מָה
mâh · maw
{properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what}
Lexicon
Derivation: (Aramaic) corresponding to H4100 (מָה)
{properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what}
- {properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)
- but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what}
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: how great (mighty), that which, what(-soever), why.
Letters
- מMem40
Picture: waves of water
- Concrete
- water · sea · blood · liquid
- Extended
- chaos · mighty and uncontrollable · the masses · from / out of
- הHe5
Picture: a person with both arms raised
- Concrete
- a man calling out · a window · breath
- Extended
- behold! · revelation · to reveal · the (definite article)
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
water, chaos, the mighty deep › to reveal, behold
Water, chaos, the mighty deep that works to reveal, behold.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of מָה 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
13 occurrences · 13 OT · 0 NT · 8 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- what4 · 31%
- why3 · 23%
- and that which1 · 8%
- and whatsoever1 · 8%
- to thee what1 · 8%
- how1 · 8%
- and how1 · 8%
- unto him, what1 · 8%
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.