דָּמָה
dâmâh · H1819 · Hebrew · 29 occurrences
Meanings
-
to be like, to be comparable to, to resemble
Process by which the similarity or dissimilarity between two entities is measured
ExamplesPsalm 89:6 For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD,
Psalm 102:6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the ruins.
Psalm 144:4 Man is like the breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
-
to make oneself like
Action by which humans place themselves at the level of deities claiming to be similar
ExamplesIsaiah 14:14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
-
to compare
Action by which humans measure the similarity or dissimilarity between two entities
ExamplesIsaiah 40:18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom then will you compare Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, That we would be alike?
-
to speak through parables
Meaning unsure; possibly: to pass on a message with the help of simple stories and figures of speech
ExamplesHosea 12:10 I have also spoken to the prophets, And I provided many visions, And through the prophets I spoke in parables.
-
to think, to intend
Action by which humans or deities exercise their minds in order to determine a course of action that will achieve a certain purpose
ExamplesNumbers 33:56 ‘And just as I plan to do to them, I will do to you.’”
Judges 20:5 “But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they raped my concubine so that she died.
2 Samuel 21:5 So they said to the king, “The man who destroyed us and who planned to eliminate us so that we would not exist within any border of Israel—
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
29 occurrences in 12 groups
- Not stated: I 7
- Not stated: you (one person) 7
- Not stated: we 3
- Not stated: you (more than one) 3
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
7 occurrences in 6 groups
- נִיme 2
- חֵסֵדsteadfast love, kindness, loyalty 1
- כְּפִירyoung lion 1
- אֵלGod, god 1
- מָהwhat?, why? 1
- ךְyou 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
23 occurrences in 25 groups
- אֵלto, toward+ מִיwho? 4
- Other words · 24 groups that occur once or twice (26) 26
With adverbsAdverbs
5 occurrences in 4 groups
- לֹאnot 3
- כָּכָהthus 1
- כֵּןthus 1
- אַלnot, do not 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- כlike/as 2
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 2 words
- חָשַׁב châshab · H2803 · to think about, to consider, to plan
- Both words overlap in the cognitive sense of thinking, devising or comparing, sharing "devise" among their meanings as a common mental operation.
- מָשַׁל mâshal · H4911 · to be like, to become like, to compare
- Both words denote acts of comparison or likening and share overlapping meaning (compare, be like, use similitudes or proverbs). They are distinct words that can substitute in comparison contexts.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ὁμοιόω homoióō · G3666 · to be like, to resemble, to be similar to
- Greek ὁμοιόω renders Hebrew דָּמָה in contexts of comparison and similitude, both denoting the act of likening one thing to another or establishing similarity.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- End002003003010
- This entry carries no end/cease sense of its own; the domain is bundle-shared with the distinct lexeme דָּמָה (dâmâh, H1820) and does not reflect an independent attested usage of דָּמָה in that sense.
- Non-Exist002002002006
- This entry carries no non-existence sense of its own; the domain is bundle-shared with the distinct lexeme דָּמָה (dâmâh, H1820). See דָּמָה (dâmâh, H1820).
- Compare002004002003
- דָּמָה denotes comparing or likening one thing to another, as at Psalm 48:10 — "As is Your name, God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth" (the comparative construction built on this root).
- Think002004002013
- דָּמָה denotes devising, planning, or intending in the mind, as at Numbers 33:56 — "And just as I plan to do to them, I will do to you" — and Judges 20:5 — "They intended to kill me."
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1819. damah I. דָּמָה verb be like, resemble (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic דְּמָא דְּמֵי,, ;…
I. דָּמָה verb be like, resemble (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic דְּמָא דְּמֵי,, ; compare דמין, price, Nabataean דמי id. (Nö in EutNab. Inscr. p. 35); also , and likeness (whence Arabic image, effigy, as loan-word Frä272) compare דְּמוּת) —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳ד Eze 31:8; Psa 144:4; Psa 144:3feminine singular דָּֽמְתָה Cant 7:8; 2 masculine singular דָּמִיתָ Eze 31:2, Eze 31:18; Eze 31:1singular דָּמִיתִי Psa 102:7; Psa 102:3plural דָּמוּ Eze 31:8; Eze 31:1plural דָּמִינוּ Isa 1:9; Imperfect3masculine singular יִדְמֶה Psa 89:7; Psa 89:1plural וְנִדְמֶה consecutive Isa 46:5; Imperative masculine singular דְּמֵה Son 2:17; Son 8:14; Participle דּוֺמֶה Son 2:9; — be like, resemble, of external appearance, followed by לְ, Cant 7:8; Son 2:9, Son 2:17; Son 8:14; followed by אֶלֿ Eze 31:8 (twice in verse); Eze 31:18 (all of tree, figurative of Pharaoh); of condition or quality followed by לְ Isa 1:9; Psa 102:7; Psa 144:4; so ליהוה יִדְמֶה ֗֗֗ מִי Psa 89:7; also absolute Isa 46:5; followed by אֶל Eze 31:2.
Pi`el Perfect דִּמָּה 2Sa 21:5, דִּמִּיתָ Psa 50:21; דִּמִּיתִי Num 33:56; Isa 14:24; suffix דִּמִּיתִיךָ Son 1:9, דִּמּוּ 2Sa 21:5; Imperfect יְדַמֶּה Isa 10:7; Isa 10:2feminine singular תְּדַמִּי Est 4:13 (jussive); אֲדַמֶּה Lam 2:13; Hos 12:11; Hos 12:2masculine plural תְּדַמְּיוּן Isa 40:18; suffix תְּדַמְּיוּנִי Isa 40:25; Isa 46:5; — liken, compare; imagine, think, devise; —
1 liken, i.e. consider to be like, compare, causative of
Qal followed by לְ of external appearance Son 1:9; of quality or condition Isa 46:5 (object ׳י) Lam 2:13; followed by אֶל of external appearance Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25 (both object God in reference to idols); absolute use comparisons or similitudes (parables, symbols, etc.) Hos 12:11 (subject ׳י).
2 imagine, form an idea, devise 2Sa 21:5 (on context compare Dr); think, intend, followed by Infinitive Num 33:56 (J or H) Jdg 20:5; Est 4:13; absolute Isa 10:7; compare Isa 14:24; think that, followed by object clause (Imperfect without conjunction) Psa 50:21; think of, followed by accusative Psa 48:10. Hithpa`el make oneself or become like; Imperfect לְעֶלְיוֺן אֶדַּמֶּה Isa 14:14 I will make myself like the Most High (on form compare Ges§ 54. 2).
[דְּמָה] verb be like (Biblical Hebrew I. דָּמָה); —
Pe`al Participle active דָּמֵה Dan 3:25 (ל person); feminine דָּֽמְיָה Dan 7:5 (לְדֹב).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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