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Hebrew

Because

יַעַןStrong’s H3282

yaan (ya-an)

Appears in 94 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Yaan is the Hebrew word usually translated “because”, “because of” and “cause”. It appears in 94 verses of the Old Testament.

“And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:”
Genesis 22:16 KJV
Meaning
  1. Because, therefore, because that, on account of
  2. Because of, on account of
  3. Why (with interrogative pron)
How it's translated
  • because 93
  • because of 3
  • and by cause 2
  • by cause 1

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Ezekiel 37
  • 1 Kings 14
  • Jeremiah 11
  • Isaiah 9
  • 2 Kings 6
  • 2 Chronicles 3

18 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 94 verses, by book
Genesis 1
22:16
Leviticus 1
26:43
Numbers 2
11:2020:12
Deuteronomy 1
1:36
Joshua 1
14:14
Judges 1
2:20
1 Samuel 2
15:2330:22
2 Chronicles 3
1:116:834:27
Psalms 1
109:16
Proverbs 1
1:24
Hosea 1
8:1
Amos 1
5:11
Haggai 1
1:9
Hebrew dictionary

יַעַן yaan · because

conj 1) because, therefore, because that, on account of prep 2) because of, on account of 3) why (with interrogative pron)

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “cause” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

CAUSE, noun

s as z.

  1. A suit or action in court; any legal process which a party institutes to obtain his demand, or by which he seeks his right or his supposed right.“The cause of both parties shall come before the judges” Exodus 22:9
  2. That which produces an effect; that which impels into existence, or by its agency or operation produces what did not before exist; that by virtue of which any thing is done; that from which any thing proceeds, and without which it would not exist.
  3. The reason or motive that urges, moves, or impels the mind to act or decide.“For this cause have I raised up Pharaoh” Exodus 9:16“And David said, is there not a cause?” 1 Samuel 17:29
  4. Sake; account.“I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong. [See Sake.]” 2 Corinthians 7:12
All definitions and other forms of “cause”
  1. That which a party or nation pursues; or rather pursuit, prosecution of an object.
  2. Without cause without good reason; without a reason or motive to justify the act.“They hate me without cause” Psalms 69:4

CAUSE, verb transitive

  1. To produce; to bring into existence.“They caused great joy to all the brethren” Acts 15:3
  2. To effect by agency, power or influence.“I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days” Genesis 7:4“I will cause him to fall by the sword” 2 Kings 19:7

CAUSE, verb intransitive

To assign insufficient cause

    Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

    Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.