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Hebrew

To minister

כָּהַןStrong’s H3547

kahan (ka-han)

Appears in 23 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Kahan is the Hebrew word usually translated “serve as priests”, “serve as priest he” and “served as priest”. It appears in 23 verses of the Old Testament.

“And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.”
Exodus 28:1 KJV
Meaning
  1. To act as a priest, minister in a priest's office(Piel)
How it's translated
  • to serve as priests 9
  • to serve as priest he 3
  • and they will serve as priests 2
  • and he served as priest 2
  • and he will serve as a priest 1
  • to serve as priest 1
  • he served as a priest 1
  • and they served as priests 1

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

Where it's used most
  • Exodus 12
  • Leviticus 2
  • Numbers 2
  • 1 Chronicles 2
  • Deuteronomy 1
  • 2 Chronicles 1

9 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 23 verses, by book
Leviticus 2
7:3516:32
Numbers 2
3:33:4
Deuteronomy 1
10:6
1 Chronicles 2
6:1024:2
2 Chronicles 1
11:14
Isaiah 1
61:10
Ezekiel 1
44:13
Hosea 1
4:6
Hebrew dictionary

כָּהַן kahan · to minister

1) to act as a priest, minister in a priest's office 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to minister as a priest, serve as a priest 1a2) to be or become a priest 1a3) to play the priest

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

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

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

MIN'ISTER, noun

[Latin]

  1. Properly, a chief servant; hence, an agent appointed to transact or manage business under the authority of another; in which sense, it is a word of very extensive application.“Moses rose up and his minister Joshua” Exodus 24:13
  2. One to whom a king or prince entrusts the direction of affairs of state; as minister of state; the prime minister In modern governments, the secretaries or heads of the several departments or branches of government are the ministers of the chief magistrate.
  3. A magistrate; an executive officer.“For he is the minister of God to thee for good” Romans 13:4
  4. A delegate; an embassador; the representative of a sovereign at a foreign court; usually such as is resident at a foreign court, but not restricted to such.
All definitions and other forms of “minister”
  1. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church, duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. Ephesians 3:7
  2. Christ is called a minister of the sanctuary. Hebrews 8:2
  3. An angel; a messenger of God.“Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire” Psalms 104:4

MIN'ISTER, verb transitive

[Latin ministro.]

To give; to afford; to supply.

  1. “He that ministereth seed to the sower--” 2 Corinthians 9:10“That it may minister grace to the hearers” Ephesians 4:29

MIN'ISTER, verb intransitive

To attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.

  1. “I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office” Exodus 29:44
  2. To afford supplies; to give things needful; to supply the means of relief; to relieve.“When saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” Matthew 25:44
  3. To give medicines.

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.