---
title: כָּהֵן — priest · The Biblical Aramaic dictionary
description: כָּהֵן (lemma:כָּהֵן), a word of Biblical Aramaic, used 8 times: priest. BDB 1906: n.m. priest. With 2 verses in Aramaic, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# כָּהֵן

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«כָּהֵן» in the Biblical Aramaic dictionary: **priest** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 8 times · **Key:** lemma:כָּהֵן · **BDB:** כָּהֵן

### Glosses

the (6); of (1); priests (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

priest [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b8_5bc_5d4_5b5_5df/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. priest [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b8_5bc_5d4_5b5_5df/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. priest (v. BH כהן);—emph. כָּהֲנָא Ezr 7:12, 21; pl. emph. -נַיָּא 6:9, 16, 18; 7:16, 24; sf. (of. Isr.) -נ֫וֹהִי v 13.

### Jastrow 1903

כָּהֵן: Fem [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b8_5bc_5d4_5b5_5df/#m3)

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**The whole Jastrow entry:** Targ. Jer. XIV, 18. Targ. Mal. II, 7. Targ. Lev. I, 7; a. v. fr.—Snh. 110ᵃ, a. fr. כ׳ רבא high priest. Ḥull. 49ᵃ ישמעאל כ׳ מסייע כהני Ishmael, being a priest, favors the priests. Gitt. 59ᵇ קרי בכ׳ read from the Torah in the priest’s place, i.e. was called up the first; Meg. 22ᵃ Ms. O. (ed. בכהני pl.); a. fr.—Pl. כַּהֲנִין, כַּהֲנַיָּא, כַּהֲנֵי. Targ. Ex. XIX, 6. Targ. O. Lev. I, 5; a. fr.—Gitt. l. c. כ׳ חשיבי דא"י highly esteemed Palestinean priests; a. fr.—Fem. (כֹּהֶנֶת) כַּהַנְתָּא. Ḥull. 131ᵇ … יהיב לכ׳ gave priestly gifts to a priest’s daughter (married to an Israelite). Pes. 49ᵃ נסיב כ׳ married a priest’s daughter.—Pl. כַּהֲנָתָא. Ber. 44ᵃ

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 7 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (1 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (1 candidates); Jastrow: headword, part of speech not compared, 0 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses (8 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «כָּהֵן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/aramaic/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b8_5bc_5d4_5b5_5df/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Ezra 7:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/EZR.7.12/)

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אַ֨רְתַּחְשַׁ֔סְתְּא מֶ֖לֶךְ מַלְכַיָּ֑א לְעֶזְרָ֣א כָ֠הֲנָא סָפַ֨ר דָּתָ֜א דִּֽי־אֱלָ֧הּ שְׁמַיָּ֛א גְּמִ֖יר וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃

*Word for word:* Artaxerxes the.king of.(the) kings to Ezra the priest the.scribe of the.law (diy).of the.God of the.heavens perfect and now

*JPS 1917:* 'Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, and so forth.

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[Ezra 6:16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/EZR.6.16/)

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וַעֲבַ֣דוּ בְנֵֽי־יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל כָּהֲנַיָּ֨א וְלֵוָיֵ֜א וּשְׁאָ֣ר בְּנֵי־גָלוּתָ֗א חֲנֻכַּ֛ת בֵּית־אֱלָהָ֥א דְנָ֖ה בְּחֶדְוָֽה׃

*Word for word:* and they.made the.people of.Israel the priests and the Levites and the.rest of.the.people of the.exile the.dedication of.the.house of.(the) God this with joy

*JPS 1917:* And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.

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