H3559 — כּוּן (kûn)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3559
Original: כּוּן
Transliteration: kûn (also kûwn)
Pronunciation: koon
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 209 unique verses / 256 tokens across 27 OT books
First Occurrence: Gen 41:32 — "because the thing [is] established (nâkôn) by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass"
Hapax Legomenon: No
Derivative Noun: מָכוֹן (mâkôn, H4349) — "fixed/established place, foundation, site" (see H4349-makon.md)

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to be erect (i.e. stand perpendicular); hence (causatively) to set up, in a great variety of applications, whether literal (establish, fix, prepare, apply), or figurative (appoint, render sure, proper or prosperous): — certain(-ty), confirm, direct, faithfulness, fashion, fasten, firm, be fitted, be fixed, frame, be meet, ordain, order, perfect, (make) preparation, prepare (self), provide, make provision, (be, make) ready, right, set (aright, fast, forth), be stable, (e-) stablish, stand, tarry, very deed.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Tallied from ETCBC morphological parser (252 verb forms matched):

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	108	causative: to set up, establish, prepare, make ready, appoint, ordain
Niphal	67	passive/stative: be established, be fixed, be firm, be ready, be right
Piel	29	intensive: to establish firmly, fashion, found, set up
Hophal	6	causative passive: be established, be prepared
Hithpael	4	reflexive: establish oneself, be set up
Pual	2	intensive passive: be prepared

The root is almost exclusively causative/passive — nearly three-quarters of all forms are Hiphil or Niphal, giving the word its characteristic profile: someone sets up something that then stands firm.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translations consolidated by semantic cluster (n=209 unique verses, 161 surface forms):

Translation Cluster	Count	%
established / stablish / is established / shall be established / confirm	~65	31%
prepared / prepare / make ready / ready / preparation	~90	43%
fixed / firm / stable / set / fasten / standeth	~15	7%
direct / directeth / order / ordain / fashion	~12	6%
certain / certainty / very deed / right / aright	~10	5%
Other (connective particles, compound idioms)	~17	8%

The surface split is roughly 2:1 "prepare" : "establish," but both senses flow from the same core idea of making something stand upright and firm.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	2	4.3
2 Chronicles	24	2.9
1 Chronicles	22	2.3
Proverbs	19	2.1
Psalms	49	2.0
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Job	15	1.4
Esther	2	1.2
Micah	1	1.0
2 Samuel	6	0.9
Isaiah	10	0.8
Joshua	5	0.8
1 Kings	6	0.7
1 Samuel	6	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Ezra	2	0.7
Exodus	7	0.6
Ezekiel	7	0.5
Jeremiah	7	0.5
Judges	3	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Zechariah	1	0.5
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
Genesis	3	0.2
Numbers	3	0.2
Nehemiah	1	0.2

Pattern: Heaviest concentration is in the Chronicler's history (temple-preparation narratives), wisdom/poetic literature (Psalms, Proverbs, Job), and short prophetic books dealing with judgment-preparation and cosmic order. Raw-count leader is Psalms (49x), where the word dominates throne, creation, and heart-establishment language.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Covenant and Dynastic Establishment (throne / kingdom / house)¶

2 Sam 7:12 — "I will set up thy seed after thee... and I will establish (hēkîn) his kingdom"
2 Sam 7:13 — "I will stablish (kônantî) the throne of his kingdom for ever"
1 Kgs 2:12 — "his kingdom was established greatly"
1 Kgs 2:45 — "the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever"
1 Chr 14:2 — "the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel"

2. Creation and Cosmic Stability¶

Ps 93:1–2 — "the world also is stablished (tikkôn), that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established (nâkôn) of old"
Ps 96:10 — "the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved"
Prov 3:19 — "by understanding hath he established (kônēn) the heavens"
Jer 10:12 — "he hath established the world by his wisdom"
Ps 8:3 — "the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained (kônāntâ)"

3. Preparation for Worship / Sacrifice / Temple¶

Num 23:1, 29 — "prepare me here seven altars... seven oxen"
1 Chr 28:2 — David "had in mine heart to build... and had made ready (hăkînôtî) for the building"
2 Chr 1:4 — "the place which David had prepared for it"
Ezra 7:10 — "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD"
Zeph 1:7 — "the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice"

4. Divine Appointment of Events / Providence¶

Gen 41:32 — "the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass"
Prov 16:9 — "a man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps"
Prov 20:24 — "Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?"
Ps 7:9 — "but establish (tekônēn) the just"

5. Establishment of the Righteous / the Heart¶

Ps 7:9 — "establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts"
Job 11:13 — "if thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him"
Ps 10:17 — "thou wilt prepare their heart"
Ps 57:7 / 108:1 — "my heart is fixed (nâkôn), O God"
Prov 4:26 — "let all thy ways be established"

6. Judgment-Preparation (Prepare to Meet God)¶

Amos 4:12 — "prepare to meet thy God, O Israel"
Ezek 7:14 — "they have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready"
Nah 2:3, 5 — military preparation imagery for the fall of Nineveh
Jer 51:12 — "set up the standard... prepare the ambushes"

7. Literal / Physical Fixing or Standing¶

Josh 3:17 — "the priests... stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan"
Judg 16:26, 29 — the pillars "whereupon the house stood"
Ezek 4:3 — "set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city"
Exod 15:17 — "the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established"

8. Truth / Certainty / Reliability (Niphal participle nâkôn)¶

Deut 13:14 — "if it be truth, and the thing certain (nâkôn)"
Deut 17:4 — "and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought"
Ps 51:10 — "renew a right (nâkôn) spirit within me"
Ps 78:37 — "their heart was not right (nâkôn) with him"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהוָה (YHWH)	H3068	63x (30%)	YHWH as the establishing agent — "the LORD hath established..."
עַל (ʻal)	H5921	41x (20%)	"established upon / over" — object of establishment
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	37x (18%)	"house" established — dynasty / temple / family
אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlōhîm)	H430	34x (16%)	God as ultimate fixer of events (Gen 41:32 pattern)
עָשָׂה (ʻâsâh)	H6213	29x (14%)	parallel "make / do" — preparation + construction pairing
דָּוִד (Dâwid)	H1732	22x (11%)	Davidic narratives — kingdom/throne/house establishment
עוֹלָם (ʻôlâm)	H5769	19x (9%)	"established for ever" — perpetuity formula
בָּנָה (bânâh)	H1129	19x (9%)	"build" — paired with prepare in temple contexts
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	18x (9%)	"king" — kingdom/throne establishment
כִּסֵּא (kissēʼ)	H3678	17x (8%)	"throne" — the signature collocation; "stablish the throne"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H4349 מָכוֹן (mâkôn) — "fixed place, foundation, site" — the nominal derivative of kûn; of YHWH's throne and dwelling (see H4349-makon.md)
H4350 מְכוֹנָה (mekônâh) — "base, stand" (of the temple bronze stands)
H3653 כֵּן (kēn) — "base, pedestal; stand"
H3651 כֵּן (kēn) — "so, thus, rightly" (properly, "set upright")
H3675 כּוֹנֵן (kônēn) — proper name formed from Piel stem
H8626 תָּכַן (tâkan) — "to balance, regulate" (semantic neighbor with overlapping "set right" sense)

Synonyms¶

H1129 בנה — neighboring Hebrew verb of building / setting up, overlapping with kûn's establishment sense.
H1254 ברא — "create," a relationship neighbor on the axis of bringing ordered reality into place.
H6213 עשׂה — "make / do," especially close in preparation and readying contexts.
H539 אמן — "be firm / faithful," closely aligned with nâkôn = certain, established, reliable.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H3559.

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אָמַן (ʼâman)	H539	"established," "be established"	ʼâman = be faithful / reliable / trustworthy; emphasizes firmness of character or testimony. kûn = be erected / set up firm; emphasizes structural or positional stability
קוּם (qûm)	H6965	"established," "and I will establish"	qûm = rise up, stand up, take effect (of covenants, oaths); action of coming-into-being. kûn = already-set standing firm; state of established-ness
סָמַךְ (sâmak)	H5564	"established"	sâmak = to lean, prop up, support (tactile holding). kûn = set upright as permanent condition
חָזַק (châzaq)	H2388	"was established"	châzaq = be/make strong, seize; focus on strength. kûn = focus on being properly positioned/fixed
עָשָׂה (ʻâsâh)	H6213	"prepared," "had prepared"	ʻâsâh = general "make/do"; generic production. kûn = set in readiness, arrange for purpose
עָרַךְ (ʻârak)	H6186	"prepare"	ʻârak = set in rows, arrange in order (battle line, offering pieces). kûn = make ready as stable/fixed
קָדַשׁ (qâdash)	H6942	"Prepare"	qâdash = consecrate, sanctify. kûn = prepare functionally/ready-make (no sanctity nuance)
מָנָה (mânâh)	H4487	"prepared"	mânâh = appoint, count out, assign. kûn = make-ready in a standing condition

LXX Mapping¶

Ranked by PMI (pointwise mutual information) from parallel-verse alignment:

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
ἑτοιμάζω (hetoimazō)	G2090	93	28.93	Primary — "prepare, make ready"; dominant LXX rendering
κατευθύνω (kateuthynō)	G2720	20	16.62	"direct, make straight" — for moral/path contexts
ἕτοιμος (hetoimos)	G2092	15	15.53	adjective "ready" (Niphal participle nâkôn)
θρόνος (thronos)	G2362	18	12.02	collocational — throne passages translate word around it
ἑτοιμασία (hetoimasia)	G2091	5	10.36	"preparation, foundation" (noun)
θεμελιόω (themelioō)	G2311	8	10.05	"lay a foundation" — for creation-stability texts
ἀνορθόω (anorthoō)	G461	3	9.40	"set upright, restore" (LXX of 2 Sam 7:13)
πιστόω (pistoō)	G4104	4	8.57	"assure, make reliable" (covenant contexts)
ἀληθής (alēthēs)	G227	4	8.37	"true" — for nâkôn = "certain/true" idiom
βασιλεία (basileia)	G932	16	7.87	collocational — kingdom-establishment passages

Bridge summary: The LXX overwhelmingly renders kûn with the hetoimazō/hetoimos family (preparation) and with kateuthynō (direction). The covenantal-establishment sense transfers to anorthoō and pistoō rather than a single dedicated verb, which means kûn's dynastic/throne nuance is distributed across several Greek words in the NT vocabulary.

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001058] Steady — primary fit for kûn as "set firm / establish," with neighbors such as H4349 מָכֹון, H4350 מְכֹונָה, H5975 עמד, and A6966 קום.
[002001003003] Complete — links kûn with bringing a matter fully into place, alongside H1214 בצע, H1580 גמל, and H1584 גמר.
[002001002003] Confident — reflects the stative "sure / certain" nuance, with neighbors such as H47 אַבִּיר, H68 אֶבֶן, and H539 אמן.
[002002002005] Exist — places kûn in a standing / existing field, with neighbors such as H935 בוא and H1129 בנה.
[002001002008] Faithful — aligns establishment with reliability, alongside H529 אֵמוּן, H530 אֱמוּנָה, and H539 אמן.
[002001003011] Imminent — ties kûn to what is fixed or settled to occur, with neighbors H3615 כָּלָה and H3617 כָּלָה.
[002004002007] Know — secondary association through what is certain / demonstrable, with neighbors such as H226 אֹות and H262/H264 אַחֲוָה.
[002002003001] Endure — stable, lasting firmness, with neighbors such as H386/H387/H388 אֵיתָן and H530 אֱמוּנָה.
[002001002021] Ready — direct overlap with kûn's preparation sense, alongside H6213 עשׂה, H6257 עתד, and H6437 פנה.
[002001003014] Right — nâkôn as "right / proper," with neighbors such as H571 אֱמֶת and H833 אשׁר.
[002001003018] True — certainty / attestation language, with neighbors such as H539 אמן and H2856 חתם.
[002002002008] Role — appointment / ordination sense, with neighbors such as H3547 כהן and H3245 יסד.
[002003003019] Safe — secure, settled stability, with neighbors such as H622 אסף, H724 אֲרוּכָה, and H995 בין.
[002004001005] See — a secondary link to what is made evident or plainly fixed.
[002003003020] Succeed — establishment yielding prosperity or stability, with neighbors such as H3201 יכל, H3557 כול, and H3788 כִּשְׁרֹון.