תָּם
tâm · H8535 · Hebrew · 15 occurrences
Meanings
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joined
Literally: completed; hence: state in which two objects have been made into one
ExamplesExodus 26:24 “They shall be double beneath, and together they shall be complete to its top to the first ring; this is how it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners.
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perfect
Literally: complete; hence: state in which humans have no visible bodily blemish or defect
ExamplesSong of Solomon 5:2 “I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me, my sister, my darling, My dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the dew drops of the night.’
Song of Solomon 6:9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. The young women saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,
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innocent, blameless
Literally: complete; hence: state in which humans are considered morally blameless, with profound moral uprightness and integrity
ExamplesJob 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
Job 1:8 The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
Job 2:3 The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
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quiet, gentle
Literally: complete; hence, possibly: state in which humans are content to live according to a commonly accepted lifestyle, without any traits that would be considered unusual or even extravagant
ExamplesGenesis 25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a civilized man, living in tents.
How it’s used In 4 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
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- יmy 2
Named alongside itApposition
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- אָחוֹתsister 1
- יוֹנָהdove 1
What is done to itIt is the object
8 occurrences in 6 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 3
- יָרָהto teach, to shoot 1
- כָּלָהto be finished 1
- מָאַסto reject, to despise 1
- שָׁמַרto keep, to guard, to observe 1
- שָׂנֵאto hate 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- אֲנִיI 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 3 words
- צַדִּיק tsaddîyq · H6662 · righteous, just, right
- Both lexemes denote moral/ethical integrity and can substitute for one another in many contexts describing a righteous/blameless person. תָּם (tâm, H8535) includes "coupled together" and "plain" senses that extend beyond pure moral meaning, but its "perfect, undefiled, upright" core overlaps substantially with צַדִּיק (tsaddîyq, H6662)'s "just, righteous."
- נָקִי nâqîy · H5355 · innocent, free from obligation, not liable
- Both words describe states of being without fault or guilt: נָקִי focuses on being clean of guilt or obligation, while תָּם emphasizes completeness, integrity and perfection of moral character.
- יָשָׁר yâshâr · H3477 · straight, "straight way" = safe journey
- Both words denote moral qualities of integrity and uprightness, and both are rendered "upright".
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Attach002003001001
- This adjective denotes being joined together, as in Exodus 26:24's instruction that the tabernacle's boards be coupled together and complete to the first ring.
- Good002001001031
- The adjective also denotes a peaceable, upright character, as in Genesis 25:27's description of Jacob as a civilized man living in tents.
- Innocent002003003015
- The adjective also denotes moral blamelessness, as in Job 1:1's description of Job as blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
- Patient002001002020
- This domain reflects a further sense of steady, even-tempered character, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
Word family 6 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H8535. tam תָּם adjective complete — ׳ת Gen 25:27 Gen 25:10t.; suffix תַּמָּתִי Son 5:2;…
תָּם adjective complete — ׳ת Gen 25:27 Gen 25:10t.; suffix תַּמָּתִי Son 5:2; Son 6:9 (late, except Gen 25:27); —
1 complete, perfect: in beauty Son 5:2; Son 6:9; of physical strength Psa 73:4 (read תָּם לָ֑מוֺ Ew De DrSam. xxxi Che Bae and others).
2 sound, wholesome: תָּם אישׁ, of Jacob as tent-dweller, opposed to Esau, hunter, Gen 25:27 (J; De leutseliger Mann, Di ruhig, still, AV RV plain man; ׳ת here possibly redactional, = 3).
3 complete, morally innocent, having integrity: תָּם אִישׁ Job 1:8; Job 2:3; ׳ת alone Job 1:1; Job 8:20; Job 9:20-21, Job 9:22; Pro 29:10; Psa 37:37; Psa 64:5. — תַּמִּים see [תָּאם]. p. 1060f
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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