---
title: כֵּן — right · The Tanakh dictionary
description: כֵּן (lemma:כֵּן), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 28 times: right. BDB 1906: adj. right, veritable, honest. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# כֵּן

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«כֵּן» in the Tanakh dictionary: **right** — 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:** 28 times · **Key:** lemma:כֵּן · **BDB:** כֵּן

### Glosses

right (14); \[are\].honest (5); place (4)

### Meaning (OSHB)

right [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b5_5bc_5df/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

adj. right, veritable, honest [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b5_5bc_5df/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** adj. right, veritable, honest (proposes firm, upright; Syriac ܟܻܐܢ recte PS1662)—abs. כֵּן Ex 10:29 + (on poss. cstr. v. 2 ad fin.); pl. כֵּנִים Gn 42:11, 19, 31, 33, 34;— right, usually indecl., often as subst. a right thing, especially c. vbb. dicendi Ex 10:29 (J) כֵּן דִּבַּרְתָּ, Nu 27:7 כֵּן דֹּבְרֹת, 36:5 (both P); כֵּן יַאֲרִיךְ Pr 28:2 (the) right (i.e. order and justice) shall last long (v. De Now VB); = adv. aright, of pronunciation Ju 12:6; also c. vb. agendi Ec 8:10 (on Is 33:23 v. iii. כֵּן sub כנן); right well ψ 65:10; (Che; al. = so); c. לֹא, as adj., not right דְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־כֵן 2 K 17:9 things which were not right (vb. agendi); of heart of a fool Pr 15:7; Je 23:10; as subst. = what is not right, upright Je 8:6; c. vb. agendi לֹא־כֵן 2 K 7:9 that which is not right we are doing, Je 48:30b. veritable, true, כֵּן־צְדָקָה Pr 11:19 the veritable of righteousness = true righteousness; Is 16:6 = Je 48:30a may be either their boastings are not true or (Thes Che Di Du Gr Gie al.) the untruth of their boastings (לֹא־כֵן as cpd. cstr.); abs., in assent to something already said, Right! Correct! True! Jos 2:4. pl. concr. honest (men) Gn 42:11, 19, 31, 33, 34 (all E).—i. כֵּן thus, so, v. p. 485 infr.; iii. כֵּן place, base, v. sub i. כנן; iv. כֵּן, כִּנִּם, כִּנָּם, v. sub כנן.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 17 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses (13 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (10 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «כֵּן» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/lemma_3a_5db_5b5_5bc_5df/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Genesis 42:31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.42.31/)

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וַנֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו כֵּנִ֣ים אֲנָ֑חְנוּ לֹ֥א הָיִ֖ינוּ מְרַגְּלִֽים׃

*Word for word:* and we.said to him \[are\].honest we not we.are spies

*JPS 1917:* And we said unto him: We are upright men; we are no spies.

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[Job 9:2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.9.2/)

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אָ֭מְנָם יָדַ֣עְתִּי כִי־כֵ֑ן וּמַה־יִּצְדַּ֖ק אֱנ֣וֹשׁ עִם־אֵֽל׃

*Word for word:* truly I.know (dm).that thus and what? will.he.be.justified a.person with God

*JPS 1917:* Of a truth I know that it is so; and how can man be just with God?

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