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דּוּמָה

𐤃𐤅𐤌𐤄

Dumah

H1746 noun

SILEX Entry

Root דּמם to be silent, to be still, to become quiet

Definition

Proper name designating both an individual and a region. Most commonly used to refer to a descendant of Ishmael (Dumah) and the territory or people associated with that figure. In certain poetic contexts (e.g., Isaiah 21:11), it may refer to an oracle concerning the region or its inhabitants. Semantic range includes personal name, tribal designation, and geographic region.

Semantic Range

name of a descendant of Ishmael, tribal group, geographical territory in northern Arabia, poetic regional designation

Root / Etymology

From the root דּוּמָה (dûmâ), likely from the verbal root דָּמַם (damam), meaning 'to be silent, be still.' The name may originally connote 'silence' or 'quietness,' though as a proper name it functions primarily as a place and personal designation. The form חֻ (with qamats and final he) is standard for proper names.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Genesis 25:14 and 1 Chronicles 1:30, Dumah is listed among the sons of Ishmael, marking it as a tribal or clan name among Arabian groups. The same name appears in Isaiah 21:11 as a geographic locale receiving an oracle; most scholars locate Dumah in northern Arabia, often identified with the oasis at present-day al-Jawf. The name's association with 'silence' has led to occasional later interpretive associations with death or the underworld, but such meanings are not attested in the Hebrew Bible. Standard English translations treat Dumah as a personal and place name, but do not reflect the possible etymological nuance. Dumah is distinguished from other, unrelated uses of דּוּמָה (cf. Psalm 94:17, denoting silence or death) by its context as a proper noun. In translation traditions, the switch of tribal and geographic terminology over time reflects the evolution of Israelite knowledge of Arabia and its peoples.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

the same as דּוּמָה; Dumah, a tribe and region of Arabia; Dumah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דמם (d-m-m) — silence, stillness, quietness

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1826 דָּמַם they became silent
H1827 דְּמָמָה stillness
H1917 הַדָּם crushed fragments

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1746-02 וְ/דוּמָ֖ה vedumah HC/Np and Dumah and Dumah 2
H1746-01 דּוּמָ֑ה dumah HNp of Dumah Dumah 1
H1746-03 וְ/רוּמָ֖ה verumah HC/Np and Dumah and Dumah 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1746-02 Genesis 25:14 וְ/דוּמָ֖ה vedumah HC/Np and Dumah and Dumah
H1746-03 Joshua 15:52 וְ/רוּמָ֖ה verumah HC/Np and Dumah and Dumah
H1746-01 Isaiah 21:11 דּוּמָ֑ה dumah HNp of Dumah Dumah
H1746-02 1 Chronicles 1:30 וְ/דוּמָ֔ה vedumah HC/Np and Dumah and Dumah
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