Take the 2-minute tour ×

Most translations seem to agree that "Jealous" is the best translation for this passage. For example:

Exodus 34:14 (NASB)

However, Young's Literal Translation chooses to use "Zealous", instead:

Exodus 34:14 (YLT)
for ye do not bow yourselves to another god -- for Jehovah, whose name [is] Zealous, is a zealous God.

What is the original word used here and what does it mean? Is "jealous" a good translation of it or does the original word carry a broader meaning than that?

share|improve this question

4 Answers 4

up vote 8 down vote accepted

The Hebrew word in Exodus 34:14 is קַנָּא, "jealous" (qanna'; Strong's 7067), from קָנָא (qana'; Strong's 7065), "jealous, zealous or envious."

Both times the English word "jealous" appears in Exodus 34:14, this is the Hebrew word. Strong's say of the root word mentioned above,

A primitive root; to be (causatively, make) zealous, i.e. (in a bad sense) jealous or envious:

KJV - (be) envy (-ious), be (move to, provoke to) jealous (-y),  very,
(be) zeal (-ous). 

So there is a sense that the root word looks back to the idea of zealous, but that would require interpretation and not pure translation. It appears that the majority translation of jealousy is the sense that this verse is trying to portray.

share|improve this answer
"So there is a sense that the root word looks back to the idea of zealous, but that would require interpretation and not pure translation." - I disagree. In Numbers 25:10-15 the root qanaa appears repeatedly, is translated differently in each of the various verses, but unambiguously means zealousness in verse 13. –  Amichai Oct 7 '11 at 20:57
The KJV and NKJV do use Zealous in verse 13, The NASB and ESV use Jealous in the same place. The meaning is a nuance I think and I see your point, perhaps my language was more black and white than I intended it to be. –  David Boswell Oct 7 '11 at 22:10

Jealous in Arabic is Ghayoor, Arabic is the closest relative to Hebrew. The Word Ghayoor come from the verb Ghara which mean dive or immerse , if there are similarities in the semitic languages. I would expect the origin of the Hebrew word be similar. Ghayoor (Jealous) is always a positive word. we say: a father is "Ghayoor-on his children" which mean he is constantly immerced watching over them for protecting them and giving them the best. Also we say a man is Ghayoor on(Jealous on) his career. It means he works hard to improve it with his (Jealousy) So there are two forms of Ghayoor: 1- Ghayoor 3ala = Jealous on (positive constructive) 2- Ghayoor min = Jealous from ( which means descent which points more towards envy but in Arabic envy is mostly used as the word '7hasad'. 7asad = envy comes from the verb 'sadda' = to block and the verb '7hasa' = irate

share|improve this answer
Are Ghayoor and Kana cognates? It might be Gana, Ganar, Ghayoor, but if the G is a guttaral, like "ayin" I have a hard time imagining the transformation. Is there a proto-semitic reconstruction? –  Ron Maimon Apr 5 '12 at 18:42
Arabic is NOT the closest language to Hebrew, Aramaic is. –  user2435 Jul 11 '13 at 1:02

The Hebrew phrase is:

כִּי יְהוָה קַנָּא שְׁמוֹ, אֵל קַנָּא הוּא

Most literally, the way I read it:

Because Yahweh jealous-es his name, a jealous God is he.

I think the best translation is on Wikisource:

Because you will not bow down to another god, because Yahweh is jealous of his name, he is a jealous god.

The sense is like a wife jealous of her husband spending time with another woman.

It should be noted that Septuagint has the plural "other gods" instead of "another god". I should point out that I just "feel" the reading because my Hebrew is native, not studied, so I might be missing some ancient nuance, but this case is pretty straightforward--- I think it is safe to say that Young is off base.

share|improve this answer

Let's build up the meaning from the letters: קן kush - Holiness of God nun - fish of the Word of God

the Word qen means nest, and also the little rooms in Noah's ark representing the 'many places' for us in the Father's house. We are the clean fish dwelling in God's word and he has a place for us.

When the aleph is added to the end representing division between the word of holiness and the word of grace we get:

קנא envy (07065) , purchase for separation (07066) , jealousy used only of God (07067),

When gena is followed with the hei (giving of oneself) we get קנאה qin’ah zeal (07068). Zeal is a self-sacrificing jealousy.

When the division of the aleph is removed we get קנה purchase or redeem for a possession (07069), reed or branch (07070) Christ is the reed who purchases us for his own possession as his bride.

The passage in question uses 07067 which has the sense of God purchasing us to be separate or Holy.

Hebrew is deeply rooted with meaning beginning with the smallest marks of the letters.

share|improve this answer
This seems rather whimsical and is currently unsupported. Also, there is no hei in קַנָּא; what are you trying to say with that part? –  Gone Quiet Jul 11 '13 at 1:09

Your Answer


