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שָׂנֵא

𐤔𐤍𐤀

sânêʼ

H8130 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To hate, feel intense or active dislike or enmity toward a person, group, behavior, or object. Also, to be an enemy or act with animosity. The term can reflect an emotional state, an established attitude, or active hostility. Depending on context, it can indicate interpersonal antagonism, social or political opposition, or divine disapproval.

Semantic Range

to hate emotionally, to despise, to be hostile toward, to maintain an enmity, to reject, to be an enemy, to act as an adversary, to be odious or abhorred, to be hateful; to indicate divine rejection or disapproval

Root / Etymology

Root/etymology: The root שׂנא (שׂ-נ-א) carries the fundamental meaning of 'to hate' or 'to feel hostility.' The verb שָׂנֵא is the qal form from this root and expresses direct hatred or enmity. Its use is attested from the earliest strata of Biblical Hebrew and remains relatively stable semantically throughout the biblical period.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, שָׂנֵא is used to describe both human and divine emotions and stances. On an interpersonal level, it can range from personal animosity between individuals (e.g., Joseph's brothers hating him, Genesis 37:4, 5) to broader social conflicts (e.g., enmity between tribes or nations). The word can also denote divine posture: God is described as hating certain behaviors or persons (e.g., Psalm 5:6; Malachi 2:16), reflecting disapproval or rejection. The verb may denote an enduring attitude (e.g., Proverbs 8:36) or a specific act or moment of enmity (e.g., Deuteronomy 19:11). The noun forms from this root (שֹׂנֵא, 'enemy, adversary') also appear frequently. Compared to other Hebrew words such as אָיַב (H340, 'enemy in legal or military sense'), שָׂנֵא generally conveys an emotional or relational quality rather than just formal opposition. In later periods, the term maintains its negative connotation but enters more abstract moral discourse. English translations usually prefer 'hate,' 'enemy,' or 'foe,' though these may sometimes flatten the range of intensity or kinds of enmity described in Hebrew. In post-biblical Hebrew, the usage broadens, but the core meanings remain anchored in biblical traditions.

Translation Consistency

primary "hate" 39 occurrences

שָׂנֵא primarily expresses active emotional dislike, enmity, or hostile attitude; the natural, common English verb that covers this full semantic range is "hate." It fits emotional hatred, hostile action, and established enmity, and is far more idiomatic than formal alternatives (e.g., "detest," "abhor") or noun forms. Using "hate" ensures consistent, natural rendering across all forms of H8130.

Alternatives (9 occurrences):
"haters" (6x) "haters of" (2x) "hater" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to hate (personally); enemy, foe, (be) hate(-ful, -r), odious, [idiom] utterly.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

שנא (sânêʼ) — to hate, to be at enmity, to show hostility

Root שנא to hate, to be at enmity, to show hostility
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H8131 שְׂנֵא to your haters
H8146 שָׂנִיא to the hated woman

Word Forms

72 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H8130-39 שֹׂנֵ֥א sone HVqrmsa hating the one hating the one hating 15
H8130-18 שָׂנֵ֥אתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hated 14
H8130-44 שֹׂנְאֶ֔י/ךָ soneeykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms haters-your your haters your haters 6
H8130-14 שָׂנֵ֤א sane HVqp3ms hates he hated he hates 5
H8130-40 שֹׂנְאַ֥/י soneay HVqrmpc/Sp1cs those who hate me my haters those who hate me 5
H8130-33 שְׂנוּאָ֔ה senuah HVqsfsa an unloved woman hated woman hated woman 4
H8130-07 לִ/שְׂנֹ֔א liseno HR/Vqc and hated to hate to hate 3
H8130-13 מִ/שֹּׂ֣נְאַ֔/י misoneay HR/Vqrmpc/Sp1cs from my haters from my haters from those who hate me 3
H8130-17 שָׂנֵ֖אתָ saneta HVqp2ms you have hated you hated you hated 3
H8130-42 שֹׂ֣נְאֵי soneey HVqrmpc who hate haters of haters of 3

Occurrences in Scripture

148 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H8130-18 Psalms 119:104 שָׂנֵ֤אתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hate
H8130-18 Psalms 119:113 שָׂנֵ֑אתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hated
H8130-18 Psalms 119:128 שָׂנֵֽאתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hated
H8130-18 Psalms 119:163 שָׂ֭נֵאתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hated
H8130-39 Psalms 120:6 שׂוֹנֵ֥א sone HVqrmsc those who hate the one hating the one hating
H8130-42 Psalms 129:5 שֹׂנְאֵ֥י soneey HVqrmpc who hate haters of haters of
H8130-11 Psalms 139:21 מְשַׂנְאֶ֖י/ךָ mesaneeykha HVprmpc/Sp2ms those hating you your haters your haters
H8130-02 Psalms 139:21 אֶשְׂנָ֑א esena HVqi1cs I hate I hate I hate
H8130-27 Psalms 139:22 שְׂנֵאתִ֑י/ם senetim HVqp1cs/Sp3mp I hate them I have hated them I have hated them
H8130-72 Proverbs 1:22 יִשְׂנְאוּ yiseneu HVqi3mp hate they will hate hate
H8130-19 Proverbs 1:29 שָׂ֣נְאוּ saneu HVqp3cp they hated they hated they hated
H8130-18 Proverbs 5:12 שָׂנֵ֣אתִי saneti HVqp1cs I have hated I hated I hated
H8130-14 Proverbs 6:16 שָׂנֵ֣א sane HVqp3ms hates he hated hates
H8130-32 Proverbs 8:13 שְֽׂנֹ֫את senot HVqc is to hate to hate to hate
H8130-18 Proverbs 8:13 שָׂנֵֽאתִי saneti HVqp1cs I hate I hated I hate
H8130-08 Proverbs 8:36 מְ֝שַׂנְאַ֗/י mesaneay HVprmpc/Sp1cs who hate me my haters my haters
H8130-71 Proverbs 9:8 יִשְׂנָאֶ֑/ךָּ yisenaekha HVqi3ms/Sp2ms he hate you he will hate you he hate you
H8130-65 Proverbs 11:15 וְ/שֹׂנֵ֖א vesone HC/Vqrmsa and-hating and the one who hates and the one who hates
H8130-65 Proverbs 12:1 וְ/שֹׂנֵ֖א vesone HC/Vqrmsa but he who hates and the one who hates and the one who hates
H8130-70 Proverbs 13:5 יִשְׂנָ֣א yisena HVqi3ms hates he will hate he will hate
H8130-39 Proverbs 13:24 שׂוֹנֵ֣א sone HVqrmsa hates the one hating the one hating
H8130-69 Proverbs 14:17 יִשָּׂנֵֽא yisane HVNi3ms is hated he will be hated he will be hated
H8130-69 Proverbs 14:20 יִשָּׂ֣נֵא yisane HVNi3ms is hated he will be hated he will be hated
H8130-39 Proverbs 15:10 שׂוֹנֵ֖א sone HVqrmsa he who hates the one hating the one hating
H8130-65 Proverbs 15:27 וְ/שׂוֹנֵ֖א vesone HC/Vqrmsa but he who hates and the one who hates and the one who hates
H8130-29 Proverbs 19:7 שְֽׂנֵאֻ֗/הוּ seneuhu HVqp3cp/Sp3ms hate him they hated him hate him
H8130-56 Proverbs 25:17 וּ/שְׂנֵאֶֽ/ךָ useneekha HC/Vqp3ms/Sp2ms and hate you and he hated you and he hate you
H8130-38 Proverbs 25:21 שֹׂ֭נַאֲ/ךָ sonaakha HVqrmsc/Sp2ms your enemy the one hating you the one hating you
H8130-39 Proverbs 26:24 שׂוֹנֵ֑א sone HVqrmsa one who hates the one hating the one hating
H8130-70 Proverbs 26:28 יִשְׂנָ֣א yisena HVqi3ms hates he will hate he will hate
H8130-39 Proverbs 27:6 שׂוֹנֵֽא sone HVqrmsa an enemy the one hating the one hating
H8130-36 Proverbs 28:16 שנאי shny HVqrmpc hater haters of haters of
H8130-39 Proverbs 28:16 שֹׂ֥נֵא sone HVqrmsa of the one hating the one hating
H8130-72 Proverbs 29:10 יִשְׂנְאוּ yiseneu HVqi3mp hate they will hate they will hate
H8130-39 Proverbs 29:24 שׂוֹנֵ֣א sone HVqrmsa hates the one hating the one hating
H8130-33 Proverbs 30:23 שְׂ֭נוּאָה senuah HVqsfsa an unloved woman hated woman hated woman
H8130-44 Job 8:22 שֹׂנְאֶ֥י/ךָ soneeykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms your haters your haters your haters
H8130-12 Job 31:29 מְשַׂנְאִ֑/י mesanei HVprmsc/Sp1cs my-enemy my hater my hater
H8130-39 Job 34:17 שׂוֹנֵ֣א sone HVqrmsc who hates the one hating the one hating
H8130-64 Ecclesiastes 2:17 וְ/שָׂנֵ֨אתִי֙ vesaneti HC/Vqp1cs and I hated and I hated
H8130-64 Ecclesiastes 2:18 וְ/שָׂנֵ֤אתִֽי vesaneti HC/Vqp1cs and I hated and I hated
H8130-07 Ecclesiastes 3:8 לִ/שְׂנֹ֔א liseno HR/Vqc to hate to hate
H8130-01 Esther 9:1 בְּ/שֹׂנְאֵי/הֶֽם besoneeyhem HR/Vqrmpc/Sp3mp over-their-haters among their haters over their haters
H8130-68 Esther 9:5 בְ/שֹׂנְאֵי/הֶ֖ם vesoneeyhem HR/Vqrmpc/Sp3mp those who hated them their haters to those who hated them
H8130-01 Esther 9:16 בְּ/שֹׂ֣נְאֵי/הֶ֔ם besoneeyhem HR/Vqrmpc/Sp3mp of-their-haters among their haters in their haters
H8130-44 2 Chronicles 1:11 שֹׂנְאֶ֔י/ךָ soneeykha HVqrmpc/Sp2ms of your enemies your haters your haters
H8130-26 2 Chronicles 18:7 שְׂנֵאתִ֗י/הוּ senetihu HVqp1cs/Sp3ms hate him I hated him I hate him
H8130-49 2 Chronicles 19:2 וּ/לְ/שֹׂנְאֵ֥י ulesoneey HC/R/Vqrmpc and those hating and to the haters of and to those who hate
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