--- title: אֵם — mother · The Tanakh dictionary description: אֵם (517), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 220 times: mother. BDB 1906: n.f. mother. 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/517.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/) / [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-5.md)‎ / אֵם‎ # אֵם «אֵם» in the Tanakh dictionary: **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. **Used:** 220 times · **Key:** 517 · **BDB:** אֵם² ### Glosses mother (106); his.mother (45); my.mother (18) ### Meaning (OSHB) mother [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/517/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) n.f. mother [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/517/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** n.f. mother (Ph. אם, Arabic أُمٌّ, إِمٌّ, Ethiopic እም, Sab. אם (only in n.pr. cf. e.g. BaeRel. 118) Assyrian ummu COTGloss; Aramaic אֵם, אִימָּא, ܐܶܡܳܐ )—א׳ abs. Gn 32:12 +; cstr. Gn 3:20 +; sf. אִמִּי Gn 20:12 + etc.; †pl. only sf. אִמֹּתֵנוּ La 5:3; אִמֹּתָם Je 16:3 La 2:12(×2)— lit. (human) mother, as parent Gn 20:12; 32:12; 44:20 Ex 2:8 ψ 51:7; 113:9 (opp. עֲקֶרֶת) Je 15:8, 10; 20:14; 22:26; 50:12 1 Ch 4:9 Ct 6:9; 8:5 +; hence of Eve אֵם כָּל־הָ֑י Gn 3:20; poet. of birth, יָצָא מִבֶּטֶן אֵם Jb 1:21 Ec 5:14; יָצָא מֵרֶחֶם אֵם Nu 12:12 cf. ψ 139:13 (Je 20:18 +) מִמְּעֵי אִמִּי גּוֹזִי ψ 71:6 (subj. י׳, cf. גחה 22:10; \> גּוֹזִי = my benefactor from birth Thes Ew Hup Pe); also וַתְּהִי אִמִּי קִבְרִי Je 20:17; מִבֶּטֶן אֵם = from earliest existence Ju 16:17 Jb 31:18 ψ 22:11; so מִמְּעֵי אֵם Is 49:1; as giving suck Ct 8:1 (שְׁדֵי אֵם) ψ 22:10 cf. 131:2; (v. Ex 2:9 cf. v 8); as exercising authority Gn 21:21; 24:28; 27:11, 13, 14 Ju 17:2 f Ru 1:8 Ct 3:4; 8:2 etc.; especially of queen-mother as possessing dignity \& influence 1 K 1:11; 2:13, 19, 20 2 Ch 22:2, 3 Ct 3:11 Pr 31:1; cf. names of mothers of kings of Judah 1 K 14:21, 31; 15:2, 10, 13 +; as shewing love \& care 1 S 2:19 1 K 3:27; 17:23 2 K 4:30 Is 66:13 (sim. of י׳’s comforting his people; cf. also Gn 27:45); as beloved \& lamented 1 K 19:20 (‖ אָב) Gn 24:67 ψ 35:14; בֶּן־אִמּוֹ = own (uterine) brother Gn 43:29; \& ‖ אָח Gn 27:29 Dt 13:7 Ju 8:19 ψ 50:20; 69:9 Ct 1:6 cf. 8:1; so בַּת־אִמּוֹ Lv 18:9; 20:17 Dt 27:22 (‖ בַּת־אָבִיו) Gn 20:12; often with אָב, as parentes Je 16:3 Zc 13:3(×2) Is 8:4; as rightfully claiming honour, authority, etc., cf. supr., Gn 28:7 (P) cf. 37:10 (E) Ju 14:2f, so in precept Pr 1:8; 6:20; 10:1; 15:20 etc. cf. Ez 22:7; laws enjoining these Ex 20:12 = Dt 5:16 Lv 19:3 cf. Dt 22:15; laws prohib. contrary Ex 21:15, 17 (E) Lv 20:9(×2) (H) Dt 21:18, 19; 27:16; laws as to mourning for Lv 21:2, 11 (H) Nu 6:7 (P) cf. Je 16:7 Ez 44:25; left for wife Gn 2:24; for mother-in-law Ru 2:11; for husband Dt 21:13 (law for captive women); cf. Dt 33:9 (of devoted service of Levites); loving, caring for children Pr 4:3 (on the opposite cf. ψ 27:10); loved, cared for Jos 2:13 cf. v 18; 6:23 1 S 22:3 1 K 19:20 cf. 2 S 19:38. fig. of Deborah as caring for her people אֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל Ju 5:7 (cf. אָב Is 22:21 Jb 29:16); so of a city 2 S 20:19 (‘stock, race, community’ RSK 28 cf. Proph. iv. n 8); of Israel Ho 2:4, 7; 4:5 cf. 10:14; of Judah Is 50:1(×2); of Hittite as mother of Jerusalem אָבִיךְ הָאֱמֹרִי וְאִמֵּךְ חִתִּיתֹ Ez 16:3, 45 cf. v 44, 45; also 19:2, 10 \& vid. 23:2. of animals, dam Ex 22:29 (of ox \& sheep) Lv 22:27 (of bullock, sheep, or goat); Ex 23:19 = 34:26 = Dt 14:21 (of kid); mother-bird Dt 22:6(×2), 7; fig. Jb 17:14 לַשַּׁחַת קָרָאתי אָבִי אָ֑תָּה אִמִּי וַאֲחֹתִי לָרִמָּֽה׃. = point of departure or division אֵם הַדֶּרֶךְ Ez 21:26 (‖ רֹאשׁ שְׁנֵי הַדְּרָכִים). Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 129 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (6 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 «אֵם» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/517/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Proverbs 19:26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.19.26/) מְֽשַׁדֶּד־אָ֭ב יַבְרִ֣יחַ אֵ֑ם בֵּ֝֗ן מֵבִ֥ישׁ וּמַחְפִּֽיר׃ *Word for word:* \[one.who\].assaults a.father \[who\].he.drives.away a.mother \[is\].a.son \[who\].brings.shame and.\[who\] causes.shame *JPS 1917:* A son that dealeth shamefully and reproachfully will despoil his father, and chase away his mother. [Ezekiel 23:2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/EZK.23.2/) בֶּן־אָדָ֑ם שְׁתַּ֣יִם נָשִׁ֔ים בְּנ֥וֹת אֵם־אַחַ֖ת הָיֽוּ׃ *Word for word:* O.son of.humankind two women daughters of.a.mother one they.were *JPS 1917:* 'Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; - ← previous: [אֶלְתְּקֹן](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/515.md) - next →: [אִם](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/518.md) - ↑ back to [א](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1488-5.md)