Hen
“Grace or favor”
Summary
Hen (meaning "grace") appears in Zechariah as a name—probably for Josiah son of Zephaniah—and the common hen is used by Jesus as a moving image of His longing to protect Jerusalem.
☩The Person Named Hen
In Zechariah 6:14, Hen (meaning "grace" or "favor") son of Zephaniah is mentioned in connection with the memorial crowns in the Temple. By comparing verse 14 with verse 10, Hen appears to be another name for Josiah. Some translations treat it not as a proper name but render the phrase "for the favor of the son of Zephaniah."
☩The Bird
The hen appears only in Jesus' lament over Jerusalem: "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" This tender maternal image powerfully expresses Christ's protective love and Jerusalem's tragic rejection of it. That so common a bird receives such slight notice elsewhere in Scripture is noteworthy.
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hen," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Hen," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hen," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hen (1)," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).