# H7068 - qinah **Strong's:** [H7068](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7068/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** kin-aw' **Part of speech:** feminine noun (from the verbal root *H7065 - qana*, *qana*, "to be zealous / jealous / envious"); the adjectival form is *qanna* (קַנָּא, H7067), applied to God in *El qanna* ("jealous God") **Frequency:** ~43 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible (noun); the verb root *qana* adds ~34; the *qanna* adjective adds ~6 (always of God) **LXX equivalent:** ζῆλος (*zēlos*), direct correspondent. See [G2205 - zelos](/codex/g2205-zelos/). **Cognate forms:** *qana* (H7065, verb, "to be jealous / zealous"); *qanna* / *qannoʾ* (H7067, adjective applied to God); *qannoʾ* in older spelling. The English *zealot* descends through Greek *zēlōtēs* from this same root family. ## Semantic range (Brown-Driver-Briggs) The Hebrew *qana* / *qinʾah* family covers a single underlying concept, **passionate, possessive intensity for what is one's own**, with moral valence determined by **the rightfulness of the claim** rather than by the lexeme itself. 1. **Zeal / passionate commitment**, positive sense; passion for what is rightfully claimed (one's covenant, one's beloved, one's God's honor) 2. **Jealousy (covenantal-protective)**, passion for the exclusivity of a relationship one rightfully holds; the response to covenant-breaking 3. **Jealousy (envious / possessive, when wrongly directed)**, wrongful claim on what isn't one's own; the *vice* sense 4. **Ardor / fierce intensity**, generic intensity-of-emotion language The English split between *zeal* (positive) and *jealousy* (typically negative) is *not* a feature of biblical Hebrew. The *same word* covers what English distributes across two terms. Moral valence comes from **the object** and **whether the claim is rightful**, not from the lexeme. ## Theological force, divine *qanna* as covenantal-protective zeal *Qinʾah / qanna* is one of the most theologically loaded divine-attribute words in the Hebrew Bible. Its specific deployment: ### *El qanna*, God's self-naming YHWH explicitly *self-names* as *qanna* in two passages, among the most significant divine self-disclosures: - **[Exodus 20.5](/codex/exodus-20-5/)**, the Decalogue: "I, the LORD your God, am a *qanna* God", said in the immediate context of the prohibition on idolatry - **[Exodus 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/)**, the covenant-renewal after the Golden Calf: "you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, **whose name is Jealous (*qanna*)**, is a jealous God" The [Ex 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/) self-naming is structurally important: God identifies *Qanna* as one of His **names** (*shem*), not merely an emotion He has, but a defining attribute of His identity. The covenantal-protective zeal is *who He is*, not just *what He does* in a given moment. ### Always covenantal-marital Every biblical use of God's *qinʾah / qanna* sits inside the **marriage-covenant metaphor**. The pattern is consistent and exclusive: - Sinai-covenant context: [Ex 20:5](/codex/exodus-20-5/); 34:14 - Mosaic covenant-renewal: [Deut 4:24](/codex/deuteronomy-4-24/); 5:9; 6:15; [Josh 24:19](/codex/joshua-24-19/) - Phinehas-as-mediator: [Num 25:11](/codex/numbers-25-11/), [13](/codex/numbers-25-13/) ("he was *zealous* with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in My *qinʾah*") - Prophetic indictment of Israel-as-bride: [Ps 78:58](/codex/psalms-78-58/), [79](/codex/psalms-78-79/):5; [Isa 9:7](/codex/isaiah-9-7/), [26](/codex/isaiah-9-26/):11, 37:32, 42:13, 59:17, 63:15; [Jer 6:11](/codex/jeremiah-6-11/), [7](/codex/jeremiah-6-7/):18-20, 8:19, 32:29; [Ezek 5:13](/codex/ezekiel-5-13/), [8](/codex/ezekiel-5-8/):3, 5, 16:38, 42, 23:25, 36:5-6, 38:19, 39:25 - Restoration-context (positive zeal *for* Israel): [Joel 2:18](/codex/joel-2-18/); [Zech 1:14](/codex/zechariah-1-14/); 8:2; [Isa 9:7](/codex/isaiah-9-7/), [37](/codex/isaiah-9-37/):32; [2 Kgs 19:31](/codex/2-kings-19-31/) There are *no* biblical occurrences of God's *qinʾah / qanna* in a context that would map onto English "insecure-envious-jealousy." The lexeme is exclusively *covenantal-protective-zeal* when applied to God. ### The Golden Calf as the canonical paradigm [Exodus 32](/codex/exodus-32/) is the *dictionary entry* for biblical divine jealousy. The narrative *enacts* every element of the *qanna* doctrine: - Just-ratified covenant ([Ex 24](/codex/exodus-24/)) - Bridal infidelity within forty days - *Substitution*, assigning YHWH's deliverance to a metal calf - Sexual-religious form ("rose up to *play*", *l'tsacheq*; cited at [1 Cor 10:7](/codex/1-corinthians-10-7/)) - Divine *qanna* response, anger, proposed destruction, mediation by Moses, relenting, partial sanction, plague - *Sotah*-style ordeal: Moses making Israel drink the calf-water ([Ex 32:20](/codex/exodus-32-20/) ↔ [Num 5:11-31](/codex/numbers-5-11-31/), where *ruach qinʾah*, *spirit of jealousy*, activates the suspected-adulteress test) - God's self-naming as *Qanna* in [Ex 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/), *immediately* after the calf episode See [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/) for fuller treatment of the calf-paradigm and [Divine Jealousy Is Covenantal Zeal (Defeater)](/codex/divine-jealousy-is-covenantal-zeal-defeater/) for the structured apologetic. ### Phinehas, human *qinʾah* approved by God The most striking OT case of *human* covenantal *qinʾah* approved by God is **[Numbers 25:1-13](/codex/numbers-25-1-13/)**. Israel falls into sexual-and-cultic syncretism with the Moabites at Baal-Peor. **Phinehas, son of Eleazar**, the priest, takes a spear and kills the offending Israelite man (Zimri) and the Moabite woman (Cozbi) in flagrante. God's response ([Num 25:11-13](/codex/numbers-25-11-13/)): > Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel, in that **he was jealous (*qinno*) with My jealousy (*qinʾati*)** among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of perpetual priesthood, **because he was jealous for his God** and made atonement for the sons of Israel.' Phinehas's *qinʾah* is *with God's qinʾah*. He participates in the divine attribute. God explicitly approves the human-zeal-in-covenant-defense and rewards it with a perpetual priestly covenant. This is the OT exemplar of *holy human zeal*, and it is the same *qinʾah* God shows for His covenant. ### Song of Solomon, the love-jealousy-fire formula **[Song of Solomon 8:6](/codex/song-of-solomon-8-6/)**, one of the most theologically dense single verses on covenantal-zeal: > Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for **love is strong as death, jealousy (*qinʾah*) is fierce as the grave; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of YHWH** (*shalhevetyah*). The pairing *love-jealousy-fire-of-YHWH* is canonical: *qinʾah* in spousal-covenant context is *the same flame as YHWH's covenantal love*. Marriage-jealousy and divine-jealousy share one fire. The verse is read by the patristic and Reformation traditions as the OT's most concise theological-anthropological statement of why *qinʾah* is *the form love takes* under conditions of covenant-violation. ## Notable verses ### God's self-naming as *Qanna* - **[Exodus 20.5](/codex/exodus-20-5/)**, the Decalogue - **[Exodus 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/)**, explicitly: "the LORD, whose name is Jealous" - **[Deuteronomy 4.24](/codex/deuteronomy-4-24/)**, "the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" - **[Deuteronomy 5:9](/codex/deuteronomy-5-9/); [Deuteronomy 6:15](/codex/deuteronomy-6-15/)**, covenant-renewal repetitions ### Joshua and the conquest covenant - **[Joshua 24:19](/codex/joshua-24-19/)**, "you cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God" ### Phinehas, human *qinʾah* approved - **[Numbers 25:11](/codex/numbers-25-11/), [13](/codex/numbers-25-13/)**, Phinehas's covenant-zeal; God's covenant of peace ### Prophetic indictments, Israel-as-adulterous-bride - **[Psalms 78:58](/codex/psalms-78-58/); 79:5**, Israel provoking *qinʾah* - **[Isaiah 9:7](/codex/isaiah-9-7/)**, "the *zeal* of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this" - **[Isaiah 37:32](/codex/isaiah-37-32/)**, Restoration: "the zeal of the LORD will perform this" - **[Isaiah 42:13](/codex/isaiah-42-13/)**, "the LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war" - **[Isaiah 59:17](/codex/isaiah-59-17/)**, "He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and *wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle*" - **[Ezekiel 16:38](/codex/ezekiel-16-38/), [42](/codex/ezekiel-16-42/)**, "I will deal with you according to the judgment of women who commit adultery... and the blood of *jealousy*" - **[Ezekiel 23:25](/codex/ezekiel-23-25/)**, extended marriage-allegory; *qinʾah* in adultery-judgment ### Restoration-context, positive zeal *for* Israel - **[Joel 2:18](/codex/joel-2-18/)**, "the LORD will be jealous *for* His land and will have pity on His people" - **[Zechariah 1:14](/codex/zechariah-1-14/); 8:2**, "I am exceedingly jealous for Zion / I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy" (*qinʾah gedolah*) ### Song of Solomon, covenantal-fire formula - **[Song of Solomon 8:6](/codex/song-of-solomon-8-6/)**, "love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave" ### NT activation via *zēlos* - **[2 Corinthians 11:2](/codex/2-corinthians-11-2/)**, Paul: "I am jealous for you with godly jealousy" - **[Romans 11:11](/codex/romans-11-11/), [14](/codex/romans-11-14/)**, God's jealousy-strategy via Gentile inclusion (fulfilling [Deut 32:21](/codex/deuteronomy-32-21/)) - **[1 Corinthians 10:21-22](/codex/1-corinthians-10-21-22/)**, "do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?" - **[John 2:17](/codex/john-2-17/)**, Christ's *zēlos* for His Father's house ([Ps 69:9](/codex/psalms-69-9/)) ### Negative *qinʾah*, sinful jealousy - **[Genesis 30:1](/codex/genesis-30-1/)**, Rachel's *qinʾah* of Leah - **[Genesis 37:11](/codex/genesis-37-11/)**, Joseph's brothers' *qinʾah* - **[Proverbs 6:34](/codex/proverbs-6-34/); 14:30; 27:4**, the destructive force of *qinʾah*-as-envy - **[Job 5:2](/codex/job-5-2/)**, "*jealousy* (*qinʾah*) kills the simple" - **[Ecclesiastes 4:4](/codex/ecclesiastes-4-4/); 9:6**, *qinʾah* as the engine of human striving ## Patristic / scholarly note **Patristic.** The early Christian writers consistently engaged the divine-jealousy doctrine as covenantal-protective rather than anthropopathic-emotional. **Tertullian** (*Adversus Marcionem* II.16; II.29), defends the OT *qanna*-language against Marcion's rejection: God's jealousy is the *appropriate divine response to covenant-breaking*, not a passion. **Origen** (*Contra Celsum* IV.71-72; *De Principiis* II.4.4), engages Celsus's mockery of the "jealous God" via the analogical-predication doctrine. **Athanasius** (*Contra Gentes* 7-8; *Festal Letters*), divine zeal as the active divine love expressed against creaturely substitution. **Augustine** (*Confessions* III.7.13; *De Trinitate* V; *City of God* XV.7), develops the *active-dispositional* reading of divine jealousy: God's *zelus* is His eternal character expressing itself appropriately, not a temporal-emotional change. The Augustinian distinction between *passions* (*passiones*, being-acted-upon, denied of God) and *active-dispositional acts* (denied of nothing real in God) becomes the standard scholastic frame for handling biblical divine-emotion language. **Aquinas** (*ST* I, q. 19, a. 11; q. 20; q. 13 on analogical predication), the most sustained scholastic treatment. Divine jealousy is not a passion but an *analogical* attribute, applies to God *truly* but not *univocally* with creaturely jealousy. The analogy preserves both the *real* divine attribute and the *transcendence* of God's essence. **Reformation.** Calvin (*Institutes* I.13.1; II.8.18), divine jealousy is the *rightness of His exclusive worship-claim* + *the appropriateness of His response to its violation*. Calvin makes the marriage-covenant frame explicit. Luther (*Lectures on Genesis*; *Larger Catechism* on the First Commandment), divine jealousy as *covenantal love that takes idolatry seriously*. Reformed orthodoxy (Owen, Charnock, Edwards) develops the doctrine within the broader divine-attributes framework. **Modern Hebraist scholarship.** Brown-Driver-Briggs and HALOT both note the wide semantic range of *qana* and the *covenantal-protective* concentration in divine-application. *NIDOTTE* and *TDOT* give the most extensive treatments. **G.K. Beale** (*We Become What We Worship*, 2008), the biblical-theology of *qana* / idolatry / divine-jealousy as one integrated doctrine. **Jon Levenson** (*Sinai and Zion*, 1985; *The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son*, 1993), Jewish-Hebraist treatment of the *qanna* tradition within the Sinai-marriage frame. **Paul Copan** (*Is God a Moral Monster?*, 2011, ch. 3), contemporary apologetic treatment defending the equivocation-exposing move. **Apologetic deployment**, the divine-jealousy doctrine is one of the most-attacked OT divine-attribute claims in contemporary New Atheist polemic (Hitchens, Dawkins, Bart Ehrman). The defeater is structured at [Divine Jealousy Is Covenantal Zeal (Defeater)](/codex/divine-jealousy-is-covenantal-zeal-defeater/), built on the lexical foundation this entry provides. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ Anchor texts: [Exodus 20.5](/codex/exodus-20-5/) (Decalogue); [Exodus 32](/codex/exodus-32/) (Golden Calf paradigm); [Exodus 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/) (Qanna self-naming); [Deuteronomy 6:15](/codex/deuteronomy-6-15/); [Numbers 25:11-13](/codex/numbers-25-11-13/) (Phinehas); [Song of Solomon 8:6](/codex/song-of-solomon-8-6/) (love-jealousy-fire formula); [Joel 2:18](/codex/joel-2-18/); [Zech 1:14](/codex/zechariah-1-14/), [8](/codex/zechariah-1-8/):2 (positive restoration zeal). ## See also - [G2205 - zelos](/codex/g2205-zelos/), *zēlos* (zeal / jealousy), Greek correspondent - *H7065 - qana*, *qana* (verb, to be zealous), verbal root - [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/), *ḥesed* (covenant loyalty), companion covenant-attribute - [H6918 - qadosh](/codex/h6918-qadosh/), *qadosh* (holy), companion divine-attribute (the *holy God* who is therefore *jealous*) - [H7307 - ruach](/codex/h7307-ruach/), *ruach* (spirit), *ruach qinʾah* in the Sotah ordeal ([Num 5:14](/codex/numbers-5-14/)) - [Idolatry](/codex/idolatry/), what divine *qinʾah* responds to - [Spirit of Jealousy](/codex/spirit-of-jealousy/), pastoral / deliverance-ministry treatment of the negative human-jealousy - [Divine Jealousy Is Covenantal Zeal (Defeater)](/codex/divine-jealousy-is-covenantal-zeal-defeater/), the structured apologetic this entry supports - [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/), the cross as God's covenantal-zeal-for-His-people consummated - Passages: [Exodus 20.5](/codex/exodus-20-5/), [Exodus 32](/codex/exodus-32/), [Exodus 34:14](/codex/exodus-34-14/), [Deuteronomy 6:15](/codex/deuteronomy-6-15/), [Joel 2:18](/codex/joel-2-18/), [2 Corinthians 11:2](/codex/2-corinthians-11-2/), [1 Corinthians 10:22](/codex/1-corinthians-10-22/)