---
title: קָטֹן — be small · The Tanakh dictionary
description: קָטֹן (6994), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 4 times: be small. BDB 1906: vb. be small, insignificant. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# קָטֹן

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«קָטֹן» in the Tanakh dictionary: **be small** — 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:** 4 times · **Key:** 6994 · **BDB:** קָטֹן

### Glosses

it.was.small (2); I.am.\[too\].insignificant (1); make.small (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

be small [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1511/6994/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. be small, insignificant [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1511/6994/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** vb. be small, insignificant (NH Hiph. and deriv.; J.Aram. in deriv., Syriac ܩܛܰܢ; Old Aramaic קטין insignificant; Arabic قَطِىن parum edens; Ethiopic ቀጠነ be thin, chiefly in deriv.; prob. also Assyrian kuṭṭinnu, small, younger, ZehnpfBAS i. 505 (otherwise DlHWB 323); MeissnSuppl. ḳatânu, be short (of hair), cf. BezZA viii, 141 f.);— Pf. 1 s. קָטֹנְתִּי Gn 32:11, c. מִן comp., I am too insignificant for all the kindnesses; Impf. 3 fs. וַתִּקְטַן זֹאת בְּעֵינֶיךָ 2 S 7:19 = 1 Ch 17:17. lit. Inf. cstr. לְהַקְטִין Am 8:5 making ephah small.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 4 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (6 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (6 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «קָטֹן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1511/6994/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[1 Chronicles 17:17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/1CH.17.17/)

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וַתִּקְטַ֨ן זֹ֤את בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֱלֹהִ֔ים וַתְּדַבֵּ֥ר עַל־בֵּֽית־עַבְדְּךָ֖ לְמֵרָח֑וֹק וּרְאִיתַ֗נִי כְּת֧וֹר הָאָדָ֛ם הַֽמַּעֲלָ֖ה יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִֽים׃

*Word for word:* and it.was.small this.\[thing\] in eyes your O.God and you.have.spoken on the.house your.servant your (to).from distant \[time\] and you have.seen.me according to.the.order of.(the) humankind the.going up O.Yahweh God

*JPS 1917:* And this was a small thing in Thine eyes, O God; but Thou hast spoken of Thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me after the manner of a man of high degree, O LORD God.

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[Amos 8:5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/AMO.8.5/)

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לֵאמֹ֗ר מָתַ֞י יַעֲבֹ֤ר הַחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ וְנַשְׁבִּ֣ירָה שֶּׁ֔בֶר וְהַשַּׁבָּ֖ת וְנִפְתְּחָה־בָּ֑ר לְהַקְטִ֤ין אֵיפָה֙ וּלְהַגְדִּ֣יל שֶׁ֔קֶל וּלְעַוֵּ֖ת מֹאזְנֵ֥י מִרְמָֽה׃

*Word for word:* (cmp) when? will.it.pass the.new moon so that.we.may.sell.grain grain and the sabbath so that.we.may.open grain to make.small an.ephah and to make.great a.shekel and to falsify balances of.deceit

*JPS 1917:* Saying: 'When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth corn? making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances of deceit;

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