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עֲמֹרָה

𐤏𐤌𐤓𐤄

Amorah

H6017 noun

SILEX Entry

Root עמר to bind, to heap, gather into a sheaf

Definition

ʻĂmôrâh refers to the city of Gomorrah, a prominent settlement located near the southern region of the Dead Sea, most famously remembered for its destruction alongside Sodom. The term itself functions as a proper noun, designating the city, but is likely related to semantic notions of 'heap,' 'ruin,' or 'mound,' particularly in the context of its narrative fate. Its lexical sense centers on the place-name, but may have connotations of devastation or desolation, especially as remembered in later biblical references.

Semantic Range

(1) place name: Gomorrah, a city near Sodom; (2) symbol of destruction or desolation; (3) reference point for total ruin by divine judgment

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root עָמַר (‘amar), which is thought to mean 'to bind sheaves' or possibly 'to heap up.' The adaptation to a place name, עֲמֹרָה (ʻĂmôrâh), most likely reflects a characteristic of the geographic location (e.g., a mound or heap) or has a secondary association with destruction (by interpretive association with the city's fate). Some lexicographers suggest the etymology is uncertain given insufficient evidence for a direct derivation.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, Gomorrah (עֲמֹרָה) is repeatedly associated with Sodom as an example of catastrophic destruction due to collective wrongdoing, notably in Genesis 19 and later prophetic literature. Its mention in legal, poetic, and prophetic texts (e.g., Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah) often functions symbolically to imply total ruin, a desolate and irredeemable state. While some English Bibles use 'Gomorrah,' this is a transliteration as no later city by this name survived; the name itself came to serve as a literary motif for devastation. In post-exilic and later Jewish and Christian traditions, 'Gomorrah' becomes a byword for divine judgment and ruin, but historically it refers only to the ancient city itself, and not to any later population or region. Unlike the Israelite or Judahite designations, עֲמֹרָה is a toponym, not an ethnonym or religious identifier. Modern scholarship notes that the catastrophic associations found in later language and theology are not the term's original lexical sense, but accrue from the narrative tradition.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָמַר; a (ruined) heap; Amorah, a place in Palestine; Gomorrah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

עמר (ʿ-m-r) — to bind, heap up, gather into a sheaf

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5995 עָמִיר grain-bundle
H6014 עָמַר sheaf-binder
H6015 עֲמַר like wool
H6016 עֹמֶר the bound sheaves
H6018 עׇמְרִי Omri

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6017-01 עֲמֹרָ֔ה amorah HNp Gomorrah Gomorrah-Heap 9
H6017-04 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֛ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah 7
H6017-02 כַּ/עֲמֹרָֽה kaamorah HR/Np like Gomorrah like Gomorrah 2
H6017-03 לַ/עֲמֹרָ֖ה laamorah HR/Np like Gomorrah to Gomorrah-Heap 1

Occurrences in Scripture

19 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6017-04 Genesis 10:19 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֛ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
H6017-01 Genesis 13:10 עֲמֹרָ֔ה amorah HNp Gomorrah Gomorrah-Heap
H6017-01 Genesis 14:2 עֲמֹרָ֑ה amorah HNp Gomorrah Gomorrah-Heap
H6017-01 Genesis 14:8 עֲמֹרָ֗ה amorah HNp of Gomorrah Gomorrah-Heap
H6017-04 Genesis 14:10 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֖ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
H6017-04 Genesis 14:11 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֛ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
H6017-04 Genesis 18:20 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֖ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
H6017-01 Genesis 19:24 עֲמֹרָ֖ה amorah HNp Gomorrah Gomorrah-Heap
H6017-04 Genesis 19:28 וַ/עֲמֹרָ֔ה vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
H6017-04 Deuteronomy 29:22 וַ/עֲמֹרָה֙ vaamorah HC/Np and Gomorrah and Gomorrah
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