צֹעַן
𐤑𐤏𐤍
Tsoan
H6814 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A prominent city in Egypt known from the Hebrew Bible, often associated with the region of the Nile delta. Tsôʻan denotes the ancient city identified with Greek Tanis, and appears in biblical references as a significant Egyptian urban center. In narratives and poetry, it represents a site of royal presence, wisdom, and, at times, a symbol of Egypt’s power or its resistance to the Israelites. The term specifically designates the location and not its inhabitants or a larger region.
Semantic Range
a city in Egypt (Tanis), capital of the eastern Nile Delta; symbol or metonym for Egyptian wisdom or royalty; a place associated with events in Israelite tradition and prophecy
Root / Etymology
Egyptian origin; direct etymology from Hebrew uncertain. The Hebrew צֹעַן (Tsôʻan) most likely reflects Egyptian djanet or tjanet, known in Greek as Tanis. The Hebrew spelling is a Hebraized form of the Egyptian place-name.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Tsôʻan is exclusively a place-name and never an ethnonym or gentilic. It first appears in the Torah (Numbers 13:22) as a chronological reference to the age of Egyptian cities. Elsewhere, notably in Psalms and the prophetic books, it functions as a metonym for Egypt’s ruling class, administrative wisdom, or spiritual opposition to Israelite prophets. The name is not used for a people or a district but the specific city itself. In the Septuagint and later Greek texts, Tsôʻan is rendered as Tanis, and in later Jewish and Christian traditions as Zoan. English translations sometimes retain the Hebrew form, but often use 'Zoan,' a transliteration influenced by the Septuagint and Vulgate. Tsôʻan is distinct from other major Egyptian centers mentioned in the Hebrew Bible such as Noph (Memphis) or Pathros (Upper Egypt), and its prominence in Israelite collective memory appears mainly in poetic or historical review passages. The city's association with wisdom (cf. Isaiah 19:11–13) served as a rhetorical device to criticize Egyptian policy or religious practice.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of Egyptian derivation; Tsoan, a place in Egypt; Zoan.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
צען (ṣ-ʿ-n) — uncertain; Egyptian place-name; possibly marshland city
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6813 | צָעַן | he will pack up for travel |
| H6815 | צַעֲנַנִּים | in Place of Wanderings |
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6814-02 |
צֹ֥עַן | tsoan | HNp |
Zoan | Tsōan | 5 |
H6814-03 |
בְ/צֹ֖עַן | vetsoan | HR/Np |
at Zoan | in Tsôan | 1 |
H6814-01 |
בְּ/צֹ֑עַן | betsoan | HR/Np |
in Zoan | in Tsôan | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6814-02 |
Numbers 13:22 | צֹ֥עַן | tsoan | HNp |
Zoan | Tsōan |
H6814-02 |
Isaiah 19:11 | צֹ֔עַן | tsoan | HNp |
Zoan | Tsōan |
H6814-02 |
Isaiah 19:13 | צֹ֔עַן | tsoan | HNp |
Zoan | Tsōan |
H6814-03 |
Isaiah 30:4 | בְ/צֹ֖עַן | vetsoan | HR/Np |
at Zoan | in Tsôan |
H6814-01 |
Ezekiel 30:14 | בְּ/צֹ֑עַן | betsoan | HR/Np |
in Zoan | in Tsôan |
H6814-02 |
Psalms 78:12 | צֹֽעַן | tsoan | HNp |
of Zoan | Tsōan |
H6814-02 |
Psalms 78:43 | צֹֽעַן | tsoan | HNp |
Zoan | Tsōan |