הוּם

𐤄𐤅𐤌

hûwm

H1949 verb

SILEX Entry

Root הום to move noisily, to agitate, to be in tumult

Definition

To move or stir with great commotion; to be in tumult or agitation. It primarily conveys physical or emotional disturbance—shaking, loud noise, or disorder—whether of persons, peoples, or natural elements; secondarily, to disturb or unsettle, to cause anxiety or panic, or to destroy by means of tumult.

Semantic Range

to make a tumult, to agitate or disturb greatly (emotionally or physically), to cause alarm or panic, to destroy or overthrow by disorder, to move with noise, to be in uproar or tumult

Root / Etymology

Root הום, cognate with or parallel to המם (hamam, 'to make noise, be in uproar'). The core root meaning is 'to move noisily, to be in commotion.' The verb hûwm derives from this root, with a primary focus on agitation by movement or sound, often with the implication of emotional or social disturbance.

Historical & Contextual Notes

הוּם appears rarely in the Hebrew Bible. Occurrences are typically poetic (e.g., Psalms) or prophetic, depicting upheaval—of peoples, nations, or the natural world. It frequently overlaps in sense with words like רָגַז (ragaz, 'to quake'), רָעַשׁ (ra'ash, 'to shake') or המה (hāmah, 'to roar, make noise'), but hûwm more consistently emphasizes agitation leading to confusion, disorder, or fear, sometimes culminating in destruction. Later Jewish and translation traditions sometimes render the sense as 'destroy' or 'overthrow,' which may narrow the polyvalent dynamic of the original. In the Israelite context, hûwm does not have a technical meaning, but is invoked to evoke intense unrest, whether physical (earth, nations, seas) or psychological.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root (compare הָמַם); to make an uproar, or agitate greatly; destroy, move, make a noise, put, ring again.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

הום (h-w-m) — noisy movement, agitation, tumult

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4103 מְהוּמָה the tumult
H8415 תְּהוֹם in the primeval depths

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1949-02 וַ/תֵּהֹ֖ם vatehom HC/VNw3fs and-it-resounded and she was tumultuous 3
H1949-03 וְ/אָהִֽימָה veahimah HC/Vhh1cs and-I-tremble and let me cause tumult 1
H1949-01 תְּהִימֶ֖נָה tehimenah HVhi3fp they will make noise they will cause tumult 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1949-02 1 Samuel 4:5 וַ/תֵּהֹ֖ם vatehom HC/VNw3fs and shook and she was tumultuous
H1949-02 1 Kings 1:45 וַ/תֵּהֹ֖ם vatehom HC/VNw3fs and-it-resounded and she was tumultuous
H1949-01 Micah 2:12 תְּהִימֶ֖נָה tehimenah HVhi3fp they will make noise they will cause tumult
H1949-03 Psalms 55:3 וְ/אָהִֽימָה veahimah HC/Vhh1cs and-I-tremble and let me cause tumult
H1949-02 Ruth 1:19 וַ/תֵּהֹ֤ם vatehom HC/VNw3fs and-was-stirred and she was tumultuous