† I. כֵּן adjective right, veritable, honest (properly 
firm, upright; Syriac 
 recte
 recte PS
1662) — absolute 
כֵּן Exodus 10:29 + (on possibly construct see 
2 near the end); plural 
כֵּנִים Genesis 42:11, 
19, 
31, 
33, 
34; — 
    1. right, usually indeclinable, often as substantive 
a right thing, especially with vbb. 
dicendi Exodus 10:29 (J) 
כֵּן דִּבַּרְתָּ, 
Numbers 27:7 כֵּן דֹּבְרֹת, 
Numbers 36:5 (both P); 
כֵּן יַאֲרִיךְ Proverbs 28:2 (the) 
right (i.e. order and justice) 
shall last long (see De Now VB); = adverb 
aright, of pronunciation 
Judges 12:6; also with verb 
agendi Ecclesiastes 8:10 (on 
Isaiah 33:23 see III. 
כֵּן below 
כנן); 
right well Psalm 65:10; (Che; al. = 
so); with 
לֹא, as adjective, 
not right דְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹאכֵֿן 2 Kings 17:9 things which were not right (verb 
agendi); of heart of a fool 
Proverbs 15:7; 
Jeremiah 23:10; as substantive = 
what is not right, upright Jeremiah 8:6; with verb 
agendi לֹאכֵֿן 2 Kings 7:9 that which is not right we are doing, 
Jeremiah 48:30b.
 
    2. veritable, true, 
כֵּןצְֿדָקָה Proverbs 11:19 the veritable of righteousness = 
true righteousness; 
Isaiah 16:6 = 
Jeremiah 48:30a may be either 
their boastings are not true or (Thes Che Di Du Gr Gie and others) 
the untruth of their boastings (
לֹאכֵֿן as compound construct); absolute, in assent to something already said, 
Right! Correct! True! Joshua 2:4.
 
II. כֵּן adverb so (PH. Late Hebrew 
 id.
 id.; Syriac 

 is 
then, Arabic 

, 

, 
but: probably from the demonstrative √ 
ka, found in 
כִּי etc., Kö
ii. 1, 254); (
הִיא) 
כֶּןהֿוּא Genesis 44:10 + 
4 times: — 
so (i.e. usually, as has been described or commanded, with reference to what has preceded), mostly of manner, but sometimes also of quantity, quality, or degree: 
    1.
    a. Judges 5:31 כן יאבדו so perish thy enemies, 
Job 5:27 הִיאכֶּןֿ, 
Job 8:13 כן ארחות כל שׁכחי אל, 
Proverbs 6:29; 
Proverbs 8:13; 
2 Samuel 16:23; 
Isaiah 36:6; 
Isaiah 47:15 כן היו לך, 
Numbers 13:33 וכן היינו בעיניהם; 
Numbers 9:16 כָן יהיה תמיד Exodus 10:14 (twice in verse) 
לא היה כן ארבה כמהו וג׳ (i.e. in such numbers), 
1 Kings 10:12 כן עצי אלמגים לא בא, 
1 Kings 10:20; 
2 Chronicles 1:12 (twice in verse), 
Judges 21:14 להם כןולא מצאו and they did not suffice for them 
so (namely in such numbers of them as there were); 
1 Kings 6:26 וכן הכרוב השׁני, 
Ezekiel 41:7; 
וכן ל׳ Exodus 27:11; 
1 Kings 10:29; 
Ezekiel 40:16; 
2 Chronicles 35:12, compare 
1 Chronicles 23:30; 
כן ל׳ Exodus 25:33 (compare 
Exodus 26:24), 
Joshua 21:40.
 
    b. the force of 
כֵּן has sometimes to be elicited from the context : 
1 Kings 2:7 כי כן קרבו אלי (that is, with kindness such as that enjoined in 
1 Kings 2:7a), 
1 Kings 20:40 כן משׁפטך, 
Jeremiah 14:10 לנועכן אהבו (i.e. not less than 
י׳ has withdrawn from them 
Jeremiah 14:9, Gf Ke; Gie proposes 
אָכֵן), Psalm 61:9 
שִׁמְךָכֵּן אֲזַמְּרָה (Hi 
כְּצִדְקְךָ, implied in 
Jeremiah 14:6-8), 
Psalm 63:3 חֲזִיתִךָכֵּן בַּקֹּדֶשׁ (that is, with the longings of 
Psalm 63:2), 
Psalm 63:5 אֲבָרֶכְךָ בְחַיָּיכֵּן (that is 
כְּרֹב חַסְדְּךָ Psalm 63:4), 
Psalm 65:10 כִּי כֵן תְּכִינֶהָ (i.e. so Generously, 
Psalm 65:10), 
Psalm 90:12 לִמְנוֺת יָמֵינוּ כֵּן הוֺדַע (Hi 
כְּיִרְאַת י׳ Psalm 90:11), 
Psalm 127:2 כֵּן יִתֵּן לִידִידוֺ שֵׁנָא (that is, as abundantly; but Che 
אָכֵן), 
Proverbs 24:14 (see 
Proverbs 24:13), 
Isaiah 52:14 כֵּן מִשְׁחַת מֵאִישׁ מַרְאֵהוּ (sufficiently to justify 
שׁממו עליך רבים).
 
    c. כן occurs frequently in particular phrases, as
    (a) with 
הָיָה, especially 
ויהי כן and it was 
so Genesis 1:7, 
9, 
11 +, 
2 Kings 2:10 if thou seest me taken from thee 
יהילֿך כן let it be to thee 
so (that is, as thou desirest), 
2 Kings 7:20, with 
עשׂה (especially 
וַיַּעַשׂ, 
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ) 
Genesis 29:28; 
Genesis 42:20; 
Genesis 45:21 + often, 
Judges 7:16 וְכֵן תַּעֲשׂוּמִמֶּנִּי תִּרְאוּ, + 
ל׳ Genesis 42:25 ויעשׂ להם כן, 
Exodus 22:29; 
Exodus 23:11 כן תעשׂה ל׳, 
Deuteronomy 22:3; 
2 Samuel 12:31; 
1 Kings 11:8 (compare 
1 Kings 6:33; 
1 Kings 7:18); 
Genesis 29:26 לא יֵעָשֶׂה כן במקומנו, 
Genesis 34:7; 
2 Samuel 13:12; rarer usages, 
דִּבֶּר כֵּן Exodus 6:9, 
אמר כן 1 Kings 22:8, 
כֵּן אמרתם Ezekiel 11:5; 
Ezekiel 33:10, 
אָמֵן כֵּן יאֹמַר י׳ 1 Kings 1:36 (compare 
Jeremiah 28:6), 
וגם שׁאול אבי יֹדֵעַ כֵּן 1 Samuel 23:17; 
אָהֵב כֵּן (idiomatic) to love (it) 
so, 
Jeremiah 5:31; 
Amos 4:5;
 
    2. Often, to emphasize the agreement, in answer to כְּ, and כַּאֲשֶׁר : namely
    a. כְּ ֗֗֗ כֵּן,
    (d) in similes,
    c. ֗֗֗ כֵּן ֗֗֗ כַּאֲשֶׁר,
    (b) (frequently) 
Numbers 2:17 כֵּן יִסָּ֑עוּכאשׁר יַחֲנוּ, 
Exodus 1:12 (of degree = 
the more... the more) 
כַּאֲשֶׁר יְעַנּוּ אֹתוֺ כֵּן יִרְבֶּה וְכֵן יִפְרֹץ;
 
    †d. כן כאשׁר ֗֗֗,
    3. With prepositions: —
    a. אַחַרכֵּֿן, אַחֲרֵיכֵֿן, מֵאַחֲרֵיכֵֿן, literally after so, i.e. afterwards: see אַחַר.
    c. † 
כֵּןכְּמוֺֿ Isaiah 51:6, according to some, 
like so, i.e. (Vrss Rabb) 
in like manner, or (De) 
like this (accompanied by a contemptuous gesture) = like a mere nothing: but see IV. 
כֵּן.
 
    d. לָכֵן 200 according to such conditions, that being so, therefore Numbers 16:11; 
1 Samuel 27:6; 
Psalm 16:9; 
Psalm 73:6; 
Psalm 73:10; especially in prophets, where it often introduces, after statement of the grounds, a divine declaration or command: 
Judges 10:13; 
2 Kings 1:6; 
Amos 4:12; 
Isaiah 5:13, 
14, 
24; 
Isaiah 7:14; 
Isaiah 10:16; 
Isaiah 16:7; 
Isaiah 27:9; 
Jeremiah 6:15; 
Jeremiah 8:10 etc.; 
לכן כה אמר י׳ 2 Kings 21:12; 
Isaiah 10:24; 
Isaiah 28:16; 
Isaiah 29:22; 
Isaiah 30:12; 
Isaiah 37:33; 
Jeremiah 5:14; 
Jeremiah 6:21 + often; followed by 
נאם האדון Isaiah 1:24; 
נאם י׳ 1 Samuel 2:30; 
Jeremiah 2:9; 
לכן הנה ימים באים נאם י׳ Jeremiah 7:32; 
Jeremiah 16:14; 
Jeremiah 19:6 +; 
לכן חי אני נאם י׳ Ezekiel 5:11; 
Ezekiel 35:6, 
11; 
Zephaniah 2:9; 
הנני ֗֗֗ לכן 1 Kings 14:10; 
Hosea 2:8; 
Hosea 2:16; 
Isaiah 29:14; 
Jeremiah 16:21; 
Ezekiel 16:37; 
Ezekiel 22:19b; 
Ezekiel 25:4, 
7, 
9 +; 
לכן אֱמֹר † 
Exodus 6:6; 
Numbers 25:12 (both P), 
Ezekiel 11:16, 
17; 
Ezekiel 14:6; 
Ezekiel 20:30; 
Ezekiel 33:25; 
Ezekiel 36:22; 
לָכֵן דַּבֵּר † 
Ezekiel 14:4; 
Ezekiel 20:27; 
לָכֵן הִנָּכֵא † 
Ezekiel 11:4; 
Ezekiel 36:3, 
6; 
Ezekiel 37:12; 
Ezekiel 38:14; 
֗֗֗ שִׁמְעוּ לָכֵן Isaiah 28:14; 
Isaiah 51:21; 
Jeremiah 6:18; 
Jeremiah 44:26 +. In answer to 
יען, 
Numbers 20:12 (P), 
1 Kings 14:10; 
2 Kings 1:16; 
2 Kings 21:12; 
2 Kings 22:20; 
Isaiah 29:14; 
Isaiah 30:13; 
Jeremiah 19:6 +, 
Ezekiel 5:8; 
Ezekiel 13:23 +; so, once, 
וְלָכֵן Isaiah 8:7; to 
כי Isaiah 28:16; 
Jeremiah 35:17; 
על Jeremiah 9:14; 
אם Jeremiah 23:38; 
Jeremiah 42:15. Special usages: —
 
    (a) idiomatic, in conversation, in reply to an objection, to state the ground upon which the answer is made; 
Genesis 4:15 therefore — this being so — whoso killeth Cain, etc., 
Genesis 30:15; 
Judges 8:7; 
Judges 11:8; 
1 Samuel 28:2; 
1 Kings 22:19; 
Job 20:2 (

 in Genesis Kings Job, not perceiving the idiom, renders 
οὐχοὕτως (as though 
לאכֿן): so also strangely, elsewhere, as 
1 Samuel 3:14; 
2 Kings 1:4, 
6; 
2 Kings 21:12).
 
    f. עַלכֵּֿן 145 upon ground of such conditions, therefore (introducing, more generally than 
לָכֵן, the statement of a 
fact, rather than a 
declaration: never used in the phrases noted under 
לָכֵן), 
Genesis 20:6; 
Genesis 42:21; 
Exodus 5:8, 
17; 
Exodus 16:29; 
Exodus 20:11; 
1 Samuel 20:29; 
1 Samuel 28:18; 
2 Samuel 7:22, 
27; 
1 Kings 20:23; 
Isaiah 5:25; 
Isaiah 9:16; 
Isaiah 13:7, 
13; 
Isaiah 15:4, 
7; 
Isaiah 16:9, 
11; 
Isaiah 17:10; 
Isaiah 21:3; 
Jeremiah 5:6, 
27; 
Jeremiah 10:21; 
Jeremiah 12:8; 
Jeremiah 20:11; 
Jeremiah 31:3, 
20; 
Ezekiel 7:20; 
Ezekiel 22:4; 
Ezekiel 31:5 etc., 
Psalm 1:5; 
Psalm 42:7; 
Psalm 45:3c (the poet's inference from 
Psalm 45:3a, Psalm 45:3b), 
Psalm 45:8 [
Psalm 45:7]; 
Psalm 110:7; 
Job 6:3; 
Job 9:22; 
Job 17:4; 
Job 20:21 etc., 
Songs 1:3; and regularly where the origin of a name, or custom, or proverb is assigned, 
Genesis 2:24 עלכֿן יעזב אישׁ וג׳, 
Genesis 10:9 יֵאָמַ֔רעלכֿן, 
Genesis 11:9 עלכֿן קרא שׁמה בבל, 
Genesis 16:14; 
Genesis 19:22; 
Genesis 21:31; 
Genesis 25:30; 
Genesis 26:33; 
Genesis 29:34; 
Genesis 29:35; 
Genesis 30:6; Genesis 32:33; 
Genesis 47:22; 
Exodus 13:15; 
Exodus 15:23; 
Numbers 18:24; 
Numbers 21:14, 
27; 
Deuteronomy 10:9 (compare 
Deuteronomy 15:11, 
15; 
Deuteronomy 19:7; 
Deuteronomy 24:18, 
22), 
Joshua 7:26; 
Joshua 14:14; 
Judges 15:19; 
Judges 18:12; 
1 Samuel 5:5; 
1 Samuel 10:12; 
1 Samuel 23:28 (? read 
so 1 Samuel 27:6) 
2 Samuel 5:8, 
20 etc.; 
הַעַלכֵּֿן Habakkuk 1:17. — 
Esther 9:26 the 2nd 
על כן (unless dittograph) points unusually onwards to 
האגרתעל כל דברי on this account, on account, namely, etc.
 
See related Aramaic BDB entry 
H3652.
														
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