8567. tanah

Lexical Summary

tanah: To lament, to recount, to rehearse

Original Word: תָּנָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tanah
Pronunciation: tah-NAH
Phonetic Spelling: (taw-naw')
KJV: lament, rehearse
NASB: commemorate, recount
Word Origin: [a primitive root (identical with H8566 (תָּנָה - hire) through the idea of attributing honor)]

1. to ascribe (praise), i.e. celebrate, commemorate

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

lament, rehearse

A primitive root (identical with tanah through the idea of attributing honor); to ascribe (praise), i.e. Celebrate, commemorate -- lament, rehearse.

see HEBREW tanah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
perhaps recount, rehearse
NASB Translation
commemorate (1), recount (1).

Topical Lexicon

Biblical Context

Judges 5:11

“...there they will recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates.”

Judges 11:40

“so that each year the daughters of Israel go to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days a year.”

In both passages תָּנָה marks an intentional, vocal act by which Israel’s covenant community keeps memory alive—whether through praise or through sorrow.

Celebratory Recounting—Judges 5:11

Deborah’s victory song unfolds at the watering places where travelers pause, and the very routines of life become occasions for declaring “the righteous acts of the LORD.” The verb highlights:

• Oral celebration: victories are not merely remembered but repeatedly voiced.
• Covenant reinforcement: recounting anchors Israel’s identity in divine deliverance (compare Deuteronomy 6:20–25; Psalm 78:2–7).
• Missional witness: those at the wells include non-combatants and sojourners, extending testimony beyond the warriors themselves.

Communal Lament—Judges 11:40

After Jephthah’s rash vow, Israel’s daughters observe an annual four-day pilgrimage. The same root that denotes jubilant rehearsal now marks solemn remembrance. The rite functions to:

• Preserve a cautionary tale on vowed speech (Ecclesiastes 5:4–6).
• Affirm the value of covenant faithfulness, even amid tragedy.
• Provide women an authorized liturgical voice in Israel’s narrative.

Patterns of Ritual Memory

The two settings reveal a unified biblical motif: God’s people are formed by what they verbally rehearse. Celebration and lament are not opposites but complementary disciplines that keep the community tethered to truth (Romans 12:15).

1. Recounting God’s deeds fosters gratitude and courage for future obedience (Psalm 105; Hebrews 10:23).
2. Lamenting loss cultivates humility, repentance, and solidarity with the suffering (Psalm 42; Lamentations 3:19–33).

Historical Background

• Song of Deborah: c. mid-twelfth century BC, following Sisera’s defeat. Women at public wells convert a utilitarian space into a sanctuary of praise.
• Jephthah: c. late twelfth to early eleventh century BC, during Ammonite conflict. The Gileadite daughters’ annual observance likely involved song, storytelling, and perhaps pilgrimage to Mizpah.

Theological Implications

• Divine justice is not abstract; it is celebrated in specific historical interventions.
• Human vows carry weight; when misused they cause generational sorrow, yet they still point to the inviolable seriousness of covenant words (Proverbs 18:21).
• Memory shapes moral conscience: Israel learns both what to emulate (God’s righteousness) and what to avoid (hasty vows).

Practical Application for Ministry

1. Incorporate storytelling in corporate worship—testimonies that “recount the righteous acts of the LORD” encourage faith.
2. Create liturgical space for lament; doing so validates grief and trains believers to seek God amid pain.
3. Teach on the power of spoken commitments, guiding believers to thoughtful, scripturally informed promises (James 5:12).
4. Encourage intergenerational practices: just as Israel’s daughters led remembrance, today’s youth can steward communal memory through music, drama, and digital media.

Christological Trajectory

Jesus Christ embodies both motifs: He proclaimed the mighty works of God (Luke 4:18–21) and entered our deepest lament at the cross (Matthew 27:46). In Him, celebration and sorrow meet, offering the church a model for using speech—whether joyful or tearful—to glorify the Father and build up the body.

Forms and Transliterations

יְתַנּוּ֙ יתנו לְתַנּ֕וֹת לתנות lə·ṯan·nō·wṯ letanNot ləṯannōwṯ yə·ṯan·nū yetanNu yəṯannū

Englishman's Concordance

Judges 5:11
HEB: מַשְׁאַבִּ֔ים שָׁ֤ם יְתַנּוּ֙ צִדְק֣וֹת יְהוָ֔ה
NAS: There they shall recount the righteous
KJV: in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts
INT: the watering There shall recount the righteous of the LORD

Judges 11:40
HEB: בְּנ֣וֹת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְתַנּ֕וֹת לְבַת־ יִפְתָּ֖ח
NAS: yearly to commemorate the daughter
KJV: yearly to lament the daughter
INT: the daughters of Israel to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8567
2 Occurrences

lə·ṯan·nō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
yə·ṯan·nū — 1 Occ.