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מוּת

𐤌𐤅𐤕

mûwth

H4191 verb

SILEX Entry

Root מות to die, perish, kill, cause to die

Definition

To die, to cease living; to come to the end of life through natural, violent, or judicial means. Functions both as an intransitive verb (to die, to perish) and, in derived stems, as a causative (to put to death, to kill). The semantic range extends metaphorically to describe the loss of vitality, the end of lineage, or spiritual death, and is used idiomatically for expressing certainty ('to surely die').

Semantic Range

to die, to perish, to be destroyed, to be executed, to put to death, to kill, to slay, to be brought to an end, to come to an end (of line, hope, vitality), to experience spiritual or metaphorical death

Root / Etymology

The root מות (m-w-t) is the standard West Semitic root for 'to die', with direct cognates in other Northwest Semitic languages (e.g., Ugaritic mt, Akkadian mūtu). The core verbal form is a simple root indicating the cessation of life. In derived (causative) stems (e.g., hiphil), the meaning is 'to cause to die, to put to death'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מות is the primary Hebrew verb for the concept of dying, used comprehensively from the earliest narratives (patriarchal period) through prophetic and poetic texts. In the intransitive (qal) stem, its reference is straightforwardly biological or existential death—human, animal, or even metaphorical entities (e.g., communities, hopes). The causative stem (hiphil) regularly expresses official or judicial killing, such as executions ordered by royal or legal authority, as well as broader acts of violence or divine judgment. The verb also appears frequently in legal texts to set penalties ('shall surely be put to death'), often using the infinitive absolute form for emphasis ('mot tamut'). In wisdom and poetry, מות can be used metaphorically (e.g., the deathlike decline, spiritual or moral perishing), and in some contexts, the word anticipates later theological developments concerning afterlife or spiritual death, though such meanings remain potential and not explicit in most biblical passages. The use of מות should be distinguished from גָּוַע (gāva‘, 'to expire, breathe one's last'), which emphasizes the act of expiring rather than the ongoing state of death. Modern English renderings like 'kill' or 'slay' cover only the causative nuances and may not fully capture the breadth of the root's usage in Hebrew. Later translations (e.g., LXX, Vulgate) often preserve these distinctions with their own semantic correspondences.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill; [idiom] at all, [idiom] crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), [idiom] must needs, slay, [idiom] surely, [idiom] very suddenly, [idiom] in (no) wise.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מות (m-w-t) — to die, perish, kill, cause to die

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4131 מוֹט in death of
H4192 מוּת death-of
H4193 מוֹת to death
H4194 מָוֶת in death
H4463 מָמוֹת the death-doomed ones

Word Forms

138 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4191-103 וַ/יָּ֣מָת vayamat HC/Vqw3ms and died and he died 84
H4191-46 מֵת֙ met HVqrmsa dead the dying one 70
H4191-129 יָמ֥וּת yamut HVqi3ms he shall die he will die 66
H4191-135 יוּמָֽת yumat HVHi3ms he shall be put to death he will be put to death 49
H4191-56 מ֥וֹת mot HVqa death to die 49
H4191-106 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died 43
H4191-69 תָּמֽוּת tamut HVqi2ms you shall die you will die 33
H4191-130 יָמֻ֑תוּ yamutu HVqi3mp they shall die they will die 28
H4191-11 הַ/מֵּ֖ת hamet HTd/Vqrmsa the dead the dead one 24
H4191-38 לָ/מ֑וּת lamut HR/Vqc to die to die 23

Occurrences in Scripture

839 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4191-56 Genesis 2:17 מ֥וֹת mot HVqa dying to die
H4191-69 Genesis 2:17 תָּמֽוּת tamut HVqi2ms you shall die you will die
H4191-78 Genesis 3:3 תְּמֻתֽוּ/ן temutun HVqi2mp/Sn you die you all will die
H4191-56 Genesis 3:4 מ֖וֹת mot HVqa die to die
H4191-78 Genesis 3:4 תְּמֻתֽוּ/ן temutun HVqi2mp/Sn you will die you all will die
H4191-106 Genesis 5:5 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died
H4191-106 Genesis 5:8 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died
H4191-106 Genesis 5:11 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died
H4191-106 Genesis 5:14 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died
H4191-106 Genesis 5:17 וַ/יָּמֹֽת vayamot HC/Vqw3ms and he died and he died
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