---
title: חֲמוֹת — husband’s mother · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חֲמוֹת (2545), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 11 times: husband’s mother. BDB 1906: n.f. husband’s mother. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# חֲמוֹת

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«חֲמוֹת» in the Tanakh dictionary: **husband’s mother** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 11 times · **Key:** 2545 · **BDB:** חָמוֹת

### Glosses

mother-in-law (11)

### Meaning (OSHB)

husband’s mother [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2545/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.f. husband’s mother [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2545/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.f. husband’s mother (NH חָמוֹת, Aramaic חֲמָתָא; Arabic حَمَاةٌ husband’s mother; Assyrian emêtu, ZimBP 48; Ethiopic ሐማት: )—only sf. חֲמוֹתֵךְ Ru 2:11; 3:17; חֲמוֹתָהּ Ru 1:14 + 7 times; חֲמֹתָהּ Mi 7:6;—of Naomi Ru 1:14; 2:11, 18, 19(×2), 23; 3:1, 6, 16, 17; בַּת קָמָ֫ה בְאִמָּ֔הּ כַּלָּה בַּחֲמֹתָהּ Mi 7:6.

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Why these entries: BDB: same consonants, part of speech agrees, 10 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (9 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 2 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (6 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חֲמוֹת» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2545/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Ruth 3:6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/RUT.3.6/)

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וַתֵּ֖רֶד הַגֹּ֑רֶן וַתַּ֕עַשׂ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוַּ֖תָּה חֲמוֹתָֽהּ׃

*Word for word:* and she.went.down the.threshing floor and she.did according to.all that she had.commanded.her mother-in-law her

*JPS 1917:* And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.

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[Ruth 1:14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/RUT.1.14/)

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וַתִּשֶּׂ֣נָה קוֹלָ֔ן וַתִּבְכֶּ֖ינָה ע֑וֹד וַתִּשַּׁ֤ק עָרְפָּה֙ לַחֲמוֹתָ֔הּ וְר֖וּת דָּ֥בְקָה בָּֽהּ׃

*Word for word:* and they.raised voice their and they.wept again and she.kissed Orpah (to) mother-in-law her and Ruth she.clung to her

*JPS 1917:* And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth cleaved unto her.

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