מִסְכֵּנֻת
𐤌𐤎𐤊𐤍𐤕
miçkênuth
H4544 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
State or condition of poverty, lack, or being in want; the experience or existence of meagerness or deficiency, particularly in the context of resources, material possessions, or sustenance. The term denotes an objective condition of limited means or scarcity rather than an abstract spiritual sense.
Semantic Range
state of poverty, indigence, scarceness, lack, want, material deficiency
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root סכן (ס־כ־ן), which bears the core meaning 'to be poor, to be in need, to be dependent, to be of low status.' The nominal pattern here (misqenuth) forms an abstract noun indicating the state or condition resulting from the root action—thus 'state of poverty' or 'indigence.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, מִסְכֵּנֻת is a rare term, found for example in Ecclesiastes 4:13, where it describes the 'poverty' of a young man contrasted with a 'king who no longer heeds counsel.' The term highlights an objective status of economic scarcity or marginalization. Unlike other Hebrew words for poverty (e.g., עֳנִי (oni), רֵאשׁ (resh)), מִסְכֵּנֻת emphasizes the condition of having little rather than the experience of oppression or humiliation associated with some other terms. Over time, the root group (סכן, סכן) and related words remained part of the developing rabbinic lexicon for describing material need, though the particular form מִסְכֵּנֻת is not common in post-biblical literature. The term is not used to denote religious humility but is focused on material conditions; standard English renderings such as 'poverty' or 'indigence' adequately capture most nuances, though 'scarceness' is somewhat archaic. The word is not used as a moral category nor does it signify a spiritualized lack, as is sometimes implied in the later rabbinic usage of related terms.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from מִסְכֵּן; indigence; scarceness.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
סכן (s-k-n) — to be poor, to be in need, to be dependent, to be of low status
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4542 | מִסְכֵּן | the dependent poor man |
| H5532 | סָכַן | to cause to be accustomed |
| H5533 | סָכַן | the trained one |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4544-01 |
בְ/מִסְכֵּנֻת֙ | vemisekenut | HR/Ncfsa |
scarcity | in poverty | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4544-01 |
Deuteronomy 8:9 | בְ/מִסְכֵּנֻת֙ | vemisekenut | HR/Ncfsa |
scarcity | in poverty |