עָנֵר

𐤏𐤍𐤓

Aner

H6063 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain uncertain; possible but unsubstantiated: to be young, youth

Definition

Proper noun, used both for a person and a place. (1) Personal name: Aner, an Amorite chief allied with Abram (Genesis 14:13, 24). (2) Place name: Aner, a Levitical city within the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 6:70 [Hebrew 6:55]). The semantic range is limited to these two referents: a human individual in the patriarchal narrative and a geographic location in tribal territory listings.

Semantic Range

personal name (Amorite ally of Abram), place name (Levitical city in Manasseh's territory)

Root / Etymology

Root etymology uncertain. Strong's suggests possible connection with נַעַר (na'ar, meaning 'youth' or 'young man'), but this is speculative and not linguistically demonstrated. The name עָנֵר does not transparently derive from any securely attested Hebrew root.

Historical & Contextual Notes

As a proper name, עָנֵר first appears as one of Abram's Amorite allies, alongside Mamre and Eshcol. The narrative indicates an Amorite identity, and the name presumably reflects an older, possibly Amorite, tradition rather than a native Israelite naming pattern. The Israelite use of the name for a Levitical city in west Manasseh may indicate the preservation of a pre-Israelite toponym. In English translations, 'Aner' is simply transliterated, and the term has no broader semantic value apart from the two referents. No theological significance should be assigned to the name apart from its narrative context. The name's possible linguistic affinity with the root נַעַר is speculative and not universally accepted among modern scholars.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably for נַעַר; Aner, a Amorite, also a place in Palestine; Aner.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ענר (uncertain) (ʿ-n-r (uncertain)) — uncertain; no securely attested root meaning

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6063-01 עָנֵ֔ר aner HNp Aner Aner 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6063-01 Genesis 14:13 עָנֵ֔ר aner HNp Aner Aner
H6063-01 Genesis 14:24 עָנֵר֙ aner HNp Aner Aner
H6063-01 1 Chronicles 6:55 עָנֵר֙ aner HNp Aner Aner