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מְנֵא

𐤌𐤍𐤀

mᵉnêʼ

H4484 noun

SILEX Entry

Root מנא to count, assign, reckon

Definition

Mene; counted, numbered, assigned a value or measure, especially in an official or judicial context. As used in the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible, it primarily denotes something that has been given a determinable count or value, often with an implication of finality or judgment.

Semantic Range

counted, numbered, given a measure, assessed (especially by decree), assigned a quantitative value

Root / Etymology

From the Aramaic root מנא, 'to count, assign, reckon.' מְנֵא is the passive participle form, meaning 'counted' or 'numbered.' The verb form is cognate with the Hebrew מנָה (manah), sharing the meaning 'to count, assign, appoint.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term appears exclusively in the Aramaic section of Daniel (Daniel 5:25–28), as part of the phrase מְנֵא מְנֵא תְקֵל וּפַרְסִין (Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin), inscribed in mysterious writing on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. Here, מְנֵא is interpreted as 'numbered,' signaling that the days of Belshazzar's reign have been counted and brought to an end. The word does not occur in Hebrew but in Aramaic, reflecting the official use of Aramaic as a lingua franca in the Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods. English translations often render it as 'numbered,' but may also transliterate it in narrative contexts due to the uniqueness of the phrase. Later tradition associated the term with divine judgment and fate, but in its original context it is a technical term denoting having been given a definite count or measure, particularly in the context of God's decree against a ruler. Unlike the Hebrew equivalent מנָה, which appears in broader contexts (assigning, counting, appointing), מְנֵא is contextually specific to the Daniel narrative and its imagery of assessment and reckoning.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

xlit menêʼ corrected to mᵉnêʼ; (Aramaic) passive participle of מְנָא; numbered; Mene.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מנא (m-n-ʾ) — to count, assign, reckon

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4483 מְנָא he appointed

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4484-01 מְנֵ֥א mene ANxxxa MENE counted 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4484-01 Daniel 5:25 מְנֵ֥א mene ANxxxa MENE counted
H4484-01 Daniel 5:25 מְנֵ֖א mene-2 ANxxxa MENE counted
H4484-01 Daniel 5:26 מְנֵ֕א mene ANxxxa Mene counted
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