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דָּמָה

𐤃𐤌𐤄

dâmâh

H1820 verb

SILEX Entry

Root דמה to cease, to be silent, to fail, to perish

Definition

To be or become silent, to cease speaking or making noise; in extended senses, to cease functioning, to fail, to be brought to an end, or to perish. The term can also express the idea of being made silent (i.e., destroyed), with both literal and metaphorical applications. In some contexts, 'dâmâh' refers to the cessation of life, the breakdown or ruin of a person, city, or nation, or the quieting of tumult. It can carry nuances from literal silence to figurative ruin or annihilation.

Semantic Range

to be silent, to keep quiet, to cease, to fail, to perish, to be destroyed, to be ruined, to come to an end, to be undone; to destroy, to bring to silence, to bring to an end

Root / Etymology

From the root דּ-מ-ה, which fundamentally denotes the idea of ceasing, stopping, or being silent. The verbal form dâmâh functions as both intransitive ('to be silent, to stop speaking or functioning, to fail, to perish') and, less commonly, transitive ('to bring to silence, to destroy'). The concrete image is primarily of silence or stillness, extended metaphorically to cessation of life or function.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, דָּמָה is used in poetry and prose, appearing notably in Psalms, Prophets, and Wisdom literature. Early uses focus on literal silence (e.g., before the deity in worship—Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7), as well as the silence of death (Psalms 31:18, 'let the lying lips be mute'; compare the silence of Sheol). The term overlaps with חָרַשׁ ('to be silent, dumb') but tends to emphasize cessation or the ominous stillness linked to destruction or death. Occasionally, it develops into an idiom for being cut off or ruined (e.g., Ezekiel 27:32 'Who is like Tyre, now destroyed [דֻּמָּה]?'). Later, especially in poetic or prophetic texts, the word can denote the annihilation or cessation of peoples or nations. Standard English translations such as 'silent,' 'cease,' or 'perish' capture portions of the semantic range but often underrepresent the word's metaphorical and existential connotations—especially its links to finality, ruin, and the universal stillness of death. In Second Temple and post-biblical Hebrew, the root becomes less common, overtaken by roots emphasizing destruction or extermination, but its earlier connotations persist in liturgical Hebrew.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to be dumb or silent; hence, to fail or perish; trans. to destroy; cease, be cut down (off), destroy, be brought to silence, be undone, [idiom] utterly.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דמה (d-m-h) — to cease, to be silent, to fail, to perish

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1745 דּוּמָה silence
H1747 דּוּמִיָּה stillness
H1819 דָּמָה I will liken
H1821 דְּמָה one who resembles
H1822 דֻּמָּה like silence

Word Forms

11 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1820-02 נִדְמָ֔ה nidemah HVNp3ms is brought to silence was brought to silence 4
H1820-08 נִדְמ֥וּ nidemu HVNp3cp are destroyed they were silenced 3
H1820-07 נִדְמֹ֥ה nidemoh HVNa will be cut off to be silenced 1
H1820-05 נִדְמֵ֔יתָה nidemeytah HVNp2ms you have been cut off you have been silenced 1
H1820-04 נִדְמְתָ֥ה nidemetah HVNp3fs has been ruined has been silenced 1
H1820-11 וְ/דָמִ֖יתִי vedamiti HC/Vqq1cs and-I-will-destroy and I ceased 1
H1820-09 תִדְמֶ֖ה tidemeh HVqi3fs cease she will fall silent 1
H1820-03 נִדְמֶ֥ה nidemeh HVNsmsa perished the one brought to silence 1
H1820-06 נִדְמֵ֗יתִי nidemeyti HVNp1cs I am ruined I have been silenced 1
H1820-10 תִּדְמֶ֑ינָה tidemeynah HVqj3fp let-them-cease let them fall silent 1

Occurrences in Scripture

16 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1820-06 Isaiah 6:5 נִדְמֵ֗יתִי nidemeyti HVNp1cs I am ruined I have been silenced
H1820-02 Isaiah 15:1 נִדְמָ֔ה nidemah HVNp3ms is brought to silence was brought to silence
H1820-02 Isaiah 15:1 נִדְמָֽה nidemah-2 HVNp3ms is brought to silence was brought to silence
H1820-01 Jeremiah 6:2 דָּמִ֖יתִי damiti HVqp1cs I have likened I have fallen silent
H1820-10 Jeremiah 14:17 תִּדְמֶ֑ינָה tidemeynah HVqj3fp let-them-cease let them fall silent
H1820-04 Jeremiah 47:5 נִדְמְתָ֥ה nidemetah HVNp3fs has been ruined has been silenced
H1820-11 Hosea 4:5 וְ/דָמִ֖יתִי vedamiti HC/Vqq1cs and-I-will-destroy and I ceased
H1820-08 Hosea 4:6 נִדְמ֥וּ nidemu HVNp3cp are destroyed they were silenced
H1820-03 Hosea 10:7 נִדְמֶ֥ה nidemeh HVNsmsa perished the one brought to silence
H1820-07 Hosea 10:15 נִדְמֹ֥ה nidemoh HVNa will be cut off to be silenced
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