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מִין

𐤌𐤉𐤍

mîyn

H4327 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain to portion, distribute, group (hypothetical root)

Definition

A kind, sort, genus, or species; refers to a category of living beings, especially animals or plants, sharing certain characteristics or belonging together by nature. Primarily denotes groupings within the created order, often as used in enumerations of the natural world.

Semantic Range

kind, sort, category, genus, species, type (of living things); rarely, other groupings by shared characteristics

Root / Etymology

Root uncertain. Possibly related to the idea of 'portioning out' or assigning into categories, but there is no attestable root מין in biblical Hebrew with this meaning. Distinct from מִן (preposition, 'from'), despite orthographic similarity.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מִין occurs primarily in the Priestly texts of the Torah (notably Genesis 1, Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14), where it is used in the context of creation and the listing of animals and plants according to their kinds ('after their kind'). It is used to demarcate natural groupings rather than strictly biological species in the modern scientific sense. The term is not employed for ethnic, social, or theological distinctions in the biblical period, and later Jewish or rabbinic usage expands the lexical field, but biblical contexts are limited to material creation. The word is rarely used outside the Pentateuch and appears mostly in enumerative or legal contexts concerning animals, birds, or plant life. English translations typically render מִין as 'kind,' 'sort,' or 'species,' but the word's semantic scope is broader than 'species' in modern taxonomy. Unlike related terms such as מַחֲלָה (sort, class in other contexts), מִין is specifically about natural groupings designated in creation or purity laws.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from an unused root meaning to portion out; a sort, i.e. species; kind. Compare מִן.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מין (m-y-n) — kind, category, grouping, species (possibly to portion, distribute)

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H8544 תְּמוּנָה formed likeness

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4327-03 לְ/מִינֵ֔/הוּ leminehu HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms after its kind to its kind 14
H4327-01 לְ/מִינָ֔/הּ leminah HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs according to its kind to her kind 12
H4327-04 לְ/מִינ֔/וֹ lemino HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms after its kind to his kind 4
H4327-02 לְ/מִֽינֵ/הֶ֗ם leminehem HR/Ncmsc/Sp3mp according to their kinds to their kind 1

Occurrences in Scripture

31 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4327-04 Genesis 1:11 לְ/מִינ֔/וֹ lemino HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms according to its kind to his kind
H4327-03 Genesis 1:12 לְ/מִינֵ֔/הוּ leminehu HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms according to its kind to its kind
H4327-03 Genesis 1:12 לְ/מִינֵ֑/הוּ leminehu-2 HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms according to its kind to its kind
H4327-02 Genesis 1:21 לְ/מִֽינֵ/הֶ֗ם leminehem HR/Ncmsc/Sp3mp according to their kinds to their kind
H4327-03 Genesis 1:21 לְ/מִינֵ֔/הוּ leminehu HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms according to its kind to its kind
H4327-01 Genesis 1:24 לְ/מִינָ֔/הּ leminah HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs according to its kind to her kind
H4327-01 Genesis 1:24 לְ/מִינָ֑/הּ leminah-2 HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs according to its kind to her kind
H4327-01 Genesis 1:25 לְ/מִינָ֗/הּ leminah HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs according to its kind to her kind
H4327-01 Genesis 1:25 לְ/מִינָ֔/הּ leminah-2 HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs according to its kind to her kind
H4327-03 Genesis 1:25 לְ/מִינֵ֑/הוּ leminehu HR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms according to its kind to its kind
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