Lexical Summary
miqneh: Livestock, cattle, possessions
Original Word:מִקְנֶה
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:miqneh
Pronunciation:mik-neh'
Phonetic Spelling:(mik-neh')
KJV: cattle, flock, herd, possession, purchase, substance
NASB:livestock, cattle, possessions, acquired, flocks, herds, purchased
Word Origin:[fromH7069 (קָנָה - buy)]
1. something bought, i.e. property, but only livestock
2. abstractly, acquisition
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cattle, flock, herd, possession, purchase, substance
Fromqanah; something bought, i.e. Property, but only livestock; abstractly, acquisition -- cattle, flock, herd, possession, purchase, substance.
see HEBREWqanah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
qanahDefinitioncattle
NASB Translationacquired (1), cattle (10), cattle* (1), flocks (1), herds (1), livestock (54), possessions (3), purchased (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
76Exodus 10:26 ; — absolute
Genesis 46:32 +; construct
Genesis 13:7 +; suffix
Genesis 3:18 +,
Isaiah 30:23 (Ges
§ 93, 88), etc.; plural suffix (but see Kö
ii. 112 f.)
Exodus 17:3 +,
Genesis 47:16 +, etc.; —
cattle in General, including cows, sheep, horses, asses, camels (any or all of them), as purchasable domestic animals,Genesis 47:16 (twice in verse);Genesis 47:17 (twice in verse);Exodus 9:3 + (J),Exodus 10:26 (E),Deuteronomy 3:19 (not in P),Job 1:3;Psalm 78:48;Jeremiah 9:9;1 Chronicles 5:21+; so probablyGenesis 4:20 (J) of nomads,Genesis 47:18 (J).
specificallyGenesis 13:2 (J),Genesis 31:9 (E),Genesis 31:18;Genesis 36:7;Genesis 46:6;Numbers 32:1 (all P),Isaiah 30:23 +;Genesis 46:32,34 (J),Genesis 47:6 (P), compare1 Chronicles 28:1;Genesis 13:7 (twice in verse) (J); distinguished fromNumbers 31:9 (P),Numbers 32:26;2 Kings 3:17; fromJoshua 14:4 (P)Ezekiel 38:12,13; from bothGenesis 34:23;Genesis 36:6 (P); 2Chronicles 32:29Ecclesiastes 2:7Genesis 26:14;Genesis 47:17 (J); sheep onlyGenesis 29:7 (J)Numbers 32:16 (E). —Genesis 49:32 (P) read ;Job 36:33 read (
Participle), or (
Participle) metal. from , Hi Bö Di Du;1 Samuel 30:20 del We Dr and others, see especially HPS.
Topical Lexicon
Scope of the Termמִקְנֶה (miqneh) appears about seventy-six times, nearly half in Genesis–Numbers and the rest scattered through the historical books, Psalms, Proverbs, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. It denotes livestock of every kind—cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys—and by extension the movable wealth represented by those animals. Because the term is tied to the verb “to acquire,” it embodies both the animals themselves and the fact that they are the fruit of lawful purchase, inheritance, or divine provision.
Patriarchal Wealth and Divine Favor
From the outset of redemptive history, miqneh is a barometer of the Lord’s blessing on the patriarchs:
•Genesis 12:16 records Pharaoh’s gifts to Abram “sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants, and camels,” a list headed by livestock.
•Genesis 13:2 summarizes the result: “Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.”
•Genesis 26:14 says of Isaac, “He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”
• For Jacob, Laban’s wage manipulation becomes God’s occasion to multiply miqneh (Genesis 30:43; 32:5).
In each case, livestock stands as tangible proof that the covenant God “gives the power to gain wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). To mistreat or confiscate such property is therefore to offend the divine Giver (Genesis 31:9–42).
Stewardship, Separation, and Witness
Because herds must graze, large miqneh holdings forced geographic decisions that shaped salvation history:
• Abram and Lot separate because “their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together” (Genesis 13:6).
• Jacob settles in Goshen because it is “suitable for livestock” (Genesis 47:4–6), placing Israel in position for the Exodus.
• The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh request land east of the Jordan “because the place was suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock” (Numbers 32:1–5). Moses allows it only after securing their commitment to Yahweh’s war. Livestock thus tests covenant loyalty to collective mission over private ease.
Cultic and Sacrificial Implications
While the word miqneh seldom occurs in direct sacrificial formulas (which use “from the herd or the flock”), the concept undergirds the entire sacrificial system:
•Leviticus 27:32 commands the tithe of “the whole tenth of the herd or the flock,” reinforcing that animals belong to God first.
•Deuteronomy 12:17 forbids consuming tithes of grain, new wine, oil, “firstborn of your herd or flock” outside the chosen place of worship.
• The “peace offerings” of1 Kings 8:63—“twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep”—express national gratitude at the dedication of the temple.
Possession of miqneh therefore carries priestly responsibility: the gift must be turned into worship.
Protection and Judgment
God both protects and judges through miqneh:
• At the Exodus the LORD distinguished between Egypt’s and Israel’s animals: “But of the livestock of the Israelites, not one died” (Exodus 9:6).
• Yet later, covenant violation threatens the very same blessing: “Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it” (Deuteronomy 28:31).
Job’s opening description—“He possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred female donkeys” (Job 1:3)—sets up the drama of affliction and restoration; Satan may strike possessions, but God vindicates His servant with double miqneh in the end (Job 42:12).
Prophetic and Poetic Imagery
Prophets deploy miqneh as shorthand for flourishing or ruin:
•Jeremiah 50:26, announcing judgment on Babylon, commands, “Pile her up like heaps of grain; destroy her completely; let nothing be left.” The context lists livestock among the spoil.
• Ezekiel’s restoration oracle promises Israel, “I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing… the tree will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its produce” (Ezekiel 34:26-27), implicitly including herds that feed on that produce.
•Zechariah 13:5 uses “herdsmen” as a figure of humble honesty after false prophecy is purged.
The Psalms praise God who owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10), reminding Israel that her flocks are merely held in trust.
Economic Regulation and Social Ethics
The Mosaic Law guards miqneh rights:
• Restitution for stolen or harmed animals (Exodus 22:1–15).
• Sabbath rest extended to beasts of burden (Exodus 23:12).
• Prohibition of muzzling the ox while it treads grain (Deuteronomy 25:4), later applied to gospel workers in1 Timothy 5:18.
Thus miqneh forms the backbone of a just economy where human and animal welfare intertwine.
Christological and Pastoral Reflections
The imagery of shepherd and flock culminates in Jesus Christ, “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20). The stewardship lessons bound up with miqneh transfer to the church’s calling:
• Believers are managers, not owners (Luke 16:12).
• Spiritual leaders “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2), mirroring ancient cattle care.
• Material increase remains a gift to be leveraged for mission (Philippians 4:10–19).
In sum, מִקְנֶה is far more than an agrarian term; it is a theological thread that weaves together covenant blessing, ethical obligation, worship, judgment, and pastoral imagery, all pointing to the God who both provides and owns every good gift.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּמִקְנְךָ֙ בְּמִקְנֵיכֶ֑ם בַּמִּקְנֶ֕ה במקנה במקניכם במקנך הַמִּקְנֶ֑ה הַמִּקְנֶ֛ה הַמִּקְנֶ֣ה המקנה וּ֝מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם וּבְמִקְנֵ֥ה וּבְמִקְנֶ֣ה וּלְמִקְנֵ֙הוּ֙ וּמִמִּקְנֵ֥ה וּמִקְנֵ֖הוּ וּמִקְנֵ֣ה וּמִקְנֵ֥ה וּמִקְנֵה־ וּמִקְנֵיהֶ֨ם וּמִקְנֵיכֶ֖ם וּמִקְנֵיכֶם֒ וּמִקְנֵכֶם֒ וּמִקְנֶ֣ה ׀ וּמִקְנֶֽה׃ וּמִקְנֶה֩ ׀ וּמִקְנַ֔י ובמקנה ולמקנהו וממקנה ומקנה ומקנה־ ומקנה׃ ומקנהו ומקני ומקניהם ומקניכם ומקנכם לְמִקְנֵ֖נוּ לְמִקְנֵיהֶ֖ם למקניהם למקננו מִ֝קְנֶ֗ה מִ֠קְנֵהוּ מִמִּקְנֵ֥ה מִקְנְךָ֔ מִקְנְךָ֖ מִקְנְךָ֙ מִקְנֵ֖הוּ מִקְנֵ֖נוּ מִקְנֵ֗הוּ מִקְנֵ֜נוּ מִקְנֵ֣ה מִקְנֵ֣הוּ מִקְנֵ֥ה מִקְנֵ֧ה מִקְנֵֽה־ מִקְנֵה֙ מִקְנֵהֶ֔ם מִקְנֵהֶ֛ם מִקְנֵהֶ֤ם מִקְנֵה־ מִקְנֵיהֶ֔ם מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם מִקְנֵיהֶ֛ם מִקְנֵיהֶֽם׃ מִקְנֵיהֶם֙ מִקְנֵיהֶם֮ מִקְנֵיכֶ֔ם מִקְנֶ֑ה מִקְנֶ֖ה מִקְנֶ֛יךָ מִקְנֶ֜ה מִקְנֶ֣ה מִקְנֶ֥ה מִקְנֶֽה׃ מִקְנֶה֩ מִקְנֶה־ מִקְנַ֖י ממקנה מקנה מקנה־ מקנה׃ מקנהו מקנהם מקני מקניהם מקניהם׃ מקניך מקניכם מקנך מקננו bam·miq·neh bammikNeh bammiqneh bə·miq·nə·ḵā bə·miq·nê·ḵem bemikneCha bemikneiChem bəmiqnəḵā bəmiqnêḵem ham·miq·neh hammikNeh hammiqneh lə·miq·nê·hem lə·miq·nê·nū lemikneiHem lemikNenu ləmiqnêhem ləmiqnênū mikNai mikneCha mikneh mikneHem mikNehu mikNeicha mikneiChem mikneiHem mikNenu mim·miq·nêh mimikNeh mimmiqnêh miq·nay miq·nê·hem miq·nê·hū miq·ne·ḵā miq·nə·ḵā miq·nê·ḵem miq·nê·nū miq·neh miq·nêh miq·neh- miq·nêh- miqnay miqneh miqnêh miqneh- miqnêh- miqnêhem miqnêhū miqneḵā miqnəḵā miqnêḵem miqnênū ū·ḇə·miq·neh ū·ḇə·miq·nêh ū·lə·miq·nê·hū ū·mim·miq·nêh ū·miq·nay ū·miq·nê·hem ū·miq·nê·hū ū·miq·nê·ḵem ū·miq·neh ū·miq·nêh ū·miq·nêh- ūḇəmiqneh ūḇəmiqnêh ulemikNehu ūləmiqnêhū umikNai umikneChem umikNeh umikNehu umikneiChem umikneiHem umimikNeh ūmimmiqnêh ūmiqnay ūmiqneh ūmiqnêh ūmiqnêh- ūmiqnêhem ūmiqnêhū ūmiqnêḵem uvemikNeh
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