Small - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Adjective
Strong's Number: H6996
Original Word: qat?an
Usage Notes: "small; youngest"; qat?on
Usage Number: 2
Strong's Number: H6994
Original Word: qat?on
Usage Notes: "small; young; insignificant." These adjectives are synonymous. Both occur in all periods of biblical Hebrew, qat?an, 47 times; qat?on, 56 times. Qat?on in its first appearance means "small and insignificant": "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night…" (Gen. 1:16). The first appearance of qat?an bears the sense "youngest": "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him" (Gen. 9:24).
In their first nuance, "small," the words are often contrasted to gadôl, "great": "And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord…" (2 Chron. 36:18). Other uses of the words to mean "small" include their application to the size of a set of weights (Deut. 25:13), to the size of the smallest finger of one's hand (1 Kings 12:10), and to the degree of seriousness of a given sin (Num. 22:18).
In the sense "young" these words refer to the relative age of an individual: "And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid…" (2 Kings 5:2). Notice 2 Kings 5:14: "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child…." In a related use the word is comparative, contrasting the age of a given individual with that of his sibling(s): "Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither" (Gen. 42:15).
Finally, these adjectives can represent the idea "insignificant," or small in importance or strength: "Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great…" (Deut. 1:17). In a related nuance qat?on signifies "low in social standing": "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel…?" (1 Sam. 15:17). In Exod. 18:22 the word suggests triviality: "And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge…."
Usage Number: 3
Part Of Speech: Verb
Usage Notes: Qat?on means "to be small, insignificant." This verb occurs 4 times in biblical Hebrew and emphasizes smallness in quality or quantity. The word refers to "being insignificant" in Gen. 32:10: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…" (cf. 2 Sam. 7:19, nasb). In Amos 8:5, qat?on refers to "making small."