גִּנְזַךְ
𐤂𐤍𐤆𐤊
ginzak
H1597 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A repository, storehouse, or room designated for keeping valuables such as treasures, official documents, or archives, especially within a royal palace or governmental building. The term often refers to a secure and important location for storing items of value, both monetary and bureaucratic, rather than merely a store of wealth.
Semantic Range
treasury, storehouse for valuables, archives, repository for important documents, royal or government house of treasures
Root / Etymology
From the root גנז meaning 'to store away, treasure, hide.' Ginzak (גִּנְזַךְ) is a nominal form derived from this root, signifying the place or repository for stored or hidden valuables and documents.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Ginzak occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in the exilic and post-exilic literature (e.g., in Daniel and Ezra/Nehemiah), where it refers specifically to official treasuries or archives within a royal or governmental context, frequently those of foreign empires (e.g., the Babylonian or Persian courts). The use reflects administrative realities of the era, where such repositories were essential for storing not only monetary treasures but also state records, decrees, and documents. In later Hebrew (including post-biblical), derivatives of the root continue to designate archives or storehouses for important items. English translations often render ginzak simply as 'treasury,' but this can obscure its archival or bureaucratic functions; it is more than a vault of wealth. The related noun גֶּנֶז (genez) refers to the contents or process of storing, whereas ginzak designates the physical location. In rabbinic and later Jewish usage, related forms come to denote repositories for sacred texts (eventually the genizah), showing semantic development beyond its original royal or governmental meaning.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
prolonged from גֶּנֶז; a treasury; treasury.
Bantu Hebrew
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+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
גנז (g-n-z) — to store, to hide, to treasure
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1597-01 |
וְ/גַנְזַכָּ֧י/ו | veganezakayv | HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms |
and its treasuries | and his treasure-repositories | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1597-01 |
1 Chronicles 28:11 | וְ/גַנְזַכָּ֧י/ו | veganezakayv | HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms |
and its treasuries | and his treasure-repositories |