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הֵנַע

𐤄𐤍𐤏

Hena

H2012 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain uncertain; possibly designates place, locality (in foreign usage)

Definition

A proper noun designating a city or location identified as Hena, referenced in accounts concerning Assyrian military campaigns. The term refers specifically to a place rather than to a people or ethnonym. It is used exclusively as a toponym within the Hebrew Bible, denoting a Mesopotamian city subject to conquest or destruction.

Semantic Range

proper name of a city in Mesopotamia; toponym referring to a specific location; foreign place name referenced in historical narrative

Root / Etymology

The etymology is uncertain. The form הֵנַע (Hênaʻ) does not correspond to a clear Hebrew root, and its structure and pronunciation suggest a loanword, likely of Akkadian or Aramaic origin. No reliable connection to recognizable Hebrew roots can be established.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Hena appears only in 2 Kings 18:34; 19:13, and Isaiah 37:13, in the context of the Assyrian king Sennacherib's boast regarding cities conquered or rendered powerless by Assyria, often listed together with places such as Avva, Sepharvaim, and Ivvah. Its foreign origin is supported by both the grammar of the term and its contextual association with non-Israelite, Mesopotamian settings. The precise location of Hena remains debated among scholars; it is frequently proposed to be south of Babylon, possibly in the region of modern Iraq, though archaeological identification is lacking. English translations preserve the name phonetically as 'Hena.' The word does not undergo semantic development in the Hebrew Bible due to its exclusive, fixed usage as a foreign place name. In later translations and traditions, the association of the term with 'Jewish' or Israelite identity does not occur, as it is always applied to a foreign city in ancient texts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably of foreign derivation; Hena, a place apparently in Mesopotamia; Hena.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

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Root Family

uncertain (uncertain) — foreign place name, locality, city designation

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1085 בִּלְדַּד Bildad
H1095 בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר Belteshatsar
H1114 בִּלְשָׁן Bilshan
H1150 בִּנְעָא Bin'a
H116 אֱדַיִן and then

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2012-01 הֵנַ֣ע hena HNp Hena Hena 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2012-01 2 Kings 18:34 הֵנַ֣ע hena HNp Hena Hena
H2012-01 2 Kings 19:13 הֵנַ֖ע hena HNp Hena Hena
H2012-01 Isaiah 37:13 הֵנַ֖ע hena HNp Hena Hena
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