--- title: טָמֵא — be unclean · The Tanakh dictionary description: טָמֵא (2930), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 162 times: be unclean. BDB 1906: vb. Pi. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2930.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [ט](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1496.md)‎ / טָמֵא‎ # טָמֵא «טָמֵא» in the Tanakh dictionary: **be unclean** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers. **Used:** 162 times · **Key:** 2930 · **BDB:** טָמֵא ### Glosses he.will.be.unclean (38); it.will.be.unclean (17); he (6) ### Meaning (OSHB) be unclean [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1496/2930/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) vb. Pi. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1496/2930/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** vb. be or become unclean (NH Pi. pollute (ceremonially); Aramaic טְמָא and especially deriv., ܛܰܡܰܐ Pa. pollute; v. RSK 307 ff.)— Pf. 3 ms. ט׳ Lv 11:25 + 22 times; 3 fs. טָֽמְאָה 12:2 + 2 times; 2 fs. טָמֵאת Ez 22:4; pl. טָֽמְאוּ Lv 15:18; Impf. יִטְמָא Lv 5:3 + 34 times; 3 fs. תִּטְמָא 12:2 + 4 times; pl. יִטְמְאוּ ψ 106:39; Inf. טָמְאָה Lv 15:32 + 6 times;—be or become unclean: sexually, c. בְּ Lv 18:20, 23 (H), Ez 23:17; the land Lv 18:25, 27 (H). religiously, with idols Ez 22:3; c. בְ v 4; with necromancers Lv 19:31 (H); by sacrificing children to idols ψ 106:39. ceremonially, by contact with carcasses of unclean animals Lv 11:24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34(×2), 35, 36, 40 (P); any carcass 17:15 (H); eating of a carcass 22:8 (H); by issues 15:4, 9, 20(×2), 24, 27, 32 (P); by contact with an unclean man 5:3; 15:4 (P), 22:5 (H), or thing 22:6 (H); by leprosy 13:14, 46; 14:36, 46 (P); by contact with the dead Nu 6:12; 19:20 (P), Ez 44:25, or with one unclean by such contact Nu 19:22 (P), Hg 2:13(×2); by contact with creeping things Lv 22:5 (H); certain animals were always unclean 11:26, 27 (P). In ordinary cases of uncleanness טמא עד הערב unclean till even Lv 11:24, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 39, 40(×2); 14:46; 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 10(×2), 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 27 Nu 19:7, 8, 10, 21, 22 (all P), Lv 17:15; 22:6 (H); but uncleanness lasted 7 days for woman bearing a son Lv 12:2(×2) (P), for man lying with woman having an issue 15:24 (P), or one coming in contact with the dead Nu 19:11, 14, 16 (P); it lasted 14 days for a woman bearing a daughter Lv 12:5 (P). Pf. 3 ms. נִטְמָא Ho 5:3; 6:10; 3 fs. נִטְמְאָה Nu 5:27, 28; נִטְמָ֑אָה 5:13 + 5 times; 1 s. נִטְמֵאתִי Je 2:23; 2 m.pl. נִטְמֵתֶם Lv 11:43 (א omitted by scribal error; but Ges al. derive from טמה), etc. + 4 times pf.; Pt. pl. נִטְמְאִים Ez 20:30, 31;—defile oneself, be defiled: sexually, Lv 18:24 (H), Nu 5:13, 14(×2), 20, 27, 28, 29 (P). by idolatry conceived as whoredom Ho 5:3; 6:10 Je 2:23 Ez 20:30, 31, 43; 23:7, 13, 30. ceremonially, by eating creeping things Lv 11:43. be regarded as unclean (cf. Pi. 4), prob. נִטְמִינוּ Jb 18:3 we are accounted as unclean; metapl. form; on another view v. טמה. Pf. טִמֵּא Gn 34:5 + 15 times; sf. טִמְּאוֹ Lv 13:8 + 3 times; 2 fs. טִמֵּאת Ez 5:11, etc. + 7 times Pf.; Impf. יְטַמֵּא 2 K 23:8, etc. + 12 times Impf.; Imv. pl. טַמְּאוּ Ez 9:7; Inf. טַמֵּא Lv 13:44 + 2 times; sf. טַמְּאָם 15:31, etc. + 4 times Inf.;—defile: sexually Gn 34:5, 13, 27 (R), Ez 18:6, 11, 15; 22:11; 33:26; the land by sexual impurities of the people Lv 18:28 (H); Isr. by spiritual whoredom Ez 23:17. religiously: the land, by bloodshed Nu 35:34 (P); by allowing the dead body of the murderer to hang on the tree over night Dt 21:23; by idolatry Je 2:7 Ez 36:17, 18; Isr. defiled the sacred places by the sacrifice of children Lv 20:3 (H), Ez 23:38, and God defiled him thereby 20:26; he defileth the sacred places by idolatry 2 Ch 36:14 Je 7:30 = 32:34, Ez 5:11; the holy name of י׳ 43:7, 8; Josiah defiled the idolatrous places of worship by destroying them and making them unfit for use 2 K 23:8, 10, 13, 16; of Isr. defiling idolatrous images Is 30:22, and the nations the temple of God ψ 79:1. ceremonially: by ceremonial uncleanness, the sacred places Lv 15:31 Nu 19:13, 20 (P); the camp Nu 5:3 (P); the temple by dead bodies Ez 9:7; the Nazirite’s head of separation by a death occurring in his presence Nu 6:9 (P); the people defile themselves (נפשׁתיכם) by creeping things Lv 11:44 (P). pronounce or declare ceremonially unclean: the leper Lv 13:3, 8, 11, 15, 20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 44(×2), 59 (P); unclean animals 20:25 (H). Pt. נַפְשִׁי לֹא מְטֻמָּאָה Ez 4:14 myself is not polluted. Impf. יִטַּמָּא Lv 21:1 + 4 times; pl. יִטַּמְּאוּ Ez 14:11; 37:23; יִטַּמָּ֑אוּ Ho 9:4 Ez 44:25, etc. + 6 times Impf.;—reflexive, defile oneself: by eating of an unaccepted peace-offering Ho 9:4; c. בְּ Lv 18:24, 30 (H), 11:43 (P), Ez 14:11; 20:7, 18; 37:23; c. לְ for a dead person Lv 21:1, 3, 11 (H), Nu 6:7 (P); by Lv 11:24 (P); without prep. 21:4 (H), Ez 44:25. Pf. אַהֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר הֻטַּמָּ֑אָה Dt 24:4 after that she has been defiled (sexually); on form v. Ges§ 54. 3. Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 141 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (3 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «טָמֵא» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1496/2930/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Leviticus 13:14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/LEV.13.14/) וּבְי֨וֹם הֵרָא֥וֹת בּ֛וֹ בָּשָׂ֥ר חַ֖י יִטְמָֽא׃ *Word for word:* and on the.day appears on him flesh living he.will.be.unclean *JPS 1917:* But whensoever raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. [Leviticus 21:4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/LEV.21.4/) לֹ֥א יִטַּמָּ֖א בַּ֣עַל בְּעַמָּ֑יו לְהֵ֖חַלּֽוֹ׃ *Word for word:* not he.will.make.himself.unclean a.husband among kinspeople(s) his he to profane.himself *JPS 1917:* He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. - ← previous: [טַלְמוֹן](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2929.md) - next →: [טָמֵא](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2931.md) - ↑ back to [ט](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1496.md)