how to say “nest” in Hebrew
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קֵן
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This word is often mispronounced by native English-speaking students of the Hebrew Bible.
When the word for nest stands alone, it’s קֵן – with an eh vowel.
– with an eh vowel. When it’s connected to another word in an of relationship (construct-סְמִיכוּת
), it’s קַן , as in קַן צִפּוֹר – the nest of a bird.And in the plural, it’s קִנִּים , as in:
, as in:קִנִּים תַּעֲשֶׂה אֶת הַתֵּבָה
you shall make the ark (an array of) nests
(בְּרֵאשִׁית ו,יד – Genesis 6:14)
The plural form gives away the root, since the נ (n) letter shows a dot of emphasis, indicating that there’s a missing letter. The root is ק.נ.נ (k.n.n).
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