טָמֵא
ṭâmêʼ · taw-may'
to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)
Lexicon
Derivation: a primitive root;
to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: defile (self), pollute (self), be (make, make self, pronounce) unclean, [idiom] utterly.
Letters
- טTet9
Picture: a basket, or something coiled
- Concrete
- basket · coil · snake · container
- Extended
- to surround · to contain · to store · to twist
- מMem40
Picture: waves of water
- Concrete
- water · sea · blood · liquid
- Extended
- chaos · mighty and uncontrollable · the masses · from / out of
- אAlef1
Picture: ox head
- Concrete
- ox · bull · cattle
- Extended
- strength · leader · first · the one in front
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
to surround and contain › water, chaos, the mighty deep › strength, the leader
To surround and contain of water, chaos, the mighty deep of strength, the leader.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of טָמֵא above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
162 occurrences · 162 OT · 0 NT · 103 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- and be unclean18 · 22%
- shall be unclean16 · 20%
- shall pronounce him unclean7 · 9%
- to defile6 · 7%
- is defiled4 · 5%
- defile3 · 4%
- it shall be unclean3 · 4%
- then she shall be unclean2 · 2%
- and defiled2 · 2%
- and she be defiled2 · 2%
- and polluted2 · 2%
- nor defile2 · 2%
- be not defiled2 · 2%
- neither shall ye defile1 · 1%
- with them, that ye should be defiled1 · 1%
- because he had defiled1 · 1%
- whatsoever is in it shall be unclean1 · 1%
- and it shall be unclean1 · 1%
- them shall be unclean1 · 1%
- of them shall be unclean1 · 1%
- and for these ye shall be unclean1 · 1%
- thereof shall be unclean1 · 1%
- it be that a man shall be defiled1 · 1%
- because they had defiled1 · 1%
- that he had defiled1 · 1%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.