Word Study for H7015 (קִינָה)

qîynâh /kee-naw'/ Ask about this word

Meaninga dirge (as accompanied by beating the breasts or on instruments)

KJV usagelamentation.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of qîynâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word qîynâh, represented by H7015, is a term for a dirge or lamentation. It appears 18 times across 16 unique verses in the Bible. Derived from the root H6969 qûwn, which means to chant or wail, H7015 signifies a formal, often poetic, expression of grief composed in response to death or impending judgment.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H7015 is frequently used in a prophetic context where a prophet is commanded to "take up a lamentation" against a person or nation. Ezekiel is instructed to compose a lamentation for the princes of Israel Ezekiel 19:1, the king of Tyrus Ezekiel 28:12, and Pharaoh of Egypt Ezekiel 32:2. This expression also serves as a response to divine judgment, as when Amos delivers a lamentation to the house of Israel Amos 5:1. These could be preserved in written form, as with the scroll given to Ezekiel containing "lamentations, and mourning, and woe" Ezekiel 2:10 and the lamentations for King Josiah, which were recorded and made an ordinance in Israel 2 Chronicles 35:25.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words clarify the scope of grief and mourning associated with H7015:

H6969 qûwn (lament, mourning woman): As the primitive root of qîynâh, this verb describes the act of wailing or chanting a dirge. It is often used in tandem, such as when David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan 2 Samuel 1:17.
H60 ʼêbel (lamentation; mourning): This term for general mourning is used alongside qîynâh to depict a total reversal of joy. God declares He will turn feasts into mourning and songs into lamentation Amos 8:10.
H5092 nᵉhîy (an elegy; lamentation, wailing): Often appearing with qîynâh, this word emphasizes the sound of wailing. Women are instructed to teach their daughters wailing and their neighbors lamentation Jeremiah 9:20.
H1899 hegeh (mourning, sound, tale) and H1958 hîy (lamentation; woe): These terms appear with qîynâh on the prophetic scroll shown to Ezekiel, illustrating the complete despair it contained Ezekiel 2:10.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H7015 is primarily seen in its use as a pronouncement of divine judgment and a formal expression of national sorrow.

Prophetic Judgment: The command to "take up a lamentation" functions as a powerful prophetic act. It is a funeral song sung for a nation or leader not yet dead but doomed by God's decree, as seen in the laments for Tyrus Ezekiel 26:17 and Egypt Ezekiel 32:16.
Ritualized Grief: A lamentation is a structured and often communal expression of grief. The lamentations for Josiah became a lasting "ordinance in Israel" 2 Chronicles 35:25, and women could be taught the skill of performing them Jeremiah 9:20.
The Inversion of Joy: The presence of a lamentation signifies the end of peace and prosperity. It replaces songs H7892 and is accompanied by public signs of mourning like sackcloth H8242 and baldness H7144 Amos 8:10.

Summary

In summary, H7015 represents far more than simple sadness. It is a formal, composed dirge used to structure and express profound grief. It serves as a key literary and prophetic device, particularly in the writings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, to announce divine judgment upon nations and leaders. As both a spoken performance and a written text, the lamentation marks moments of catastrophic loss and the reversal of fortune, solidifying its place as a powerful symbol of sorrow in the biblical narrative.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun and a verb across 19 occurrences, inflected in 5 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

קִינָה
קוֹנְנוּ
קִּינוֹת
קִינוֹתֵי
קִנִים

Related Words

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 16 verses across 5 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Ezekiel (9 verses); never once in the other 34.

2 Samuel

2 Chronicles

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Amos

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.