מַעֲנֶה
ma.a.neh
answer
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Ma'aneh: The Hebrew Word for "Answer" The Hebrew word *ma'aneh* (מַעֲנֶה) is a noun meaning "answer" that appears seven times in the biblical text. As a relatively uncommon term in the Hebrew Bible, its limited frequency suggests it carried specific rhetorical weight when used by biblical authors. The word functions straightforwardly as a response to a question or statement, serving a fundamental communicative purpose in dialogue and discourse. Given its sparse occurrence across the biblical corpus, *ma'aneh* likely represents one of several Hebrew terms available for expressing the concept of answering or responding. While the data provided does not specify the particular contexts in which it appears, the modest number of attestations (only seven) indicates that biblical writers had other options at their disposal—suggesting this particular word may have been chosen for stylistic variation or to convey subtle distinctions in meaning that the available lexical data does not detail. Understanding its precise nuances would require examination of each individual passage where it occurs.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences across the text
Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Job 32:5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:23Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time!
Proverbs 16:1The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
Proverbs 16:4Yahweh has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Micah 3:7The seers shall be disappointed, and the diviners confounded. Yes, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God.”