנִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם וְהַגִּבְעֹנִים לֹא מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה כִּי אִם־מִיֶּתֶר הָאֱמֹרִי וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נִשְׁבְּעוּ לָהֶם וַיְבַקֵּשׁ שָׁאוּל לְהַכֹּתָם בְּקַנֹּאתוֹ לִבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה׃

     The king summoned the Gibeonites and talked to them. Now the Gibeonites are not from the children of Israel but from the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn to them, but Saul tried to smite them in his being fervent about the children of Israel and Judah.

Usage notes

In Biblical Hebrew, the object of one's envy or jealousy is sometimes also expressed as a direct object or with the preposition לְ־ (l'-).

Conjugation

Conjugation of קינא / קִנֵּא (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

non-finite forms		to-infinitive		לְקַנֵּא
		action noun		קינוא / קִנּוּא
finite forms		singular		plural
		m	f	m	f
past	first	קינאתי / קִנֵּאתִי		קינאנו / קִנֵּאנוּ
	second	קינאת / קִנֵּאתָ	קינאת / קִנֵּאת	קינאתם / קִנֵּאתֶם	קינאתן / קִנֵּאתֶן
	third	קינא / קִנֵּא	קינאה / קִנְּאָה	קינאו / קִנְּאוּ
present		מְקַנֵּא	מְקַנֵּאת	מְקַנְּאִים	מְקַנְּאוֹת
future	first	אֲקַנֵּא		נְקַנֵּא
	second	תְּקַנֵּא	תְּקַנְּאִי	תְּקַנְּאוּ	תְּקַנֶּאנָה1
	third	יְקַנֵּא	תְּקַנֵּא	יְקַנְּאוּ	תְּקַנֶּאנָה1
imperative	positive	קַנֵּא	קַנְּאִי	קַנְּאוּ	קַנֶּאנָה1
	negative	אַל + Second person future tense

¹ Rare in Modern Hebrew.

See also

• קִנְאָה (kin'á, “envy, jealousy; zeal”)
• קַנָּא (kaná, “envious, jealous”)

References

• H7066 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987), “קנא”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 583c
• Jastrow, Marcus (1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature‎^[2], London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 1390b