חָנַן chânan — properly, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior
Translated in the KJV as beseech, × fair, (be, find, shew) favour, be (deal, give, grant, intreat, merciful, have mercy (on, upon).
a primitive root (compare H2583); properly, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (i.e. move to favor by petition).
chânan in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Imperative 25Imperfect (yiqtol) 8Participle (active) 7Perfect (qatal) 4Sequential perfect (weqatal) 3Jussive 3Wayyiqtol 2Infinitive construct 2Infinitive absolute 1
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
Hitpa'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 5Wayyiqtol 4Sequential perfect (weqatal) 4Infinitive construct 2Perfect (qatal) 2
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
And I besought the Lord at that time, saying,
When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
Pi'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 2
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
Po'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1Participle (active) 1
So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Hoph'al
Imperfect (yiqtol) 2
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
Niph'al
Perfect (qatal) 1
O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›