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יוֹם

𐤉𐤅𐤌

yôwm

H3117 noun

SILEX Entry

Root יום to be hot (uncertain), to be bright (possible), day

Definition

A unit of time primarily referencing a day, understood either as the daylight period (from sunrise to sunset) or as a full 24-hour cycle, but also extending to mean an undefined span or occasion (e.g., 'in the day of trouble'), a lifetime, or a specific era. The word can function adverbially to mean 'today,' 'regularly,' or 'when.'

Semantic Range

daylight period; full 24-hour day; specific occasion, event, or era; lifetime; routine or habitual action; era/epoch; time of calamity or blessing; 'today;' perpetuity

Root / Etymology

The term יוֹם (yôm) is traditionally linked to a root meaning 'to be hot,' possibly relating to the heat of daylight hours. However, no such root is attested elsewhere in Hebrew, making the etymology uncertain in strict linguistic terms.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In biblical usage, יוֹם refers to a conventional day, but also serves as a general marker for periods (from hours to epochs). In narrative and legal texts, it can mean a specific calendar day or the period of daylight. Poetic and prophetic literature use it flexibly to indicate significant events or eras (the phrase 'the day of YHWH' exemplifies this sense as a decisive time of divine action). During Israelite and Judahite periods, days were generally reckoned from evening to evening as indicated by creation narratives (Genesis 1:5). The term expands to mean a 'lifetime' or an 'age' (e.g., 'all the days of his life'), and can, depending on context, refer to the regularity or permanence of an action ('continually,' 'daily'). English translations sometimes obscure these nuances, especially in idioms or figurative uses (such as perpetuity, occasion, or significant moment). Related terms such as עֵת (ʿēt, 'season, time') overlap but יוֹם more often marks a fixed calendrical or significant period rather than generalized 'time.' In postbiblical usage, יוֹם continues as standard for 'day' in Hebrew.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb); age, [phrase] always, [phrase] chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), [phrase] elder, [idiom] end, [phrase] evening, [phrase] (for) ever(-lasting, -more), [idiom] full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, [phrase] old, [phrase] outlived, [phrase] perpetually, presently, [phrase] remaineth, [idiom] required, season, [idiom] since, space, then, (process of) time, [phrase] as at other times, [phrase] in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), [idiom] whole ([phrase] age), (full) year(-ly), [phrase] younger.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

יום (y-w-m) — day, brightness, heat

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3118 יוֹם in day of
H3119 יוֹמָם in the daytime
H3220 יָם the days
H3222 יֵם the mules
H3224 יְמִימָה Daylight

Word Forms

87 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3117-14 הַ/יּ֖וֹם hayom HTd/Ncmsa the day the day 458
H3117-02 בַּ/יּ֣וֹם bayom HRd/Ncmsa on the day in the day 295
H3117-76 יָמִ֑ים yamim HNcmpa days days 270
H3117-83 י֔וֹם yom HNcmsa day day 239
H3117-07 בְּ/י֗וֹם beyom HR/Ncmsc on the day in the day of 197
H3117-12 הַ/יָּמִ֑ים hayamim HTd/Ncmpa the days the days 136
H3117-78 יְמֵ֥י yemey HNcmpc days days of 130
H3117-09 בִּ/ימֵי֙ bimey HR/Ncmpc in the days of in the days of 53
H3117-01 בַּ/יָּמִ֣ים bayamim HRd/Ncmpa in the days in the days 47
H3117-50 וּ/בַ/יּ֤וֹם uvayom HC/Rd/Ncmsa and on the day and in the day 35

Occurrences in Scripture

2304 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3117-83 Genesis 1:5 י֔וֹם yom HNcmsa day day
H3117-83 Genesis 1:5 י֥וֹם yom-2 HNcmsa day day
H3117-83 Genesis 1:8 י֥וֹם yom HNcmsa day day
H3117-83 Genesis 1:13 י֥וֹם yom HNcmsa day day
H3117-14 Genesis 1:14 הַ/יּ֖וֹם hayom HTd/Ncmsa the day the day
H3117-46 Genesis 1:14 וּ/לְ/יָמִ֖ים uleyamim HC/R/Ncmpa for days days
H3117-14 Genesis 1:16 הַ/יּ֔וֹם hayom HTd/Ncmsa the day the day
H3117-02 Genesis 1:18 בַּ/יּ֣וֹם bayom HRd/Ncmsa over the day in the day
H3117-83 Genesis 1:19 י֥וֹם yom HNcmsa day day
H3117-83 Genesis 1:23 י֥וֹם yom HNcmsa day day
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