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מִסְכֵּן

𐤌𐤎𐤊𐤍

miçkên

H4542 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root סכן to be dependent, to be in need, to dwell (in secondary senses)

Definition

A person in a state of poverty or destitution; in biblical usage, one who is materially needy, impoverished, or lacking essential resources; occasionally employed abstractly for extreme vulnerability or neediness.

Semantic Range

poor man, person in poverty, the needy, materially deprived individual; sometimes one in a subordinate or vulnerable social position

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root סכן (s-k-n), which in its primary verbal forms means 'to be dependent, to be in need, to be humble'. The noun form מִסְכֵּן conveys a person who is in a position of dependency or poverty. Note that this is distinct from the root סכל (s-k-l, 'to be foolish'), referenced in Strong's, but modern scholarship affirms connection to סכן, not סכל.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, מִסְכֵּן appears infrequently, notably in Ecclesiastes 4:13 and 9:15-16, denoting a poor man in contrast with a king or powerful figure. The term primarily emphasizes material or social deprivation rather than moral judgment or spiritual status. In post-biblical Hebrew, related forms retain similar meanings. מִסְכֵּן is distinct from אֶבְיוֹן ('destitute, beggar') or עָנִי ('afflicted, humble'), though sometimes overlapping in function. Later Judean and Rabbinic usage broadened its sense toward 'unfortunate' more generally. Caution must be taken not to import interpretive nuances from later religious or moralistic readings when encountering this term in its biblical context.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from סִכְלוּת; indigent; poor (man).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

סכן (s-k-n) — to be dependent, to be in need, to dwell (secondary)

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4544 מִסְכֵּנֻת in poverty
H5532 סָכַן to cause to be accustomed
H5533 סָכַן the trained one

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4542-02 מִסְכֵּ֖ן miseken HAamsa poor dependent poor man 2
H4542-01 הַ/מִּסְכֵּ֖ן hamiseken HTd/Aamsa of the poor man the dependent poor man 2

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4542-02 Ecclesiastes 4:13 מִסְכֵּ֖ן miseken HAamsa dependent poor man
H4542-02 Ecclesiastes 9:15 מִסְכֵּן֙ miseken HAamsa poor dependent poor man
H4542-01 Ecclesiastes 9:15 הַ/מִּסְכֵּ֖ן hamiseken HTd/Aamsa the-poor the dependent poor man
H4542-01 Ecclesiastes 9:16 הַ/מִּסְכֵּן֙ hamiseken HTd/Aamsa of the poor man the dependent poor man
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