Original Word: כָּהַן
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: kahan
Pronunciation: kah-han'
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-han')
KJV: deck, be (do the office of a, execute the, minister in the) priest('s office)
NASB: minister as priests, minister as priest, serve as priests, served as priests, carry on their priesthood, decks, minister as a priest
Word Origin: [a primitive root, apparently meaning to mediate in religious services, but used only as denominative from H3548 (כּוֹהֵן - priest)]

1. to officiate as a priest
2. (figuratively) to put on regalia

deck, be do the office of a, execute the, minister in the priest's office

A primitive root, apparently meaning to mediate in religious services; but used only as denominative from kohen; to officiate as a priest; figuratively, to put on regalia -- deck, be (do the office of a, execute the, minister in the) priest('s office).

see HEBREW kohen

Word Origin
denominative verb from kohen
Definition
to act as a priest
NASB Translation
carry on their priesthood (1), decks (1), minister as a priest (1), minister as priest (3), minister as priests (6), ministered as priest (1), priest (1), serve as a priest (1), serve as priest (1), serve as priests (2), serve me as priests (1), served as the priest (1), served as priests (2), serving as priests (1).

II. [כָּהַן] verb only

Pi`el denominative act as priest; — Perfect כִּהֵן Exodus 40:13; 1 Chronicles 5:36; 3masculine plural כִּהֲנוּ Exodus 28:41; Exodus 40:15; Imperfect3masculine singular יְכַהֵן Numbers 3:4 2t.; plural יְכַהֲנוּ 1 Chronicles 24:2; Infinitive construct כַּהֵן Exodus 29:1 11t.; suffix כַּהֲנוֺ Exodus 28:1,3,4. —

1 minister as a priest, absolute Exodus 31:10; Exodus 35:19; Exodus 39:41; Leviticus 16:32; Numbers 3:3,4 (all P); לִי ׳כ minister to me (׳י) Exodus 28:1,3,4,41; Exodus 29:1,44; Exodus 30:30; Exodus 40:13,15 (all P), Ezekiel 44:13; Hosea 4:6; ליהוה ׳כ Leviticus 7:35 (P), 1 Chronicles 5:36; 1 Chronicles 24:2; 2Chronicles 11:14 (always of Aaron and his sons, except Ezekiel 44:13; 2Chronicles 11:14, where Levites are forbidden to minister; and Hosea 4:6 of Israel, whose national priesthood is taken away).

2 be or become priest Deuteronomy 10:6 (E ?).

3 play the priest: כֶּחָתָן יְכַהֵן מְּאֵר Isaiah 61:10 as a bridegroom (that) priests it with his turban, decks himself with a splendid turban such as the priests wore.

Root Idea and Scope of Usage

כָּהַן is the verb that describes acting in the office of a priest—offering sacrifices, mediating worship, teaching Torah, and blessing the people. Every Old Testament instance describes either the installation (Exodus 28–29), the continuing ministry (Leviticus 7:35; Numbers 3:3), or the forfeiture of that ministry through unfaithfulness (Ezekiel 44:13; Hosea 4:6).

Consecration and Investiture

Exodus 28–30 uses כָּהַן nine times to stress that priestly service begins only after a divinely prescribed consecration. Aaron and his sons were to be “anointed, ordained, and consecrated to serve as priests to Me” (Exodus 28:41). The garments, anointing oil, and sacrificial blood underscored holiness, mediation, and substitution. Without this divine act the tribe of Levi had no inherent right to approach God.

Perpetual Generation and Covenant

Numbers 3:3 affirms that the priesthood was transmitted by birth: “These were the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to serve as priests.” The ministry remained bound to the Aaronic line (compare 1 Chronicles 6:10; 1 Chronicles 24:2). Yet Deuteronomy 10:6 reminds Israel that even transfers of camp could not dissolve the covenantal obligations of the priesthood.

Daily Ministry Before the Holy One

Priestly service encompassed:
• Offering continual burnt offerings (Exodus 29:38-42).
• Maintaining the golden lampstand and incense altar (Exodus 30:7-8, 30).
• Teaching God’s statutes (Leviticus 10:11).

The phrase “to minister as priest” summarizes this life of perpetual mediation between a holy God and a sinful people.

High-Priestly Atonement

Leviticus 16:32 concentrates כָּהַן on the Day of Atonement: “The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement.” Annual entry into the Most Holy Place prefigured a greater, final atonement (Hebrews 9:11-14).

Joyful Garments of Salvation

Isaiah 61:10 casts priestly clothing into eschatological hope: “He has clothed me with garments of salvation; He has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, like a bridegroom adorned with a priestly headdress.” The prophetic vision widens priestly imagery to encompass the redeemed community.

Failure and Judgment

Repeated verb uses warn of disqualification. Hosea 4:6 laments, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests.” Ezekiel 44:13 speaks of Levites who “shall not come near to Me to serve as priests” because of idolatry. 2 Chronicles 11:14 records Levites abandoning Jeroboam’s apostate cult.

Messianic and New-Covenant Fulfillment

The Old Testament verb prepares for the priestly office of Jesus Christ. He is “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17). His once-for-all sacrifice renders obsolete the repetitive verb actions of Exodus and Leviticus. In Him the church inherits a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), empowered to “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Practical Implications for Believers

1. Access: Christ’s finished work grants every believer direct approach to the throne of grace.
2. Holiness: The stringent consecration of Aaron calls the church to moral and doctrinal purity.
3. Intercession: As Israel’s priests bore the names of the tribes on their garments, so Christians bear one another before God in prayer.
4. Instruction: Faithful teaching guards the flock from the fate of Hosea’s rejected priests.
5. Worship: True worship remains God-centered, Scripture-regulated, and blood-bought.

Thus כָּהַן unfolds the biblical drama of priestly service—from Sinai’s inaugural ordination to the consummate High Priest who perfects all who draw near through Him.

וְכִהֲנ֖וּ וְכִהֲנ֥וּ וְכִהֵ֥ן וַֽיְכַהֲנ֔וּ וַיְכַהֵ֛ן וַיְכַהֵ֤ן ויכהן ויכהנו וכהן וכהנו יְכַהֵ֣ן יכהן כִּהֵ֔ן כהן לְכַהֲנוֹ־ לְכַהֵ֖ן לְכַהֵ֣ן לְכַהֵ֥ן לְכַהֵֽן׃ לכהן לכהן׃ לכהנו־ מִכַּהֵ֖ן מִכַּהֵ֣ן מכהן ki·hên kiHen kihên lə·ḵa·hă·nōw- lə·ḵa·hên lechahanov lechaHen ləḵahănōw- ləḵahên mik·ka·hên mikkaHen mikkahên vaychahaNu vaychaHen vechihaNu vechiHen way·ḵa·hă·nū way·ḵa·hên wayḵahănū wayḵahên wə·ḵi·hă·nū wə·ḵi·hên wəḵihănū wəḵihên yə·ḵa·hên yechaHen yəḵahênInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts