3660. kenema

Lexical Summary

kenema: Integrity, Uprightness

Original Word: כָּנֵמָא
Part of Speech: Adverb
Transliteration: knema'
Pronunciation: keh-neh-mah
Phonetic Spelling: (ken-ay-maw')
KJV: so, (in) this manner (sort), thus
NASB: thus, accordingly, follows
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H3644 (כְּמוֹ כָּמוֹ - like)]

1. so or thus

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

so, in this manner sort, thus

(Aramaic) corresponding to kmow; so or thus -- so, (in) this manner (sort), thus.

see HEBREW kmow

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to kemo
Definition
accordingly, as follows
NASB Translation
accordingly (1), follows (1), thus (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

כְּנֵ֫מָא adverb accordingly, as follows (derivation uncertain: Nö^{GGA, 1884, 1021} Marti and others from כֵּן + indefinite מָא, so somewhat, ungefähr so: see older improbable view (as we should say, from כְּ and נֵימָא = נֵאמַר, compare Talmud יֵימָא for יֵימַר) in Thes⁶⁵²): referring backwards, Ear Ezra 6:13 כְּנֵמָא ֗֗֗ עֲבַדוּ did accordingly; referring forwards, Ezra 4:8 . . . כְּתַבוּ כְנֵמָא wrote a letter . . . as follows, Ezra 5:4(read c ᵐ5 אֲמַרוּ; אֲמַרְנָא from Ezra 5:9, Mey^{Entst. 26}), Ezra 5:9; Ezra 5:11.

Topical Lexicon

Occurrences

The expression appears five times, all within the Aramaic sections of Ezra (Ezra 4:8; 5:4; 5:9; 5:11; 6:13). In every instance it introduces or cites the precise wording of official Persian correspondence concerning the rebuilding of the temple and city. By repeating the term, the author underscores that what follows is the verbatim record of royal documents, not merely a paraphrase.

Historical Setting

The word surfaces during the early Persian period, roughly 520–458 BC, when returnees from Babylon were re-establishing life in Judah. Persian administrators such as Rehum, Shimshai, Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai exchanged letters with Kings Artaxerxes and Darius about Jewish building activity. Recording those letters “just as” they were written testifies to the administrative precision of the Persian empire and to the credibility of the biblical narrative that preserves them.

Literary Role

1. Marker of accuracy: Each use signals that the text is supplying the reader with an exact citation (“just as follows”).
2. Transition device: It moves the narrative from historical summary into first-person documentary, allowing the reader to hear imperial voices directly.
3. Legal weight: By presenting authenticated copies, the writer establishes the juridical basis for the temple’s eventual completion (Ezra 6:13).

Theological Insights

• Divine sovereignty over empires: Even pagan kings are shown issuing decrees that serve God’s redemptive plan. Precisely preserved letters reveal how the Lord “stirred the spirit” of rulers (compare Ezra 1:1).
• Reliability of Scripture: The term’s function as a citation marker reinforces confidence that Scripture transmits history faithfully. Luke employs a similar historiographical method in Luke 1:3–4.
• Covenant continuity: The detailed recording of foreign edicts mirrors the care given to the Mosaic law, showing that God’s covenant people value written revelation, whether from prophets or from providentially used governments.

Ministry Applications

• Integrity in communication: As Ezra recorded the letters exactly, believers are called to handle God’s Word and human testimony with equal fidelity (2 Corinthians 4:2).
• Respect for civil authority: The narrative models respectful engagement with government while trusting God for ultimate vindication (Romans 13:1–7).
• Encouragement in opposition: The meticulous documentation of adversarial letters (Ezra 4:8) and subsequent royal support (Ezra 6:13) reminds ministries that hostility can be overturned by God’s timing.

Selected Scripture Quotations

Ezra 4:8: “Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows.”

Ezra 6:13: “Then Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.”

Related Passages

• Esther 3:12; 8:10 – other inspired examples of Persian correspondence that altered Jewish destiny.
• Nehemiah 2:7–9 – official letters granting safe conduct for Jerusalem’s restoration.
• Acts 15:23–29 – the Jerusalem church’s letter, another model of authoritative written guidance.

Summary

Though a small connective term, the word highlights the Bible’s documentary precision. Its repeated use in Ezra frames a chain of royal communications that God orchestrated to secure the temple’s completion, bolstering the believer’s trust in divine providence and in the integrity of Scripture itself.

Forms and Transliterations

וּכְנֵ֥מָא וכנמא כְּנֵ֖מָא כְּנֵֽמָא׃ כנמא כנמא׃ kə·nê·mā keNema kənêmā ū·ḵə·nê·mā ucheNema ūḵənêmā

Englishman's Concordance

Ezra 4:8
HEB: לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֥שְׂתְּא מַלְכָּ֖א כְּנֵֽמָא׃
NAS: to King Artaxerxes, as follows--
KJV: to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
INT: Artaxerxes to King follows

Ezra 5:4
HEB: אֱדַ֥יִן כְּנֵ֖מָא אֲמַ֣רְנָא לְּהֹ֑ם
NAS: we told them accordingly what
KJV: said we unto them after this manner, What
INT: Then accordingly told what

Ezra 5:9
HEB: לְשָׂבַיָּ֣א אִלֵּ֔ךְ כְּנֵ֖מָא אֲמַ֣רְנָא לְּהֹ֑ם
NAS: and said to them thus, 'Who
KJV: [and] said unto them thus, Who
INT: elders those thus and said Who

Ezra 5:11
HEB: וּכְנֵ֥מָא פִתְגָמָ֖א הֲתִיב֣וּנָא
NAS: Thus they answered us, saying,
KJV: And thus they returned us answer,
INT: Thus answer returned

Ezra 6:13
HEB: דָּרְיָ֧וֶשׁ מַלְכָּ֛א כְּנֵ֖מָא אָסְפַּ֥רְנָא עֲבַֽדוּ׃
KJV: had sent, so they did
INT: Darius King so all carried

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3660
5 Occurrences

kə·nê·mā — 4 Occ.
ū·ḵə·nê·mā — 1 Occ.