Genesis 25:27
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
Read in context →DEEP KJV WORD STUDY
Cunning
Begin with the exact English word as it appears in the King James Bible. Follow its whole-Bible usage, book distribution, related indexed forms, Webster 1828, every occurrence, and the occurrence-specific Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek mappings behind it.
Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Read in context →Exodus
13 occurrences in 12 verses.
Browse those occurrences →Where cunning appears.
This is exact English-word usage from the canonical KJV token index, not a Strong's estimate.
Which Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek words stand behind this KJV word?
These relationships come from exact verse + token-position mappings. We do not assume that one English spelling always equals one Strong's number. A single English token can also carry more than one source tag, so the Strong's-link total can exceed the number of English occurrences.
חָשַׁב
châshab · khaw-shab'
8 times translated as this KJV form124 total Strong's occurrences
properly, to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute
Strong's KJV usage: (make) account (of), conceive, consider, count, cunning (man, work, workman), devise, esteem, find out, forecast, hold, imagine, impute, invent, be like, mean, purpose, reckon(-ing be made), regard, think.
Other KJV renderings
Strong's first: Exodus 26:1Strong's last: Exodus 39:8
Open full H2803 profile →חָכָם
châkâm · khaw-kawm'
6 times translated as this KJV form137 total Strong's occurrences
wise, (i.e. intelligent, skilful or artful)
Strong's KJV usage: cunning (man), subtil, (un-), wise((hearted), man).
Strong's first: 2 Chronicles 2:7Strong's last: Jeremiah 10:9
Open full H2450 profile →יָדַע
yâdaʻ · yaw-dah'
4 times translated as this KJV form941 total Strong's occurrences
to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
Strong's KJV usage: acknowledge, acquaintance(-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, (un-) awares, can(-not), certainly, comprehend, consider, × could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be (ig-) norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have (knowledge), (be, make, make to be, make self) known, be learned, lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, × prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have (understanding), × will be, wist, wit, wot.
Other KJV renderings
Strong's first: Genesis 25:27Strong's last: Daniel 1:4
Open full H3045 profile →בִּין
bîyn · bene
1 times translated as this KJV form169 total Strong's occurrences
to separate mentally (or distinguish), i.e.(generally) understand
Strong's KJV usage: attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, mark, perceive, be prudent, regard, (can) skill(-full), teach, think, (cause, make to, get, give, have) understand(-ing), view, (deal) wise(-ly, man).
Other KJV renderings
Strong's first: 1 Chronicles 25:7Strong's last: 1 Chronicles 25:7
Open full H995 profile →דַּעַת
daʻath · dah'-ath
1 times translated as this KJV form90 total Strong's occurrences
knowledge
Strong's KJV usage: cunning, (ig-) norantly, know(-ledge), (un-) awares (wittingly).
Other KJV renderings
Strong's first: 1 Kings 7:14Strong's last: 1 Kings 7:14
Open full H1847 profile →מַחֲשָׁבָה
machăshâbâh · makh-ash-aw-baw'
1 times translated as this KJV form56 total Strong's occurrences
a contrivance, i.e. (concretely) a texture, machine, or (abstractly) intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice)
Strong's KJV usage: cunning (work), curious work, device(-sed), imagination, invented, means, purpose, thought.
Other KJV renderings
Strong's first: Exodus 35:33Strong's last: Exodus 35:33
Open full H4284 profile →Strong's data is a concordance/lexical reference layer. Scripture context controls interpretation. Lexical source data is shown separately from future TWBC editorial teaching.
Read the word in context.
13 occurrences match the current filters. Each row keeps its exact KJV token position so Original Word and TSK remain occurrence-specific.
H2803
Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
H2803
And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
H2803
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
H2803
And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
no direct Strong's tag
To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
H4284
And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
no direct Strong's tag
Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
no direct Strong's tag
Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
H2803
And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.
H2803
And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work.
no direct Strong's tag
And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
H2803
And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.
H2803
And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
English meaning and historical usage.
Dictionary data is kept visibly separate from Scripture and from lexical Strong's data.
cunning
CUNNING, adjective [G. See Can.]
1. Knowing; skillful; experienced; well-instructed. It is applied to all kinds of knowledge, but generally and appropriately, to the skill and dexterity of artificers, or the knowledge acquired by experience.
Esau was a cunning hunter. Genesis 23:1.
I will take away the cunning artificer. Isaiah 3:3.
A cunning workman. Exodus 38:23.
2. Wrought with skill; curious; ingenious.
With cherubs of cunning work shalt thou make them. Exodus 26:1.
[The foregoing senses occur frequently in our version of the scriptures, but are nearly or quite obsolete.]
3. Artful; shrewd; sly; crafty; astute; designing; as a cunning fellow.
They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere.
In this sense, the purpose or final end of the person may not be illaudalbe; but cunning implies the use of artifice to accomplish the purpose, rather than open, candid, or direct means. Hence,
4. Deceitful; trickish; employing stratagems for a bad purpose.
5. Assumed with subtilty; artful.
Accounting his integrity to be but a cunning face of falsehood.
CUNNING, noun
1. Knowledge; art; skill; dexterity.
Let my right hand forget her cunning Psalms 137:5.
2. Art; artifice; artfulness; craft; shrewdness; the faculty or act of using stratagem to accomplish a purpose. Hence in a bad sense, deceitfulness or deceit; fraudulent skill or dexterity.
Discourage cunning in a child; cunning is the ape of wisdom.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). A conservative base-form lookup may be used when the exact inflected KJV form is not a Webster headword.
Know what each layer is—and what it is not.
Curated TWBC teaching will remain a separate editorial layer. Raw source data is never silently rewritten to force a doctrinal conclusion.