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qomah

קוֹמָה

HebrewH6967height, stature

Appears 45 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 6:15Exo 25:10Exo 25:23Exo 27:1Exo 27:18Exo 30:2Exo 37:1Exo 37:10Exo 37:25Exo 38:1Exo 38:181Sa 16:71Sa 28:201Ki 6:21Ki 6:101Ki 6:201Ki 6:231Ki 6:261Ki 7:21Ki 7:151Ki 7:16 (2×)1Ki 7:231Ki 7:271Ki 7:321Ki 7:352Ki 19:232Ki 25:17 (2×)2Ch 4:12Ch 4:22Ch 6:13Sng 7:7(8)Isa 10:33Isa 37:24Jer 52:21Jer 52:22Ezk 13:18Ezk 17:6Ezk 19:11Ezk 31:3Ezk 31:5Ezk 31:10Ezk 31:14Ezk 40:5
Word studyko-MAHnoun

What qomah means

height: how tall something stands, measured straight up from the ground

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This word names the up-and-down dimension of a thing, the same measurement we mean by "height" or, for a living body, "stature." It comes from the verb meaning to rise or stand up, so at root it points to how far something reaches when it stands erect.

In practice it works in three connected ways. Most often it is a plain measurement: the height of the ark, the tabernacle furniture, Solomon's temple, and the great bronze pillars and basin are each given in cubits, listed beside their length and width. It also describes how tall a person or creature stands, like Saul towering over the people or the beloved compared to a tall palm. And in the prophets it pictures the impressive height of a great tree, which becomes a picture of a proud nation that grew tall and will be cut down.

The single idea of vertical reach runs through all three. The difference is only what is being measured and why it matters: a builder's exact figure, the look of a tall body, or the towering size that tempts pride.

Nuances

1athe measured height of a built object, given in cubits alongside its length and width
Gen 6:15Exo 25:10Exo 25:23Exo 27:1Exo 27:18Exo 30:2Exo 37:1Exo 37:10Exo 37:25Exo 38:1Exo 38:181Ki 6:2
1bthe stature of a living body: how tall a person or creature stands
1Sa 16:71Sa 28:20Sng 7:7(8)Ezk 13:18Ezk 17:6
1ctowering height, especially of a great tree, used as a picture of proud loftiness due to be brought down
2Ki 19:23Isa 10:33Isa 37:24Ezk 19:11Ezk 31:3Ezk 31:5Ezk 31:10Ezk 31:14

What scholars say about qomah

Standard lexica (BDB, HALOT, DCH) treat qomah as a single noun "height, stature," derived from the root qum "to arise, stand," with no homonym split. The bulk of attestations are measurement notices in the Priestly tabernacle accounts and the Deuteronomistic and Chronistic temple descriptions, where qomah is the vertical dimension paired with length and breadth. A second cluster denotes bodily stature (1 Samuel 16:7; Song 7:7). A distinctive prophetic usage in Ezekiel's tree allegories (chs. 17, 19, 31) and the Sennacherib taunt (2 Kings 19:23 // Isaiah 37:24; Isaiah 10:33) develops height into an image of hubris, where qomah stands in parallel with gobah "loftiness" and the verb gabah "to be high/proud." Commentators on Ezekiel 31 (e.g. Zimmerli, Block) read the towering cedar as Assyria/Egypt whose very height invites felling. The sense range is uncontested.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. קוֹמָהlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. קוֹמָהlexicon
  • DCH, s.v. קוֹמָהlexicon
  • W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2 (Hermeneia), on Ezekiel 31commentary
  • D. I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25-48 (NICOT), on Ezekiel 31commentary

All attested forms of קוֹמָה

f s construct

קוֹמָתוֹ, קֹמָתוֹ

1Sa 16:7, 1Sa 28:20, 1Ki 6:2, 1Ki 6:10, 1Ki 6:20, 1Ki 6:23, 1Ki 7:2, 1Ki 7:23

f s construct

קוֹמַת, וְקוֹמַת

1Ki 6:26, 1Ki 7:15, 1Ki 7:16, 1Ki 7:16, 2Ki 19:23, 2Ki 25:17, Isa 37:24, Jer 52:21

f s absolute

קוֹמָה, וְקוֹמָה, בְּקוֹמָה, הַקּוֹמָה, קֹמָה

1Ki 7:35, Ezk 13:18, Ezk 17:6, Ezk 31:3, Exo 38:18, Ezk 40:5, Ezk 31:10, Isa 10:33

f s construct

קוֹמָתָהּ

Gen 6:15, 1Ki 7:27

f s construct

קוֹמָתֵךְ

Sng 7:7

f s construct

בְקוֹמָתָם

Ezk 31:14