The meaning of “אֵם”
Understanding ʼêm reveals the original theological depth often simplified in translation.
dam, mother, [idiom] parting. - a mother (as the bond of the family) - in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively ...
אֵם
dam, mother, [idiom] parting. - a mother (as the bond of the family) - in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father)) 1) mother 1a) of humans 1b) of Deborah's relationship to the people (fig.) 1c) of animals 2) point of departure or division
Occurrences in the Bible
| Reference | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis 27:14 | “And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.” Word: אֵם (ʼêm) | |
| Joshua 2:18 | “Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.” Word: אֵם (ʼêm) | |
| 1 Kings 14:21 | “And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.” Word: אֵם (ʼêm) | |
| Job 17:14 | “I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.” Word: אֵם (ʼêm) | |
| Isaiah 50:1 | “Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.” Word: אֵם (ʼêm) |