---
title: עָנַן — practise soothsaying · The Tanakh dictionary
description: עָנַן (6049), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 10 times: practise soothsaying. BDB 1906: vb. Pōʿ. practise soothsaying. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# עָנַן

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«עָנַן» in the Tanakh dictionary: **practise soothsaying** — 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:** 10 times · **Key:** 6049 · **BDB:** עָנַן²

### Glosses

soothsayers (4); he.practiced.soothsaying (2); a.soothsayer (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

practise soothsaying [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1506/6049/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. Pōʿ. practise soothsaying [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1506/6049/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** vb. Pōʿ. practise soothsaying (prob. denom., but orig. meaning dub.; connex. with i. עָנָן (De Is 2:6) now gen. abandoned; LöwZMG xxxi (1877), 539 cp. עַיִן eye, so WeSkizzen iii. 148 (but v. infr.); RSJPhil. xiv (1885), 119 f. cp. Arabic غُنَّةٌ nasal twang, hum of insects, whence diviners as crooning; Ew Gerber31 of diviner as interpreting hum of insects, whisper of leaves, etc.; WeHeid. 2, 204 now cp. عَنَّ appear, i.e. dealers in phenomena);—Pf. 3 ms. consec. וְעוֹנֵן 2 K 21:6 = 2 Ch 33:6; Impf. 2 mpl. וְלֹא תְעוֹנֵ֑נוּ Lv 19:26 (H); Pt. as subst. מְעוֹנֵן Dt 18:10 (forbidden), pl. מְעֹנְנִים v 14, מְעוֹ׳ Mi 5:11, אֵלוֹן מְעוֹנְנִים Ju 9:37 (v. i. אֵלוֹן; seat of an oracle, cf. RSSem i. 179, 2nd ed. 196); also (without מְ, cf. Sta§ 233 Köi. 349) עֹנְנִים Is 2:6, sf. עֹנְנֵיכֶם Je 27:9; fs. in בְּנֵי עֹנְנָה Is 57:3 sons of a soothsaying woman, fig. of apostates.—Vid. כִּשֵּׁף, II. \[נָחַשׁ\], \[קָסַם\].

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 10 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (9 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (6 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «עָנַן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1506/6049/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Leviticus 19:26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/LEV.19.26/)

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לֹ֥א תֹאכְל֖וּ עַל־הַדָּ֑ם לֹ֥א תְנַחֲשׁ֖וּ וְלֹ֥א תְעוֹנֵֽנוּ׃

*Word for word:* not you.will.eat with the blood not you.will.practice.divination and not you.will.practice.soothsaying

*JPS 1917:* Ye shall not eat with the blood; neither shall ye practise divination nor soothsaying.

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[Isaiah 57:3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/ISA.57.3/)

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וְאַתֶּ֥ם קִרְבוּ־הֵ֖נָּה בְּנֵ֣י עֹנְנָ֑ה זֶ֥רַע מְנָאֵ֖ף וַתִּזְנֶֽה׃

*Word for word:* and you draw.near hither O.children of.a.soothsayer offspring of.an.adulterer.\[masc\] and she.has.played.the.prostitute

*JPS 1917:* But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.

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