H3548 — כֹּהֵן (kohen)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3548
Original: כֹּהֵן
Transliteration: kôhên
Pronunciation: ko-hane
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: Active participle of H3547 kâhan "to officiate as priest"
Occurrences: 653 unique verses (777 tokens) across 29 books
First Occurrence: Gen 14:18 — "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Active participle of H3547; literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman):—chief ruler, own, priest, prince, principal officer.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
priest(s) (all forms)	640	98.0%
chief ruler(s)	2	0.3%
princes	1	0.2%
principal officer	1	0.2%
of his own	2	0.3%
Other (articles only)	7	1.1%

The word is translated almost exclusively as "priest" or "priests" in various grammatical constructions (the priest, the priests, a priest, of the priests, etc.). The rare non-priestly renderings (chief ruler, prince, principal officer) appear to reflect a secondary sense of an official who mediates or governs.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Haggai	8	21.1
Leviticus	153	17.8
Nehemiah	42	10.3
Ezra	25	8.9
2 Chronicles	72	8.8
Malachi	3	5.5
Joshua	34	5.2
Numbers	63	4.9
2 Kings	35	4.9
Joel	3	4.1
Lamentations	6	3.9
Zephaniah	2	3.8
1 Kings	28	3.4
1 Samuel	26	3.2
Jeremiah	38	2.8
Zechariah	6	2.8
Judges	13	2.1
Hosea	4	2.0
1 Chronicles	17	1.8
Ezekiel	23	1.8
Deuteronomy	13	1.4
2 Samuel	8	1.2
Micah	1	1.0
Exodus	11	0.9
Amos	1	0.7
Isaiah	6	0.5
Genesis	6	0.4
Psalms	5	0.2
Job	1	0.1

Leviticus has the highest raw count (153), reflecting its detailed cultic legislation. Haggai has the highest density (21.1 per 100 verses) due to its focus on the postexilic temple restoration under Joshua the high priest. The word concentrates heavily in Torah and historical books dealing with temple worship and national governance. Notably absent from Song of Solomon, Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Officiating Priest — Sacrificial and Ritual Duties¶

The dominant usage: the priest as the one who performs offerings, sprinkles blood, burns incense, and pronounces ritual verdicts. - Lev 1:9 — "the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice" - Lev 4:6 — "the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD" - Num 15:25 — "the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation" - 2 Chr 29:24 — "the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar"

2. Priest as Examiner and Judge — Purity Determinations¶

In Leviticus 13–14 the priest functions as inspector and diagnostic authority on skin diseases and house contamination. - Lev 13:3 — "the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh... the priest shall pronounce him unclean" - Lev 13:17 — "the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean" - Lev 14:3 — "the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed" - Deut 17:9 — "thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge... and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment"

3. Priest as Teacher and Keeper of the Law¶

The priest as custodian and instructor of Torah. - Deut 31:9 — "Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant" - 2 Chr 15:3 — "Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law" - Mal 2:7 — "the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts" - Ezek 7:26 — "they shall seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest"

4. Named High Priests and Chief Priests — Leadership¶

Specific individuals named as priest, often in the compound "the high priest" or "chief priest." - Gen 14:18 — "Melchizedek king of Salem... the priest of the most high God" - 2 Ki 22:8 — "Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law" - Hag 1:1 — "Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest" - Zech 3:1 — "Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD"

5. Priests of Foreign or Illegitimate Cults¶

The word is used without qualification for pagan priests and unauthorized Israelite priests. - Gen 41:45 — "Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On" - Exo 2:16 — "the priest of Midian had seven daughters" - 1 Ki 12:31 — "made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi" - 2 Ki 23:20 — "he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars"

6. Prophetic Criticism of Priests¶

The prophets address priestly failure — corruption, violence, faithlessness. - Jer 5:31 — "the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so" - Hos 4:9 — "there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways" - Lam 4:13 — "for the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just" - Zeph 3:4 — "her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law"

7. Eschatological and Universal Priesthood¶

Passages extending the priestly role beyond the Levitical line. - Exo 19:6 — "ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" - Isa 61:6 — "ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God" - Isa 66:21 — "I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD" - Psa 110:4 — "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhovah)	H3068	215x (33%)	"the priest of the LORD," "before the LORD"
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	163x (25%)	"sons of Aaron the priest," "the priest's son"
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	107x (16%)	"the house of the LORD," "the priest's house"
לֵוִיִּי (Leviyiy)	H3881	98x (15%)	"the priests and the Levites" (paired roles)
עַם (ʻam)	H5971	79x (12%)	"the priest and the people," "before all the people"
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisraʼel)	H3478	72x (11%)	"the children of Israel... unto the priest"
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	69x (11%)	"the king and the priest" (parallel leadership)
עָשָׂה (ʻasah)	H6213	68x (10%)	"the priest shall do/make" (ritual performance)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3547 כָּהַן (kahan) — root verb: to act as priest, minister in priestly office (23v)
H3549 כָּהֵן (kahen) — Aramaic equivalent: priest (8v in Ezra/Daniel)
H3550 כְּהֻנָּה (kᵉhunnah) — priesthood, priest's office (14v)

Synonyms (from SDBH domain [001002007008] Priests)¶

H3649 כֹּמֶר (komer) — idolatrous priest (3v — 2Ki 23:5, Hos 10:5, Zeph 1:4); distinguished as a pejorative term for pagan cult personnel
H4899 מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyach) — anointed one (37v); overlaps in "anointed priest" formulas but has broader application to kings and the expected deliverer
H5650 עֶבֶד (ʻebed) — servant (766v); broader term; priests are sometimes called "servants of the LORD" but ʻebed is not restricted to priestly service

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
כָּהֵן (kahen)	H3549	"priest"	Aramaic equivalent; appears only in Ezra and Daniel Aramaic sections
ἱερεύς (hiereus)	G2409	"priest"	Greek NT counterpart; LXX primary equivalent for kohen

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἱερεύς (hiereus) G2409	623	32.55	Primary equivalent — near one-to-one correspondence
Λευΐτης (Leuites) G3019	94	17.01	In "the priests the Levites" constructions
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion) G2379	59	11.16	Co-occurrence with altar, not a translation equivalent
καθαρίζω (katharizō) G2511	27	11.09	Co-occurrence with cleansing, not a translation equivalent

The LXX translation of kohen is overwhelmingly hiereus (G2409) with 623 co-occurrences and a PMI score of 32.55 — one of the strongest Hebrew-Greek bridges in the LXX.