← H1595 H1597 →

גְּנַז

𐤂𐤍𐤆

gᵉnaz

H1596 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A treasury, storehouse, or depository for valuables such as treasures, official documents, or state archives. In context, especially in Imperial Aramaic usage, it most often denotes a secured royal repository, either for wealth (such as gold, silver, or prestigious items) or for archival records held under authority. The meaning can extend to the contents themselves (treasure, valuables, archives) or, metonymically, to the place in which they are kept.

Semantic Range

treasury, treasure, repository, storehouse, archive, depository for valuables or documents

Root / Etymology

From the root גנז, which in both Hebrew and Aramaic means 'to store, put away, keep hidden, archive.' The noun form גְּנַז (Aramaic) is derived from this root and primarily signifies 'repository' or 'treasury.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

גְּנַז appears in the Aramaic sections of the Hebrew Bible (primarily in Daniel and Ezra), reflecting administrative vocabulary of the Persian imperial period. The term is closely linked to notions of both wealth-storage and official record-keeping, reflecting the Persian administrative system in which such a treasury was often both a financial center and an archival repository. In Hebrew, the root and related forms (like גָּנַז) appear rarely, with related meanings of 'to store' or 'to archive.' English translations often render the term as 'treasure' or 'treasury,' which can obscure the administrative nuance regarding archives and official repositories. Distinct from other terms, such as אוֹצָר (storehouse, treasury), which emphasize general storage or financial holdings without necessarily the administrative or archival connotation. The meaning and usage do not carry the later sense of a solely 'money vault' or exclusively religious context; rather, it is bureaucratic in tone, associated with royal or governmental authority. No theological or cultic sense attaches to this term in its biblical occurrences.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to גֶּנֶז; treasure; treasure.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

גנז (g-n-z) — to store, to conceal, to archive

Root גנז to store, to conceal, to archive
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1595 גֶּנֶז treasure-stores of
H1597 גִּנְזַךְ and his treasure-repositories

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1596-01 גִּנְזַיָּ֜/א ginezaya ANcmpd/Td the treasures the treasuries the treasuries 2
H1596-02 גִּנְזֵ֥י ginezey ANcmpc of the treasuries storehouses of treasuries of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1596-01 Ezra 5:17 גִּנְזַיָּ֜/א ginezaya ANcmpd/Td the treasury the treasuries the treasuries
H1596-01 Ezra 6:1 גִנְזַיָּ֛/א ginezaya ANcmpd/Td the treasures the treasuries the treasuries
H1596-02 Ezra 7:20 גִּנְזֵ֥י ginezey ANcmpc of the treasuries storehouses of treasuries of
← H1595 Hebrew Lexicon H1597 →