StrongerBible

arom

עָרוֹם

HebrewH6174“naked, bare”

Appears 16 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 2:251Sa 19:24Job 1:21 (2×)Job 22:6Job 24:7Job 24:10Job 26:6Ecc 5:15(14)Isa 20:2Isa 20:3Isa 20:4Isa 58:7Hos 2:3(5)Amo 2:16Mic 1:8
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradeah-ROHMadjective

What arom means

uncovered: stripped of clothing or protection, from total nakedness down to having too little to wear

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

The one idea underneath every use of this word is being uncovered, exposed, and without protection. What that exposure means is set entirely by the situation around it, which is why the same word can describe such different scenes.

The English word "naked" makes readers picture complete nudity, but most of the time this word does not require that. It often means a person has only one garment or far too little to wear, and in scenes of defeat it means a soldier or captive stripped of armor and dignity rather than literally bare. Only a few passages clearly call for full nakedness.

The senses below sort these uses by what the exposure does in each context:

  • the destitute who need clothing
  • the defeated and grieving who are stripped
  • the creature who comes and goes from life with nothing
  • the unashamed openness of the first couple in the garden
  • even the realm of the dead lying open before God

The single word holds all of these because, in each, something or someone is laid bare.

Nuances

1alacking adequate clothing: the destitute person who has too little to wear and needs to be covered
Job 22:6Job 24:7Job 24:10Isa 58:7Hos 2:3(5)
1bstripped in defeat, captivity, or grief: a soldier, captive, or mourner laid bare of armor, clothing, and standing
1Sa 19:24Isa 20:2Isa 20:3Isa 20:4Amo 2:16Mic 1:8
1cbare as a creature: coming into and leaving life with nothing, a picture of human transience
Job 1:21 (2×)Ecc 5:15(14)
1dunashamed and exposed: the open, integral nakedness of the first couple before the fall
Gen 2:25
1elaid open to God's sight: the realm of the dead exposed before God, a picture of total divine knowledge
Job 26:6

What scholars say about arom

The standard lexica derive this adjective from the root meaning to be bare or lay bare, not from the similar-sounding root for shrewdness, and they agree on its basic outline: a single short gloss whose force depends entirely on context. H. Niehr's TDOT article observes that, apart from Genesis 2:25, every use sits in a negative field of poverty, vulnerability, grief, captivity, or adultery. The interesting scholarly debates are about nuance: whether Eden's nakedness signals innocence or childlikeness (Wenham and Hamilton against Walton's second option), whether the prophets picture total or partial undress (Wildberger and Oswalt for partial, Roberts for full), how to read the womb-to-grave saying of Job 1:21 (Habel and Pope's earth-as-mother against Clarke's plain grave), and the ethics of the stripping imagery in Hosea and Ezekiel. Most authorities reject any real etymological merger with the word for crafty and treat the Genesis wordplay as a deliberate play on sound.

In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • BDB, p. 736, s.v. עָרוֹםlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. עָרוֹםlexicon
  • David J. A. Clines, Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, s.v. עָרוֹםlexicon
  • H. Niehr, "עָרוֹם," Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. XI, pp. 349-354dictionary
  • A. H. Konkel, "עָרוֹם," New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, vol. 3, #6873dictionary
  • Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary 1, pp. 50-51, 71-73commentary
  • Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis 1-17, NICOT, pp. 187-188commentary
  • Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis I, p. 95commentary
  • John H. Walton, Genesis, NIV Application Commentary, p. 179commentary
  • Norman C. Habel, The Book of Job, Old Testament Library, pp. 369-373commentary
  • Michael V. Fox, A Time to Tear Down and a Time to Build Up: A Rereading of Ecclesiastes, pp. 235-238monograph
  • Hans Wildberger, Jesaja 13-27, Biblischer Kommentar Altes Testament, p. 756commentary
  • J. J. M. Roberts, First Isaiah, Hermeneia, pp. 267-269commentary
  • Shalom M. Paul, Amos, Hermeneiacommentary
  • Hans Walter Wolff, Hosea, Hermeneia, pp. 33-34commentary

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

All attested forms of עָרוֹם

m s absolute

עָרוֹם, עָרֹם

Job 24:7, Job 24:10, Job 26:6, Ecc 5:15, Isa 20:2, Isa 20:3, Isa 20:4, Amo 2:16

m p absolute

עֲרוּמִּים

Gen 2:25, Job 22:6

f s absolute

עֲרֻמָּה

Hos 2:3