כְּלִמּוּת
𐤊𐤋𐤌𐤅𐤕
kᵉlimmûwth
H3640 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Disgrace, dishonor, particularly a deep sense of shame as experienced in public or communal settings; an intense feeling and state of humiliation resulting from social exposure, offense, or defeat. The term emphasizes the social consequences and internal experience of being shamed or dishonored.
Semantic Range
disgrace, dishonor, shame, social humiliation, public loss of honor
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root כ-ל-מ (כָּלַם), which means 'to shame, bring dishonor, humiliate.' The noun form כְּלִמָּה constructs abstractly the state or condition, and כְּלִמּוּת (ke-limmût) is a closely related noun deriving with a slightly different nominal ending, expressing the concept of 'shamefulness' or the quality/state of being disgraced.
Historical & Contextual Notes
כְּלִמּוּת occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Job 11:3) and primarily expresses the idea of severe disgrace or public shame, especially as a social phenomenon in ancient Israelite society, where honor and social reputation were crucial. The word's semantic field overlaps with, but is not identical to, כְּלִמָּה (kelimmah), a more frequent term for 'shame' or 'disgrace.' While כְּלִמָּה is often used for the experience or result of shaming, כְּלִמּוּת conveys the enduring quality or state of being disgraced. In English translations, the nuance between the two is often lost, captured variously as 'shame,' 'disgrace,' or 'dishonor.' The term neither reflects private embarrassment nor internal guilt, but primarily public or communal dishonor. In ancient Israelite society, כְּלִמּוּת signals profound loss of standing. Over time, the root concept of public shaming persists in later usage, though its frequency diminishes.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from כְּלִמָּה; disgrace; shame.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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כלם (k-l-m) — to shame, dishonor, disgrace
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3640-01 |
וּ/כְלִמּ֣וּת | ukhelimut | HC/Ncfsc |
and humiliation | and disgrace of | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3640-01 |
Jeremiah 23:40 | וּ/כְלִמּ֣וּת | ukhelimut | HC/Ncfsc |
and humiliation | and disgrace of |