Biblical Lexicon

H2580 H2580

Art | N-ms | 69× in 2 senses

Favor or goodwill, especially in the phrase 'find favor in one's eyes'; also grace, charm, or elegance as an attractive quality.

A Hebrew noun at the heart of one of Scripture's most recurring phrases: 'to find chen in someone's eyes.' In its dominant usage, chen denotes the favorable disposition a superior extends to a subordinate — the unmerited goodwill that Noah found before God (Gen 6:8), or that Joseph received from Potiphar (Gen 39:4). In wisdom literature, however, chen shifts toward an aesthetic and personal quality: the charm of a gracious woman (Prov 11:16), the elegance of a garland around the neck (Prov 1:9), or the grace poured upon lips (Ps 45:3). Spanish 'gracia' and French 'grace' capture both dimensions, while German distinguishes 'Gnade' (divine favor) more sharply.

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Senses

1. favor, goodwill — Favor or goodwill extended by a superior, overwhelmingly in the idiom matsa chen be-ene ('find favor in the eyes of'). This relational sense dominates the Torah narratives — Noah before God (Gen 6:8), Moses before Pharaoh (Exod 33:12-13), Ruth before Boaz (Ruth 2:2, 10, 13). The multilingual glosses converge uniformly: English 'favor,' Spanish 'gracia,' French 'grâce,' German 'Gnade' — all pointing to unmerited acceptance rather than inherent attractiveness. 61×

MORAL_QUALITY › Moral and Ethical Qualities › Moral Goodness

AR["حِظْوَةً", "نِعمَةً", "نِعْمَةً", "نِعْمَةَ"]·ben["অনুগ্রহ"]·DE["Gnade", "Gunst"]·EN["favor"]·FR["grâce"]·heb["חן"]·HI["अनुग्रह", "कृपा", "क्रिप"]·ID["kasih karunia", "kasih-karunia", "perkenanan"]·IT["favore"]·jav["sih", "sih-palimirma", "sih-rahmat"]·KO["은혜", "은혜를"]·PT["favor", "graça", "graça-de"]·RU["благоволение", "милость"]·ES["gracia", "gracia-de-"]·SW["fahari", "kibali", "neema", "upendeleo", "yako"]·TR["lütfu", "lütuf"]·urd["عنایت", "فضل", "مہربانی"]

Gen 6:8, Gen 18:3, Gen 19:19, Gen 30:27, Gen 32:5, Gen 33:8, Gen 33:10, Gen 33:15, Gen 34:11, Gen 39:4, Gen 47:25, Gen 47:29 (+38 more)

2. grace, charm, elegance — Grace, charm, or elegance as an inherent quality adorning a person, speech, or object. Concentrated in Proverbs and poetic texts: the 'gracious woman' of Prov 11:16, the doe of Prov 5:19 described with chen, words of chen from a wise mouth (Eccl 10:12), and ornamental chen like a garland (Prov 1:9; 4:9). Some translations distinguish this from relational favor — Spanish 'la gracia' with the article, French 'le grâce' — hinting at a quality possessed rather than received. 8×

MORAL_QUALITY › Moral and Ethical Qualities › Moral Goodness

AR["الحُسْنُ", "النِّعْمَةِ", "الْحُسْنِ", "رِقَّةٍ", "نِعْمَةٍ"]·ben["-এর-অনুগ্রহ", "-চমক", "অনুগ্রহ", "অনুগ্রহের"]·DE["Gnade"]·EN["deer", "favor", "grace", "the-charm"]·FR["grâce", "le-grâce"]·heb["ה-חן", "חן"]·HI["अनुग्रह-का", "अनुग्रह-की", "अनुग्रह-वाली", "लावण्य"]·ID["anggun", "anugerah", "dan-penuh-pesona,", "kasih-karunia", "keanggunan", "kemolekan"]·IT["grazia", "il-grazia"]·jav["ing-kridha", "kang-éndah", "sih-rahmat", "éndah"]·KO["매력-의", "매력이", "은혜", "은혜-의", "은혜의"]·PT["a-graça", "graça"]·RU["благодати", "благодати,", "видом", "милосердия", "милости", "прелестная,", "прелесть"]·ES["de-gracia", "gracia", "la-gracia"]·SW["-sura", "la-neema", "mwenye-neema", "neema", "uzuri"]·TR["cazibe", "lütfun", "zarafet", "zarafetin", "çekici", "çekicilikte"]·urd["حسن", "حسن-کا", "حُسن-کا", "رحمدل-کی", "فضل-والی", "فضل-کا", "فضل-کی"]

Prov 1:9, Prov 4:9, Prov 5:19, Prov 11:16, Prov 17:8, Prov 31:30, Nah 3:4, Zech 12:10

BDB / Lexicon Reference

† I. חֵן n.m. ψ 45:3 favour, grace;—ח׳ Gn 6:8 + 67 times; sf. חִנּוֹ Gn 39:21;— 1. favour, grace, elegance: a. of form and appearance, of a woman ‖ יֹ֑פִי Pr 31:30; אֵשֶׁת חֵן Pr 11:16; זונה טובת חן Na 3:4; of a doe Pr 5:19; precious stone אבן חן Pr 17:8; of ornaments Pr 1:9 = 4:9, 3:22. b. of speech, lips ψ 45:3 Pr 22:11; words Ec 10:12. 2. favour, acceptance: a. with men Pr 13:15; 22:1; Ec…