תְּהוֹם
tᵉhôwm · H8415 · Hebrew · 36 occurrences
Meanings
-
ocean, great deep
Great body of water located around and under the surface of the earth; when the world was newly created this water used to cover the earth as well; the subterranean water comes up to the surface of the earth through springs
ExamplesGenesis 1:2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
Genesis 8:2 Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained;
-
spring
A place where water wells up from the subterranean water mass
ExamplesDeuteronomy 8:7 “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in valleys and hills;
Psalm 42:7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
How it’s used In 8 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אֶרֶץland, earth, ground 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
7 occurrences in 2 groups
- רַבmany, great 5
- רָבַץto lie down 2
What it doesIt is the subject
9 occurrences in 9 groups
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
What is done to itIt is the object
5 occurrences in 5 groups
- חָשַׁבto think about 1
- כָּסָהto cover 1
- אָכַלto eat, to devour 1
- נָתַןto give, to put, to set 1
- עָלָהto go up 1
What it is said to bePredicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אַיִןthere is no, not 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- מִשְׁפָּטjustice, judgment, ordinance 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
7 occurrences in 4 groups
- בin/on/with 5
- מִןfrom 3
- אֵלto, toward 2
- כlike/as 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
9 occurrences in 6 groups
- פָּנִיםface, presence, before 3
- מַעְיָןspring 2
- בְּרָכָהblessing, praise, gift 1
- חֵקֶרexamination 1
- מַיִםwater 1
- עַיִןeye, sight 1
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.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἄβυσσος ábyssos · G12 · abyss, abode of evil spirits, very deep place
- Greek ἄβυσσος specifically denotes the cosmic abyss or underworld depths (often with eschatological/infernal connotations), while Hebrew תְּהוֹם has broader application to primordial ocean depths, subterranean waters, and general deep places without necessarily carrying infernal sense—the Greek term represents a semantically narrowed subset of the Hebrew's range.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Regions Under the Earth001003
- This noun denotes the deep that lies beneath the earth, as in Genesis 49:25's blessing invoking the blessings of the deep that lies beneath.
- Waterbodies001002008
- The noun also denotes the primeval waters, as in Genesis 1:2's description of darkness over the surface of the deep before creation.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H8415. tehom תִּהוֺם noun feminineGen 7:11 Gen 7:7t. and masculineJob 28:14 Job 28:5t.…
תִּהוֺם noun feminineGen 7:11 Gen 7:7t.
and masculineJob 28:14 Job 28:5t. (AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 62 Köii. 2. 167 Ency. Bib.DEEP) deep, sea, abyss (almost always in poetry); — absolute ׳ת Gen 1:2 +; plural absolute תְּהֹמוֺת Psa 77:17 +, etc., ׳בַּתּ Isa 63:13 + Isa 106:9 (only here with article); construct תְּהוֺמוֺת Isa 71:20 (but see 5 infra); —
1 deep, of subterranean waters, Gen 49:25 (poem in J; opposed to שָׁמַיִם), Deu 33:13 (opposed to id.); ת מַעְיְנוֺת ׳רַבָּה Gen 7:11; Gen 8:2 (P; || הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲרֻבֹּת), ת ׳עִינוֺת Pro 8:28 (|| שְׁחָקִים), Job 28:14; Job 38:16 (both || יָם); רַבָּה תְּהוֺם Amo 7:4 (probably), ת ׳מִשְׁמָּטֶיךָ רַבָּה Psa 36:7 (opposed to כְּהַרְרֵי צִדְקָֽתְךָ אֵל), Isa 51:10 (perhaps); so plural תְּהֹמוֺת, Pro 8:24 (|| מַעְיָנוֺת), Pro 3:20 (opposed to שְׁחָקִים), and probably Psa 33:7 (|| הַיָּם מֵי), Psa 135:6 ( + יַמִּים).
2 (deep) sea, overwhelming Tyre Eze 26:19 (|| הָרַבִּים הַמַּיִם), roaring at theoph. Hab 3:10; in General, || יָם, Job 38:30 (ת ׳מְּנֵי); || מַיִם Jon 2:6; alonE Job 41:24; figurative, ׳ת ׳אֶלתֿ קוֺרַא Job 42:8 (|| גַּלִּים מִשְׁבָּרִים,; but possibly here of Jordan, compare
4); in plural = abysses of sea, Exo 15:5, Exo 15:8 (of Red Sea, so) Isa 63:13 || Psa 106:9; Psa 77:17; also Psa 78:15 (in simile), Psa 107:26 (poetic of hollows of great waves, opposed to שָׁמַיִם); vaguely, כָּלתְּֿהֹמוֺת Psa 135:6; Psa 148:7.
3 primaeval ocean, deep, in Hebrew cosmogony, ת ׳מְּנֵי Gen 1:2 (P; || הַמַּיִם מְּנֵי), Pro 8:27 (|| שָׁמַיִם), Psa 104:6. — (compare, further, GunkSchöpfung u. Chaos 21 ff. OCWhitehouseHast. DB COSMOGONY ZimKAT3. 492 f., 509 f., 585).
4 deep, depth, of river Eze 31:4 (Nile; || מַיִם, + נַהֲרוֺתֶיהָ), Eze 31:15 (|| id.); plural of bursts of water fertilizing Canaan, ובהר בבקעה יוצאים Deu 8:7 ( + מַיִם נַחֲלֵי עֲיָנֹת,). — On Psa 42:8 see
2. 5. abyss (si vera lectio): הָאָרֶץ תְּהוֺמוֺת = Shejôl, Psa 71:20, but Ol We תַּחְתִיּוֺת.
[תַּחְמֻּכָה] see הפך. תָּו see תוה. below,
תּוֺא see תְּאוֺ. [תּוֺאָם] see תאם.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 1 entry
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
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.