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yamin

יָמִין

HebrewH3225right hand, right side, ...

Appears 140 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 13:9Gen 24:49Gen 48:13 (2×)Gen 48:14Gen 48:17Gen 48:18Exo 14:22Exo 14:29Exo 15:6 (2×)Exo 15:12Exo 29:22Lev 7:32Lev 7:33Lev 8:25Lev 8:26Lev 9:21Num 18:18Num 20:17Num 22:26Deu 2:27Deu 5:32Deu 17:11Deu 17:20Deu 28:14Deu 33:2Jos 1:7Jos 17:7Jos 23:6Jdg 3:15Jdg 3:16Jdg 3:21Jdg 5:26Jdg 7:20Jdg 16:29Jdg 20:161Sa 6:121Sa 11:21Sa 23:191Sa 23:242Sa 2:192Sa 2:212Sa 16:62Sa 20:92Sa 24:51Ki 2:191Ki 7:39 (2×)1Ki 7:491Ki 22:192Ki 23:131Ch 6:39(24)
Names & words formed with this
Word studyyaw-MEENnoun

What yamin means

1

the right hand, or the right side: in Hebrew the side of strength, favor, and honor

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

At its base this word names the right hand and, more broadly, the right side of a body or an object. In a culture where most people were right-handed, the right hand was the working, fighting, oath-taking hand, so the word quickly carries the weight of strength and skill alongside its plain bodily sense.

From there it becomes the standard way to speak of the place of honor. To stand or be seated at someone's right hand is to hold the position of nearest trust and highest rank, whether at a king's side or, supremely, at God's. The same image turns into a picture of saving power: God's "right hand" is shorthand for the decisive strength by which he rescues and judges.

These are shades of one idea rather than separate words. The honored position and the mighty deliverance both grow directly out of the right hand being the side of capability and worth, so they are kept together as senses of a single meaning.

Nuances

1athe right hand as a literal body part, or the right side of an object
Gen 48:13 (2×)Gen 48:14Gen 48:17Gen 48:18Jdg 3:21Jdg 5:26Jdg 16:29Jdg 20:162Sa 2:212Sa 20:9Neh 8:4Pro 3:16
1bthe right hand as a position of honor, nearest trust, or highest rank
1Ki 2:191Ki 22:191Ch 6:39(24)2Ch 18:18Psa 16:11Psa 45:9(10)Psa 109:6Psa 109:31Psa 110:1Psa 110:5Psa 142:4Zec 3:1
1cGod's right hand as a picture of his saving strength and power to deliver
Exo 15:6 (2×)Exo 15:12Psa 17:7Psa 18:35(36)Psa 20:6(7)Psa 21:8(9)Psa 44:3(4)Psa 48:10(11)Psa 60:5(7)Psa 63:8(9)Psa 74:11Psa 89:13(14)
1dthe right as a direction of movement or turning: "to the right" (often paired with "to the left")
Gen 13:9Gen 24:49Num 20:17Num 22:26Deu 2:27Deu 5:32Deu 17:11Deu 17:20Deu 28:14Jos 1:7Jos 23:62Sa 2:19
2

the south: the direction on your right hand when you face the sunrise

TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled

The same word also means "the south." This follows from how ancient Israelites oriented themselves: the basic direction was east, toward the rising sun, and when you face east the south lies on your right. So the word for the right side became a word for the southern direction.

This is a genuinely distinct meaning, not just another shade of "right hand." A reader has to know which is intended from the setting: a passage marking out a border or a compass direction is using the directional sense, while a passage about a body, a position of honor, or God's power is using the right-hand sense. The two are historically linked but cannot be collapsed into one definition.

Jos 17:71Sa 23:191Sa 23:242Sa 24:52Ki 23:13Job 23:9Psa 89:12Ezk 16:46

What scholars say about yamin

The standard lexica treat יָמִין as a single polysemous noun: the primary sense is the right hand or right side, from which develop the figurative senses of the favored position (at the right hand) and of decisive, saving strength (especially God's right hand). The directional sense "the south" is universally explained as derived from orientation toward the east, where the south falls on the right. The proper name Benjamin (ben-yamin, "son of the right hand / son of the south") draws on the same word but is a separate lexical item.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. יָמִיןlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. יָמִיןlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. יָמִיןlexicon
  • TDOT, vol. 6, s.v. יָמִין (yāmîn)theological-dictionary

All attested forms of יָמִין

f s absolute

יָמִין, יָּמִין, יְמָנִית

Gen 24:49, Num 20:17, Num 22:26, Deu 2:27, Deu 5:32, Deu 17:11, Deu 17:20, Deu 28:14

f s construct

יְמִינוֹ, בִּימִינוֹ, מִימִינוֹ, וִימִינוֹ, לִימִינוֹ

Gen 48:14, Gen 48:17, Jdg 3:15, Jdg 3:16, Jdg 3:21, Jdg 20:16, 1Ch 6:39, 2Ch 18:18

f s construct

יְמִינְךָ, יְמִינֶךָ, בִּימִינְךָ, בִּימִינֶךָ, וִימִינְךָ, וִימִינֶךָ, לִימִינְךָ, מִימִינֶךָ

Gen 48:18, Exo 15:6, Exo 15:6, Exo 15:12, 2Sa 2:21, Psa 21:8, Psa 44:3, Psa 60:5

f s construct

יְמִין, מִימִין, לִימִין, בִּימִין

1Sa 23:24, 2Sa 20:9, 2Sa 24:5, Psa 77:10, Psa 89:42, Psa 118:15, Psa 118:16, Psa 118:16

f s construct

יְמִינִי, בִּימִינִי, וִימִינִי, לִימִינִי, מִימִינִי

Psa 73:23, Psa 137:5, Jer 22:24, Isa 44:20, Isa 48:13, Psa 110:1, Psa 16:8

f s construct

וִימִינָם, מִימִינָם, יְמִינָם

Psa 26:10, Psa 144:8, Psa 144:11, Exo 14:22, Exo 14:29, Jdg 7:20

f s construct

בִּימִינָהּ, וִימִינָהּ

Pro 3:16, Jdg 5:26

f s construct

מִימִינֵךְ

Ezk 16:46