זוּן
𐤆𐤅𐤍
zûwn
H2109 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To provide sustained food or nourishment; the act of supplying provisions. Used transitively to denote providing what is required for life, including but not limited to feeding with food. Rare or poetically used, the term's semantic range can overlap with the acts of sustaining, supporting, or maintaining, especially with regard to necessities for survival.
Semantic Range
to provide food, to give sustenance, to supply with necessities, to nourish, to feed, to sustain
Root / Etymology
Root זוּן (z-w-n). The basic root meaning is 'to provide or supply,' especially with food or provisions. Though some lexicons speculate a primary sense of 'to be plump' (suggesting well-fed), the direct lexical usage is associated with the act of giving sustenance rather than a state of being. Cognates appear in other Semitic languages with related meanings tied to 'provision, sustenance, food.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
זוּן is a rare root in the Hebrew Bible, appearing primarily in later or poetic Hebrew. It was largely replaced in common biblical narrative by terms such as כלכל (kalkal, 'to sustain') or רעה (ra‘ah, 'to pasture, tend'). The nuance of זוּן typically emphasizes regular, ongoing provision as opposed to isolated acts of feeding. In post-biblical Hebrew (e.g., Rabbinic or liturgical), זוּן becomes central in expressions praising the divine as provider of food for all creatures. English translations such as 'feed' or 'nourish' partly capture the meaning but sometimes miss the sense of ongoing, sustaining provision inherent in the Hebrew term.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; perhaps properly, to be plump, i.e. (transitively) to nourish; feed.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
זון (z-w-n) — provide, supply, sustain, nourish
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2110 | זוּן | he will sustain himself |
| H2126 | זִינָא | Nourished-one |
| H2177 | זַן | kind |
| H4202 | מָזוֹן | the sustenance |
| H4203 | מָזוֹן | and food-provision |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2109-01 |
מְיֻזָּנִ֖ים | meyuzanim | HVPsmpa |
lusty | sustained ones | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2109-01 |
Jeremiah 5:8 | מְיֻזָּנִ֖ים | meyuzanim | HVPsmpa |
lusty | sustained ones |