Qinah / Lamentation Genre in Foreign-King and City Oracles (Hebrew)
Definition
קִינָה (qinah, H7015) is a feminine noun meaning elegy, dirge, or lamentation. In prophetic oracles it can function as a commissioned speech-act: the prophet is told to "lift up" (נשׂא, Qal) a lament over a city, king, or nation. The formula marks the oracle as a funeral-like judgment song, even when the addressee is still active in the narrative horizon.
- Commissioned lament - prophet receives an imperative to lift up a qinah over an object.
- Foreign city/king lament - qinah is directed
ʿal ("upon/over/against") Tyre, the king of Tyre, Pharaoh/Egypt, or similar nations.
- Performed lament - qinah can itself be the object chanted by others, using the Piel verb
קונן / קוּן ("chant a dirge").
- Noun:
קִינָה, parsed Noun.fs.Abs, glossed "elegy."
- Commission formula:
שָׂא קִינָה = Qal imperative 2ms of נשׂא + direct object qinah.
- Directional target:
עַל + person/city/nation.
- Performed lament formula: Piel forms of
קין/קון, e.g. קֹונְנוּהָ, תְּקֹונֵנָּה.
- Parser signatures:
lemma=קינה, or lemma=נשׂא near קִינָה, or Piel lemma=קין.
Functions with Examples
1. City Lament Over Tyre
| Reference |
Hebrew |
Parsing |
KJV Translation |
| Eze 27:2 |
שָׂא עַל־צֹר קִינָה |
נשׂא Qal.Impv.2ms + קינה Noun.fs.Abs |
"take up a lamentation for Tyrus" |
| Eze 27:32 |
קִינָה |
Noun.fs.Abs |
"in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee" |
2. King Lament in a Foreign Oracle
| Reference |
Hebrew |
Parsing |
KJV Translation |
| Eze 28:12 |
שָׂא קִינָה עַל־מֶלֶךְ צֹור |
Qal.Impv.2ms + Noun.fs.Abs + ʿal + construct chain |
"take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus" |
| Eze 32:2 |
שָׂא קִינָה עַל־פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם |
Qal.Impv.2ms + Noun.fs.Abs + ʿal + royal title |
"take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt" |
| Reference |
Hebrew |
Parsing |
KJV Translation |
| Eze 32:16 |
קִינָה הִיא |
Noun.fs.Abs + Pron.3fs |
"This is the lamentation" |
| Eze 32:16 |
קֹונְנוּהָ |
Verb.Piel.Perf.3p.+3fs |
"wherewith they shall lament her" |
| Eze 32:16 |
תְּקֹונֵנָּה אֹותָהּ |
Verb.Piel.Impf.3fp + Obj.+3fs |
"shall lament her" |
| Formula |
Function |
Example |
נָשָׂא קִינָה |
Lift up a lament/dirge |
Eze 27:2; 28:12; 32:2 |
נָשָׂא מָשָׁל |
Lift up a proverb/parable/taunt |
See mashal-speech-act |
קֹונֵן / קוּן Piel |
Chant or perform a dirge |
Eze 32:16 |
כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה |
Messenger formula for divine speech |
Eze 28:12, 22 |
Diagnostic Rule
When קִינָה appears with שָׂא plus עַל, the grammar marks a directed lament over a target. The form is compatible with both individual and corporate targets: a city (צֹר), a king (מֶלֶךְ צֹור), or Pharaoh/Egypt. The lament genre does not by itself identify whether the referent is only individual, only corporate, or typological; it marks the speech act as a funeral-like judgment performance.
Lexical Notes
קִינָה (H7015): BLB count 18; definition "dirge/lamentation."קוּן (H6969): verb, BLB count 8; "chant or wail at a funeral"; parser-verified in Eze 32:16 with Piel forms.
Cross-References
Generated from: hebrew_parser.py --verse Eze 27:2; 28:12; 32:2; 32:16; search_strongs.py --lexicon H7015/H6969; KJV corpus lookup.
Last updated: 2026-05-07