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תְּהוֹם

𐤕𐤄𐤅𐤌

tᵉhôwm

H8415 noun

SILEX Entry

Root הום to roar, be tumultuous, murmur

Definition

A vast deep, the primeval ocean, or the watery deep; refers to the great abyss, often representing the cosmic waters existing before or outside of creation. The term can designate the deep sea, the depths beneath the earth, or a mythic primeval watery chaos. Semantic range encompasses the primordial sea, the enormous depths of water, and at times, poetic references to unfathomable depth or confusion.

Semantic Range

the primeval ocean, watery deep, abyss, depths of the sea, subterranean waters, cosmic or mythic chaos, poetic metaphor for deep or overwhelming forces

Root / Etymology

Root is הום (h-w-m), meaning 'to murmur, roar, be tumultuous.' תְּהוֹם develops from this root to refer specifically to the tumultuous, deep waters thought to underlie the earth or preexist creation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Within the Hebrew Bible, תְּהוֹם is frequently used to evoke the notion of primordial waters (e.g., Genesis 1:2, 'darkness was over the surface of the deep'). In the creation narrative, it refers to the watery chaos over which the divine spirit moves—a concept with parallels in other Ancient Near Eastern cosmologies (such as the Babylonian tiamat, though the Hebrew term does not carry personal or divine attributes). Sometimes תְּהוֹם denotes the depths of the sea (Isaiah 51:10), subterranean waters (Exodus 15:5), or the collective waters as a threatening, untamable force. In later biblical poetry (e.g., Psalms), it becomes a powerful image for the deepest or most mysterious places, and sometimes, metaphorically, for overwhelming chaos or distress. English translations like 'the deep' or 'abyss' often fail to convey the mythological and cosmic resonance the term had in its earliest usages. The word is feminine in form but behaves in some passages as masculine.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or תְּהֹם; (usually feminine) from הוּם; an abyss (as a surging mass of water), especially the deep (the main sea or the subterranean watersupply); deep (place), depth.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

הום (h-w-m) — roaring, tumult, surging

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1949 הוּם they will cause tumult
H4103 מְהוּמָה the tumult

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8415-03 תְה֑וֹם tehom HNcbsa the deep roaring deep 21
H8415-04 תְּהֹמֹ֖ת tehomot HNcbpa the deeps primeval roaring depths 9
H8415-01 בַּ/תְּהֹמ֑וֹת batehomot HRd/Ncbpa through the depths in the primeval depths 2
H8415-06 וּֽ/מִ/תְּהֹמ֥וֹת umitehomot HC/R/Ncbpc and from depths and from the deep-abysses of 1
H8415-07 וּ/תְהֹמֹ֔ת utehomot HC/Ncbpa and deeps and primeval deeps 1
H8415-02 כִּ/תְהֹמ֥וֹת kitehomot HR/Ncbpa like abysses like roaring deeps 1
H8415-05 וּ/מִ/תְּה֖וֹם umitehom HC/R/Ncbsa and from the deep and from the primeval deep 1

Occurrences in Scripture

36 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8415-03 Genesis 1:2 תְה֑וֹם tehom HNcbsa the deep roaring deep
H8415-03 Genesis 7:11 תְּה֣וֹם tehom HNcbsa deep roaring deep
H8415-03 Genesis 8:2 תְּה֔וֹם tehom HNcbsa of the deep roaring deep
H8415-03 Genesis 49:25 תְּה֖וֹם tehom HNcbsa of the deep roaring deep
H8415-04 Exodus 15:5 תְּהֹמֹ֖ת tehomot HNcbpa The depths primeval roaring depths
H8415-04 Exodus 15:8 תְהֹמֹ֖ת tehomot HNcbpa the deeps primeval roaring depths
H8415-07 Deuteronomy 8:7 וּ/תְהֹמֹ֔ת utehomot HC/Ncbpa and deeps and primeval deeps
H8415-05 Deuteronomy 33:13 וּ/מִ/תְּה֖וֹם umitehom HC/R/Ncbsa and from the deep and from the primeval deep
H8415-03 Isaiah 51:10 תְּה֣וֹם tehom HNcbsa deep roaring deep
H8415-01 Isaiah 63:13 בַּ/תְּהֹמ֑וֹת batehomot HRd/Ncbpa through the depths in the primeval depths
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