Lexical Summary
techinnah: Supplication, plea, entreaty
Original Word:תְּחִנָּה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:tchinnah
Pronunciation:te-khee-NAH
Phonetic Spelling:(tekh-in-naw')
KJV: favour, grace, supplication
NASB:supplication, petition, grace, mercy, supplications
Word Origin:[fromH2603 (חָנַן - To be gracious)]
1. graciousness
2. causatively, entreaty
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
camp
Fromchanan; graciousness; causatively, entreaty -- favour, grace, supplication.
see HEBREWchanan
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
chananDefinitionfavor, supplication for favor
NASB Translationgrace (1), mercy (1), petition (4), supplication (18), supplications (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; —
Joshua 11:20 4t.; construct
1 Kings 8:30,52 (twice in verse);
Jeremiah 37:20 5t.; 2Chronicles 6:39 etc. + 10 t. suffix; —
favour, shewn by IsraelJoshua 11:29 (D);Ezra 9:8.
supplication for favour, from God1 Kings 8:52 (twice in verse); 2Chronicles 33:13;Psalm 119:170; ""1 Kings 8:28 2Chronicles 6:19;Psalm 6:10;Psalm 55:2;1 Kings 8:38,45,49,54 2Chron 6:29; 6:35; 6:39;1 Kings 9:3;1 Kings 8:30 (= 2Chronicles 6:21);let the supplication fall before, YahwehJeremiah 36:7, the kingJeremiah 37:20, JeremiahJeremiah 42:2;present supplication before, YahwehJeremiah 42:9;Daniel 9:20, the kingJeremiah 38:26.
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Nuanceתְּחִנָּה (techinnah) expresses a heartfelt plea for unmerited favor. It combines the idea of “grace” (root חן) with the urgency of a petition, stressing dependence on the mercy of the One addressed. The term is never casual; it is the language of a suppliant who knows he has no claim apart from the character of God.
Distribution in Scripture
Techinnah appears twenty-five times, spread over historical narrative, temple liturgy, prophetic discourse, penitential prayer, and individual lament:
• Conquest history:Joshua 11:20
• United-monarchy worship:1 Kings 8:28-54; 9:3;2 Chronicles 6:19-39
• Post-monarchy repentance:2 Chronicles 33:13;Ezra 9:8
• Wisdom and praise:Psalm 6:9; 55:1; 119:170
• Prophetic crisis:Jeremiah 36:7; 37:20; 38:26; 42:2, 9
• Exilic intercession:Daniel 9:20
The concentration in1 Kings 8 and2 Chronicles 6 (eight occurrences in each chapter) marks Israel’s high-water moment of corporate prayer, framing techinnah as the temple’s raison d’être.
Covenant and Temple Focus
At the dedication of the temple Solomon repeatedly pairs “prayer” and “supplication,” asking that God’s eyes be open “toward this house night and day” (1 Kings 8:29). Verse 28 provides a paradigm:
“Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.”
Here techinnah grounds every future appeal for forgiveness, rain, deliverance, or restoration (8:30-53). When the Chronicler retells the event, he preserves the word to remind post-exilic readers that their rebuilt temple is still a place where techinnah is heard.
God’s response in1 Kings 9:3 seals the covenant dynamic: He has “heard your prayer and petition.” The sacred space is validated because the God of grace listens to supplication.
Royal Repentance and Restoration
The darkest king in Judah’s history, Manasseh, illustrates the power of techinnah:
“When he prayed to Him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom.” (2 Chronicles 33:13)
The narrative shows that no sin is beyond reach of divine mercy when approached in genuine supplication.
Similarly,Ezra 9:8 describes return from exile as “a brief moment of grace.” The phrase picks up the resonance of techinnah—undeserved favor granted solely because the people have pleaded for it.
Crisis in Jeremiah
During the Babylonian siege, Jeremiah is repeatedly asked to carry the people’s techinnah to God (Jeremiah 36:7; 42:2). The prophet also uses the word when appealing to Zedekiah for his own life (37:20; 38:26), demonstrating that techinnah may be addressed to earthly authorities, though ultimately resting on God’s sovereignty.
Personal Lament and Devotion
In the Psalms the term becomes intensely personal:
“The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)
“Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.” (Psalm 55:1)
“May my plea come before You; deliver me according to Your word.” (Psalm 119:170)
Each verse pairs techinnah with confident expectation; the plea is bold because it rests on covenant promises.
Withheld Supplication
Joshua 11:20 offers a sobering counterpoint: God hardens the Canaanite hearts “that they should come against Israel in battle, that Israel might devote them to destruction… without mercy.” Their lack of techinnah underscores divine judgment. Mercy spurned becomes mercy denied.
Exilic Intercession
Daniel stands in the prophetic succession when he “was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God” (Daniel 9:20). Techinnah is woven with confession and covenant memory, prompting the revelation of the Seventy Weeks—proof that God not only hears but answers with redemptive history.
Theological Observations
1. Grace precedes merit. Techinnah assumes dependence, not entitlement.
2. Supplication is covenantal. The petitioner appeals to promises God Himself has made.
3. Divine hearing is transformative. Each narrative climax (Solomon, Manasseh, Daniel) turns on God’s reception of techinnah.
4. Refusal to seek mercy results in judicial hardening (Joshua 11:20; Jeremiah’s audience).
5. Techinnah anticipates New Testament teaching on προσευχή and δέησις; it ultimately finds fulfillment in the Mediator “who always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Ministry Significance
• Corporate Worship: Techinnah encourages congregational prayers that confess sin and request specific acts of divine favor.
• Intercessory Prayer: The term legitimizes standing in the gap for nation, church, and individuals, trusting God’s covenant loyalty.
• Pastoral Counseling: Penitent believers, no matter how far gone, can offer techinnah and be assured of God’s readiness to forgive.
• Evangelism: The concept highlights the contrast between self-reliance and humble appeal to grace, pointing naturally to the gospel.
Practical Application
Believers today echo Solomon and Daniel when they plead for revival, justice, or guidance. The same Lord who promised to hear techinnah at the temple now invites supplication “in My name” (John 14:14). Confidence is grounded not in human worthiness but in the unchanging character of the God who “hears the cry of the afflicted” (Job 34:28).
Forms and Transliterations
וְהַתְּחִנָּ֖ה והתחנה מִתְּחִנָּתִֽי׃ מתחנתי׃ תְּחִנַּ֖ת תְּחִנַּ֣ת תְּחִנַּ֤ת תְּחִנַּתְכֶ֖ם תְּחִנָּ֑ה תְּחִנָּ֗ה תְּחִנָּת֔וֹ תְּחִנָּת֖וֹ תְּחִנָּתְךָ֮ תְּחִנָּתִ֑י תְּחִנָּתִ֗י תְּחִנָּתִ֣י תְּחִנָּתָ֑ם תְּחִנָּתָם֙ תְּחִנֹּ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם תְחִנָּ֜ה תְחִנָּתִ֖י תְחִנָּתִי֙ תְחִנָּתֵ֙נוּ֙ תחנה תחנת תחנתו תחנתי תחנתיהם תחנתך תחנתכם תחנתם תחנתנו mit·tə·ḥin·nā·ṯî mittechinnaTi mittəḥinnāṯî tə·ḥin·nā·ṯām tə·ḥin·nā·ṯə·ḵā ṯə·ḥin·nā·ṯê·nū tə·ḥin·nā·ṯî ṯə·ḥin·nā·ṯî tə·ḥin·nā·ṯōw tə·ḥin·nāh ṯə·ḥin·nāh tə·ḥin·naṯ tə·ḥin·naṯ·ḵem tə·ḥin·nō·ṯê·hem techinNah techinNat techinnaTam techinnatChem techinnateCha techinnaTenu techinnaTi techinnaTo techinNoteiHem təḥinnāh ṯəḥinnāh təḥinnaṯ təḥinnāṯām təḥinnāṯəḵā ṯəḥinnāṯênū təḥinnāṯî ṯəḥinnāṯî təḥinnaṯḵem təḥinnāṯōw təḥinnōṯêhem vehattechinNah wə·hat·tə·ḥin·nāh wəhattəḥinnāh
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