H8505 H8505
To measure, weigh, assess; in Nifal, to be found right or just; in Piel, to mete out or establish firmly.
Takan is the Hebrew Bible's word for cosmic measurement and moral assessment rolled into one. At the physical level, God 'measured' the waters in the hollow of his hand and 'marked off' the heavens with a span (Isa 40:12-13). At the moral level, the same root declares whether a person's way 'is right' — Ezekiel's recurring challenge to Israel: 'Is my way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?' (Ezek 18:25). The conceptual bridge is illuminating: the God who can measure wind and water is the same God who weighs hearts and spirits (Prov 16:2). Spanish captures this duality with medir ('to measure') for the physical and recto ('straight, right') for the moral, while German recht sein ('to be right') and English 'weigh' each illuminate one facet of the word's deep integration of physical and ethical standards.
Senses
1. to be right, be assessed as just — Nifal: to be right, just, or properly assessed — the most frequent sense at ten occurrences, concentrated in Ezekiel 18 and 33. The repeated refrain 'the way of the Lord is not right' (lo yittaken, Ezek 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20) uses the passive to mean 'measured against a standard and found to meet it.' In 1 Samuel 2:3, Hannah declares that 'by him actions are weighed' — the same standard-based judgment. Spanish es recto and German recht sein both select moral-rightness vocabulary, confirming that the underlying metaphor of measurement has been fully lexicalized into ethical evaluation. 10×
AR["تَسْتَقِيمُ","تُوزَنُ","يَسْتَقِيمُ"]·ben["ঠিক","ঠিক?","ঠিক?।","পরিমিত","সম্ভব","সম্ভব।"]·DE["recht-sein","sind-weighed","wird-recht-sein"]·EN["are-right","are-weighed","is-right"]·FR["mesurer","sont-pesa"]·heb["ייתכן","יתכן","יתכנו","נתכנו"]·HI["ठीक","ठीक-हैं","तौले-गए","राह","समान","हे-पुत्र"]·ID["adil","adil.","ditimbang"]·IT["pesare","sono-pesò"]·jav["dipuntimbang","leres"]·KO["공평하다","공평하지","공평한","달아진다"]·PT["são-justos","são-pesadas","é-justo","é-reto"]·RU["взвешены","прав","правилен","справедлив","справедливы","справедливы-ли"]·ES["es-recto","es-recto.","es-recto?","son-pesadas","son-rectos","son-rectos?"]·SW["nyooka","sawa","yanapimwa"]·TR["doğru","düzgün","tartıldı"]·urd["تولے-جاتے-ہیں","ٹھیک","ٹھیک-ہے"]
2. to weigh, assess — Qal participle: to weigh or assess hearts and spirits — three occurrences in Proverbs (16:2; 21:2; 24:12) where God is the subject who 'weighs' the inner motivations of human beings. Spanish pesar ('to weigh') and English 'weigh' both preserve the concrete measurement metaphor applied to invisible moral realities. This is the active counterpart to sense 1's passive: God does the weighing, and human ways are found right or wanting as a result. 3×
AR["الَّذِي-يَزِنُ","وَ-وازِنُ","وَ-يَزِنُ"]·ben["কিন্তু-পরীক্ষা-করেন","যিনি-পরীক্ষা-করেন"]·DE["[ותכן]","[תכן]"]·EN["but-weighs","he-who-weighs"]·FR["et-ותכן","תכן"]·heb["ו-תוכן","תוכן"]·HI["और-तोलता-है","जांचनेवाला","परंतु-जांचनेवाला"]·ID["tetapi-menimbang","yang-menimbang"]·IT["e-ma-weighs","egli-chi-weighs"]·jav["kang-nimbangi","lan-nimbang","nanging-kang-nimbangi"]·KO["그러나-달아보시느니라","그러나-달아보시는니라","달아보시는-분이-"]·PT["e-examina","pesador-de"]·RU["а-взвешивающий","испытывающий","но-испытывает"]·ES["el-que-pesa","pero-pesa","y-el-que-pesa"]·SW["anayepima","lakini-anapima","lakini-hupima"]·TR["fakat-tartan","tartan"]·urd["اور-تولنے-والا","تولنے-والا"]
3. to measure, mete out — Piel: to measure or mete out physical quantities — three occurrences (Job 28:25; Isa 40:12, 13) where God measures waters, wind, and the heavens themselves. This is the root's most concrete sense, closest to its etymological core of standardized measurement. Spanish medir and the creation-theology context make clear that this is cosmic calibration: God as the master measurer who sets the dimensions of reality. The Piel intensitive suits the emphasis on thoroughness and precision. 3×
AR["أَدْرَكَ","قَاسَ","وَزَنَ"]·ben["তিনি-মাপেন","পরিমাপ-করেছে"]·DE["[תכן]"]·EN["He-measured","has-measured","marked-off"]·FR["[תכן]","תכן"]·heb["תיכן"]·HI["नापा","मापा","वह-निर्धारित-करता-है"]·ID["Dia-mengukur","mengukur","yang-mengukur"]·IT["He-measured","[תכן]"]·jav["Panjenengan-ipun-nemtokaken","sampun-ngukur"]·KO["정하셨다","측량하였느뇨","측량하였으며"]·PT["mediu","regulou"]·RU["определил","установил"]·ES["dispuso","midió","midió?"]·SW["alipima","amepima"]·TR["belirlemis","yonlendirdi","ölçtü"]·urd["ناپا","ناپی"]
4. weighed out (passive) — Pual passive: weighed out (of money) — a single occurrence at 2 Kings 12:11, where silver 'that was weighed out' is given to the temple workmen. Spanish el pesado and English 'the weighed' confirm a commercial-transactional sense: currency verified by weight before payment. This preserves the literal measurement meaning but in the mundane context of temple accounting rather than cosmic or moral assessment. 1×
AR["ٱلْمَوْزُونَةَ"]·ben["ওজন-করা"]·DE["der-weighed"]·EN["the-weighed"]·FR["le-pesa"]·heb["ה-מתוכן"]·HI["हम्मतुक्कान"]·ID["-yang-ditimbang"]·IT["il-pesò"]·jav["ingkang-dipun-timbang"]·KO["달아진"]·PT["a-pesada"]·RU["отмеренное"]·ES["el-pesado"]·SW["iliyopimwa"]·TR["tartılan-o"]·urd["تولی-گئی"]
5. to establish, set firm — Piel: to establish firmly or set in order — one occurrence at Psalm 75:3 ('I have set firm its pillars'), where the meaning extends beyond measurement into the related concept of stabilizing or calibrating. Spanish he sostenido ('I have sustained') captures the resultant state rather than the process. The semantic development from 'measure precisely' to 'set in proper order' is natural: what is correctly measured is thereby made stable and right. 1×
AR["ثَبَّتُ"]·ben["স্থির-করেছি"]·DE["haben-setzen-firm"]·EN["have-set-firm"]·FR["peser"]·heb["תיכנתי"]·HI["तिक्कन्ती"]·ID["menegakkan"]·IT["[תכנתי]"]·jav["kawula-sampun-netepaken"]·KO["세웠나이다"]·PT["firmei"]·RU["утвердил"]·ES["he-sostenido"]·SW["nimeweka-imara"]·TR["sağlamlaştırdım"]·urd["مضبوط-کرتا-ہوں"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0776 1. land, country, territory (2323×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [תָּכַן] vb. regulate, measure, estimate (cf. Aramaic Pa. תַּכֵּן (rare) prepare (= הֵכִין, כּוֹנֵן); according to RySyn. d. Wahren u. Guten 33 a secondary √ from כון);— Qal Pt. estimate, fig.: וְתֹכֵן רוּחוֹת י׳ Pr 16:2, so (לִבּוֹת) 21:2; 24:12. Niph. 1. Pf. 3 pl. נִתְכְּנוּ עֲלִלוֹת [לוֹ] וְלֹא 1 S 2:3 by him (י׳) are actions estimated. 2. Impf., be adjusted to the standard, i.e. right,…