Original Word: גָּנַן
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: ganan
Pronunciation: gah-NAHN
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-nan')
KJV: defend
NASB: defend, protect
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to hedge about
2. (generally) protect

defend

A primitive root; to hedge about, i.e. (generally) protect -- defend.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to cover, surround, defend
NASB Translation
defend (6), protect (2).

[גָּנַן] verb cover, surround, defend (Arabic , Aramaic אַגֵּן (Aph`el), Palmyrene אגן Vog^{Palm.132 ff.}) —

Qal Perfect וְגַנּוֺתִי Isaiah 37:35 3t.; Infinitive absolute גָּנוֺן Isaiah 31:5 (c. Hiph`il q. v.) — defend, subject always ׳י; object the city Jerusalem with על Isaiah 37:35; Isaiah 38:6 = 2 Kings 20:6; 2 Kings 19:34 with אֶלֿ ("" הוֺשִׁיעַ).

Hiph`il Imperfect — or

Qal according to Ba^{ZMG 1889, 178}, who compare Arabic — יָגֵן Isaiah 31:5 2t. — defend (= Qal), Jerusalem Isaiah 31:5 יגן גָּ֗֗֗נוֺן with על ("" הִצִּיל); object Yahweh's people Zechariah 9:15 with על, Zechariah 12:8 with בְּעַד.

Overview of Biblical Usage

The verb גָּנַן appears eight times, always with the LORD as subject and Israel or Jerusalem as the object of His defensive action. Each occurrence frames a moment of existential threat in which human resources are exhausted and divine intervention alone secures survival. The term therefore conveys more than protection; it testifies to God’s covenant commitment to preserve His redemptive purpose in history.

Hezekiah’s Deliverance and National Salvation

Four of the eight attestations cluster around the Assyrian crisis of 701 B.C.:

• 2 Kings 19:34; Isaiah 37:35 – “For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.”
• 2 Kings 20:6; Isaiah 38:6 – “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”

Here גָּנַן seals the divine answer to Hezekiah’s prayer in the face of Sennacherib’s invasion. The verb underlines that Jerusalem’s safety rests on God’s fidelity to the Davidic covenant, not on the city’s walls or its king’s diplomacy. Archaeology confirms Assyria’s devastation of surrounding Judean towns, throwing the miraculous preservation of Jerusalem into sharper relief and demonstrating that the verb denotes active, miraculous shielding rather than passive oversight.

The Bird Imagery of Isaiah 31:5

“Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem—He will protect and deliver; He will pass over and preserve it.”

The doubled use of גָּנַן is reinforced by two additional verbs, creating a four-fold litany of security. The avian simile evokes both mother-bird tenderness and the hovering presence of God in Exodus 12, where the Passover lamb’s blood shielded Israel. Isaiah thus fuses parental care with warrior strength: the God who strikes Egypt also spreads His wings over Zion.

Eschatological Shielding in Zechariah

• Zechariah 9:15 – “The LORD of Hosts will shield them.”
• Zechariah 12:8 – “On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem….”

Post-exilic Judah, weak and outnumbered, receives the promise that future battles will be decided by divine shielding. The second oracle (chapters 12–14) projects the verb into the Day of the LORD, when even “the feeblest among them will be like David.” גָּנַן thus spans history from Hezekiah’s past to Israel’s ultimate restoration, binding the two by the same protective hand.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Faithfulness – The repetition “for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David” shows that God’s defense is grounded in His oath, safeguarding the messianic line.
2. Divine Sovereignty – The LORD alone determines the outcome of wars; Assyria’s armies and future coalition forces in Zechariah cannot breach His protection.
3. Holiness and Salvation – Protection is never an end in itself but preserves a people through whom salvation history advances toward the Messiah.
4. Grace and Human Inability – Every context highlights Israel’s helplessness; גָּנַן glorifies unmerited favor rather than national merit.

Christological Resonances

Jesus evokes similar imagery: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matthew 23:37). The incarnate Son offers the ultimate fulfillment of גָּנַן, shielding believers from wrath through His atoning death (Romans 5:9). Revelation 12 portrays a corporate yet mystical extension of this protection as the church is sheltered in the wilderness. The motif culminates in the New Jerusalem, where God’s immediate presence renders walls obsolete (Revelation 21:23).

Pastoral Implications

• Intercession – Hezekiah’s prayer invites believers to seek God’s defense in crises.
• Assurance – גָּנַן assures the church that geopolitical turmoil cannot thwart divine purposes.
• Holiness – Since protection serves redemptive ends, recipients are called to covenant loyalty and trust rather than complacency.
• Hope – Zechariah’s visions encourage perseverance, knowing future deliverance is as certain as past acts.

Key Cross References for Study

Psalm 5:12; Psalm 91:4; Isaiah 4:5-6; Matthew 23:37; 1 Peter 1:5; Revelation 12:6.

גָּנ֥וֹן גנון וְגַנּוֹתִ֖י וְגַנּוֹתִ֛י וְגַנּוֹתִי֙ וגנותי יָגֵ֛ן יָגֵ֣ן יָגֵ֤ן יגן gā·nō·wn gaNon gānōwn vegannoTi wə·ḡan·nō·w·ṯî wəḡannōwṯî yā·ḡên yaGen yāḡênInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts