Study
Word study

Word study

Hebrew

To turn

פָּנָהStrong’s H6437

panah (pa-nah)

Appears in 128 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Panah is the Hebrew word usually translated “turned”, “turn” and “turning”. It appears in 128 verses of the Old Testament.

“And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.”
Genesis 18:22 KJV
Meaning
  1. To turn(Qal) · (Piel) to turn away, put out of the way, make clear, clear away · (Hiphil) · (Hophal) to be turned back
How it's translated
  • and he turned 15
  • and they turned 12
  • turn 12
  • turning 11
  • which faces 7
  • to turning of 5
  • you turn 5
  • and i turned 4

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

Where it's used most
  • Deuteronomy 16
  • Ezekiel 14
  • Jeremiah 10
  • Judges 9
  • Psalms 9
  • Isaiah 8

25 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 128 verses, by book
2 Samuel 3
1:72:209:8
Proverbs 1
17:8
Ecclesiastes 2
2:112:12
Song of Solomon 1
6:1
Hosea 1
3:1
Nahum 1
2:8
Zephaniah 1
3:15
Haggai 1
1:9
Malachi 2
2:133:1
Hebrew dictionary

פָּנָה panah · to turn

1) to turn 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to turn toward or from or away 1a2) to turn and do 1a3) to turn, decline (of day) 1a4) to turn toward, approach (of evening) 1a5) to turn and look, look, look back or at or after or for 1b) (Piel) to turn away, put out of the way, make clear, clear away 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to turn 1c2) to make a turn, show signs of turning, turn back 1d) (Hophal) to be turned back

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

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

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

TURN, verb transitive

[Latin turnus; torniare, to turn; tornare, to return; torneare, tornire, to turn to fence round, to tilt; torniamento, tournament.]

  1. To cause to move in a circular course; as, to turn a wheel; to turn a spindle; to turn the body.
  2. To change or shift sides; to put the upper side downwards, or one side in the place of the other.
  3. To alter, as a position.
  4. To cause to preponderate; to change the state of a balance; as, to turn the scale.
All definitions and other forms of “turn”
  1. To bring the inside out; as, to turn a coat.
  2. To alter, as the posture of the body, or direction of the look.
  3. To form on a lathe; to make round.
  4. To form; to shape; used in the participle; as a body finely turned.
  5. To change; to transform; as, to turn evil to good; to turn goods into money.“I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” 2 Samuel 15:31
  6. To metamorphose; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect.
  7. To alter or change, as color; as, to turn green to blue.
  8. To change or alter in any manner; to vary.
  9. To translate; as, to turn Greek into English.
  10. To change, as the manner of writing; as, to turn prose into verse.
  11. To change, as from one opinion or party to another; as, to turn one from a tory to whig; to turn Mohammedan or a pagan to a Christian.
  12. To change in regard to inclination or temper.“TURN thee to me, and have mercy upon me” Psalms 25:16
  13. To change or alter from one purpose or effect to another.
  14. To transfer.“Therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom to David” 1 Chronicles 10:14
  15. To cause to nauseate or lothe; as, to turn the stomach.
  16. To make giddy.
  17. To infatuate; to make mad, wild or enthusiastic; as, to turn the brain.
  18. To change direction to or from any point; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn the eyes from a disgusting spectacle.
  19. To direct by a change to a certain purpose or object; to direct, as the inclination, thoughts or mind.
  20. To revolve; to agitate in the mind.
  21. To bend from a perpendicular direction; as, to turn the edge of an instrument.
  22. To move from a direct course or strait line; to cause to deviate; as, to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course.
  23. To apply by a change of use.
  24. To reverse.“The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee” Deuteronomy 30:3
  25. To keep passing and changing in the course of trade; as, to turn money or stock two or three times in the year.
  26. To adapt the mind; chiefly in the participle.
  27. To make acid; to sour; as, to turn cider or wine; to turn milk.
  28. To persuade to renounce an opinion; to dissuade from a purpose, or cause to change sides.
  29. To avert; as, to turn away wrath or evil.
  30. To give over; to resign.
  31. To divert; to deflect; as, to turn off the thoughts from serious subjects.
  32. To put to pasture; as cattle or horses.
  33. To transfer; as, to turn over a business to another hand.
  34. To open and examine one leaf after another; as, to turn over a concordance.
  35. To overset.

TURN, verb intransitive

To move round; to have a circular motion; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.

  1. To be directed.
  2. To show regard by directing the look towards any thing.
  3. To move the body round.
  4. To move; to change posture.
  5. To deviate; as, to turn from the road or course.
  6. To alter; to be changed or transformed; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another.
  7. To become by change; as, the fur of certain animals turns in winter.
  8. To change sides.
  9. To change opinions or parties; as, to turn Christian or Mohammedan.
  10. To change the mind or conduct.“TURN from thy fierce wrath” Exodus 32:12
  11. To change to acid; as, mild turns suddenly during a thunder storm.
  12. To be brought eventually; to result or terminate in.
  13. To depend on for decision.
  14. To become giddy.
  15. To change a course of life; to repent.“TURN ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?” Ezekiel 33:11
  16. To change the course or direction; as, the tide turns.
  17. To depart from; to forsake.turn in, to bend inwards.
  18. To enter for lodgings or entertainment. Genesis 19:2
  19. To go to bed.
  20. To depend on.
  21. To bend outwards; to project.
  22. To rise from bed; also, to come abroad.
  23. To change sides or parties.

TURN, noun

The act of turning; movement or motion in a circular direction, whether horizontally, vertically or otherwise; a revolution; as the turn of a wheel.

  1. A winding; a meandering course; a bend or bending; as the turn of river.
  2. A walk to and from.
  3. Change; alteration; vicissitude; as the turns and varieties of passions.
  4. Successive course.
  5. Manner of proceeding; change of direction.
  6. Chance; hap; opportunity.
  7. Occasion; incidental opportunity.
  8. Time at which, by successive vicissitudes, any thing is to be had or done.
  9. Action of kindness or malice.
  10. Reigning inclination or course.
  11. A step off the ladder at the gallows.
  12. Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn
  13. Form; cast; shape; manner; in a literal or figurative sense; as the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.
  14. Manner of arranging words in a sentence.
  15. Change; new position of things.
  16. Change of direction; as the turn of the tide from flood to ebb.
  17. One round of a rope or cord.
  18. In mining, a pit sunk in some part of a drift.
  19. turn or tourn, in law.
  20. At intervals.

TURN'-BENCH, noun

[turn and bench.]

A kind of iron lathe.

    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.