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Hebrew

Poor

מִסְכֵּןStrong’s H4542

misken (mis-ken)

Appears in 3 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Misken is the Hebrew word usually translated “poor”. It appears in 3 verses of the Old Testament.

“Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.”
Ecclesiastes 4:13 KJV
Meaning
  1. Poor, poor man
How it's translated
  • poor 3
  • the poor 1

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

Where it's used most
  • Ecclesiastes 3

1 book in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
Hebrew dictionary

מִסְכֵּן misken · poor

poor, poor man

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

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

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

POOR, adjective

[Latin pauper.]

  1. Wholly destitute of property, or not having property sufficient for a comfortable subsistence; needy.
  2. In law, so destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
  3. Destitute of strength, beauty or dignity; barren; mean; jejune; as a poor composition; a poor essay; a poor discourse.
  4. Destitute of value, worth or importance; of little use; trifling.
All definitions
  1. Paltry; mean; of little value; as a poor coat; a poor house.
  2. Destitute of fertility; barren; exhausted; as poor land.
  3. Of little worth; unimportant; as in my poor opinion.
  4. Unhappy; pitiable.
  5. Mean; depressed; low; dejected; destitute of spirit.
  6. Lean; emaciated; as a poor horse.
  7. Small, or of a bad quality; as a poor crop; a poor harvest.
  8. Uncomfortable; restless; ill.
  9. Destitute of saving grace. Revelation 3:17
  10. In general, wanting good qualities, or the qualities which render a thing valuable, excellent, proper, or sufficient for its purpose; as a poor pen; a poor ship; a poor carriage; poor fruit; poor bread; poor wine, etc.
  11. A word of tenderness or pity; dear.
  12. A word of slight contempt; wretched.
  13. The poor collectively, used as a noun; those who are destitute of property; the indigent; the needy; in a legal sense, those who depend on charity or maintenance by the public.

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.