---
title: פֶּתֶן — serpent · The Tanakh dictionary
description: פֶּתֶן (6620), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 6 times: serpent. BDB 1906: n.m. cobra. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# פֶּתֶן

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«פֶּתֶן» in the Tanakh dictionary: **serpent** — 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:** 6 times · **Key:** 6620 · **BDB:** פֶּ֫תֶן

### Glosses

of.cobras (3); a.cobra (2); of.a.cobra (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

serpent [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6620/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. cobra [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6620/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. ψ 58:5 a venomous serpent, perhaps cobra (פתן Ecclus 39:30; Aramaic פִּתְנָא, ܦܰܬܳܢܳܐ, whence perhaps Arabic بَثَنٌ );—only poet.: pl. רֹאשׁ פְּתָנִים Dt 32:33 (‖ חֲמַת תַּנִּינִם), Jb 20:16, מְרוֹרַת פ׳ v 14; sg. פֶּ֫תֶן ψ 91:13 (‖ תַּנִּין), פ׳ חֵרֵשׁ 58:5, חֻר פָּ֑תֶן Is 11:8.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 6 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «פֶּתֶן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1508/6620/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Job 20:16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.20.16/)

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רֹאשׁ־פְּתָנִ֥ים יִינָ֑ק תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗הוּ לְשׁ֣וֹן אֶפְעֶֽה׃

*Word for word:* \[the\].poison of.cobras he.sucks it slays.him \[the\].tongue of.a.viper

*JPS 1917:* He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him.

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[Deuteronomy 32:33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/DEU.32.33/)

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חֲמַ֥ת תַּנִּינִ֖ם יֵינָ֑ם וְרֹ֥אשׁ פְּתָנִ֖ים אַכְזָֽר׃

*Word for word:* \[is.the\].venom of.serpents wine their and.\[the\] poison of.cobras cruel

*JPS 1917:* Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the cruel poison of asps.

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