StrongerBible

hamah

הָמָה

HebrewH1993“roar, be disquieted, ...”

Appears 34 times · tap a cell to see the verses

1Ki 1:41Psa 39:6(7)Psa 42:5(6)Psa 42:11(12)Psa 43:5Psa 46:3(4)Psa 46:6(7)Psa 55:17(18)Psa 59:6(7)Psa 59:14(15)Psa 77:3(4)Psa 83:2(3)Pro 1:21Pro 7:11Pro 9:13Pro 20:1Sng 5:4Isa 16:11Isa 17:12 (2×)Isa 22:2Isa 51:15Isa 59:11Jer 4:19Jer 5:22Jer 6:23Jer 31:20Jer 31:35Jer 48:36 (2×)Jer 50:42Jer 51:55Ezk 7:16Zec 9:15
Root family
Word studyhaw-MAWverb

What hamah means

to make a loud, restless sound: to roar, growl, moan, or be in an uproar

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

At its core this word names one thing: a loud, unquiet, sustained sound. It does not fix a pitch or a source so much as a quality, the churning, restless noise of something that will not settle. The same word can carry the crash of the sea, the growl of a dog, the din of a crowd, or the low moan of a grieving person, because in Hebrew all of these are heard as the same kind of commotion.

The senses fan out from that single picture. In nature it is the roar of pounding waves. Among people it becomes the uproar of nations at war, of a city in turmoil, or of someone loud and unruly with drink. Turned inward, it describes the heart, the stomach, or the spirit churning with grief, longing, or dread, so that the psalmist can ask his own soul why it is in such a commotion.

That inward use is the word's most striking move. Hebrew locates deep feeling in the body's insides, so to say the stomach or heart roars is to say a person is shaken to the core. The noise is real to the sufferer even when no one else can hear it.

Nuances

1athe deep, churning roar of the sea and its waves
Psa 46:3(4)Isa 51:15Jer 5:22Jer 6:23Jer 31:35Jer 50:42Jer 51:55
1bthe uproar of a crowd, of nations, or of a bustling, noisy city
1Ki 1:41Psa 39:6(7)Psa 46:6(7)Psa 83:2(3)Pro 1:21Isa 17:12 (2×)Isa 22:2
1cthe low growl of a dog prowling the city
Psa 59:6(7)Psa 59:14(15)
1dthe churning of the inner person (the heart, the stomach, or the spirit) in grief, longing, or unrest
Psa 42:5(6)Psa 42:11(12)Psa 43:5Psa 55:17(18)Psa 77:3(4)Sng 5:4Isa 16:11Isa 59:11Jer 4:19Jer 31:20Jer 48:36 (2×)Ezk 7:16
1eto be loud and unruly, whether a clamorous person or someone raucous with drink
Pro 7:11Pro 9:13Pro 20:1Zec 9:15

What scholars say about hamah

The lexica treat H1993 המה as a single, well-understood root, likely onomatopoeic, denoting a loud, tumultuous, sustained sound. HALOT and BDB organize the range by subject rather than by distinct homonyms: the roar of the sea (Jer 5:22; 6:23), the uproar of peoples and cities (Ps 46:6; Isa 22:2), the growl of dogs (Ps 59:6, 14), the raucous noise of a clamorous woman or of drink (Prov 7:11; 20:1), and, figuratively, the agitation of the inner organs and spirit as the seat of emotion (Isa 16:11; Jer 4:19; Song 5:4; Ps 42:5). It is cognate with and the source of the frequent noun הָמוֹן (tumult, multitude) and הֶמְיָה (sound), and TWOT (no. 505) and TDOT discuss the cluster together. There is no significant dispute over the verb's meaning.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. המהlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. המהlexicon
  • TWOT, no. 505 (המה)reference

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of הָמָה

qal imperfect 3mp

יֶהֱמוּ, יֶהֱמָיוּ

Psa 46:3, Psa 59:6, Psa 59:14, Isa 16:11, Psa 39:6, Psa 83:2, Isa 17:12

qal imperfect 3ms

יֶהֱמֶה

Jer 6:23, Jer 48:36, Jer 48:36, Jer 50:42

qal participle f s absolute

הֹמִיָּה, הוֹמָה, הוֹמִיָּה

Pro 7:11, Pro 9:13, 1Ki 1:41, Isa 22:2

qal perfect 3cp

הָמוּ

Psa 46:6, Sng 5:4, Jer 31:20, Zec 9:15

qal conjunctive-imperfect 1cs

וְאֶהֱמֶה, וְאֶהֱמָיָה

Psa 55:17, Psa 77:3

qal consecutive-imperfect 3mp

וַיֶּהֱמוּ

Isa 51:15, Jer 31:35

qal consecutive-perfect 3cp

וְהָמוּ

Jer 5:22, Jer 51:55

qal imperfect 2fs

תֶּהֱמִי

Psa 42:11, Psa 43:5

qal participle f p absolute

הֹמוֹת, הֹמִיּוֹת

Ezk 7:16, Pro 1:21

qal participle m s absolute

הֹמֶה

Pro 20:1, Jer 4:19

qal consecutive-imperfect 2fs

וַתֶּהֱמִי

Psa 42:5

qal imperfect 1cp

נֶהֱמֶה

Isa 59:11

qal infinitive-construct construct

הֲמוֹת

Isa 17:12