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עֹמֶר

𐤏𐤌𐤓

ʻômer

H6016 noun

SILEX Entry

Root עמר to bind, to gather into sheaves

Definition

A bundle or collection of stalks (typically grain) bound together—a sheaf; also, a specific unit of dry measure used in ancient Israel, roughly equivalent to one-tenth of an ephah (approx. 2.2 liters or 2 quarts). The word is used both for an agricultural product and for ritual or legal quantities, especially in sacrificial or festival contexts.

Semantic Range

sheaf, bundle of cut grain, a unit of dry measure (one-tenth ephah), ritual offering of grain

Root / Etymology

From the root עמר, which means 'to bind sheaves' or 'to heap together.' The word עֹמֶר develops from the concrete sense of something gathered or bound (i.e., a sheaf) to the more abstract sense of a measured quantity (a dry measure).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, עֹמֶר primarily appears in agricultural and ritual contexts. As a physical object, it refers to a sheaf of harvested grain. In ritual and legal texts (such as Exod 16:16, Lev 23:10-15), it designates a unit of dry measure, important for offerings related to festivals like the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), which begins with the presentation of the 'omer.' English translations sometimes obscure the distinction between these two usages by transliterating 'omer' in ritual contexts but translating 'sheaf' elsewhere. The meaning did not undergo major shifts over Israelite history but gained additional ritual connotations during the later Second Temple and rabbinic periods, where 'the Omer' referred both to the offering and to the counting of the fifty days between Passover and Shavuot (the Counting of the Omer). The biblical עֹמֶר should not be confused with later post-biblical usages referring to periods of time or with other ancient Near Eastern units of measurement with similar names.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָמַר; properly, a heap, i.e. a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure; omer, sheaf.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

עמר (ʿ-m-r) — to bind, to gather into sheaves, to heap together

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5995 עָמִיר grain-bundle
H6014 עָמַר sheaf-binder
H6015 עֲמַר like wool
H6017 עֲמֹרָה Gomorrah-Heap
H6018 עׇמְרִי Omri

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6016-03 עֹ֣מֶר omer HNcmsa an omer sheaf 5
H6016-02 הָ/עֹ֖מֶר haomer HTd/Ncmsa the sheaf the sheaf 5
H6016-06 וְ/הָ/עֹ֕מֶר vehaomer HC/Td/Ncmsa Now an omer and the sheaf 1
H6016-05 בָ/עֹ֔מֶר vaomer HRd/Ncmsa with an omer in a sheaf-measure 1
H6016-04 בָֽ/עֳמָרִ֔ים vaomarim HRd/Ncmpa among the sheaves bound sheaves 1
H6016-01 הָֽ/עֳמָרִ֛ים haomarim HTd/Ncmpa the sheaves the bound sheaves 1

Occurrences in Scripture

14 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6016-03 Exodus 16:16 עֹ֣מֶר omer HNcmsa an omer sheaf
H6016-05 Exodus 16:18 בָ/עֹ֔מֶר vaomer HRd/Ncmsa with an omer in a sheaf-measure
H6016-02 Exodus 16:22 הָ/עֹ֖מֶר haomer HTd/Ncmsa omers the sheaf
H6016-02 Exodus 16:32 הָ/עֹ֨מֶר֙ haomer HTd/Ncmsa omer the sheaf
H6016-02 Exodus 16:33 הָ/עֹ֖מֶר haomer HTd/Ncmsa of the omer the sheaf
H6016-06 Exodus 16:36 וְ/הָ/עֹ֕מֶר vehaomer HC/Td/Ncmsa Now an omer and the sheaf
H6016-03 Leviticus 23:10 עֹ֛מֶר omer HNcmsc sheaf sheaf
H6016-02 Leviticus 23:11 הָ/עֹ֛מֶר haomer HTd/Ncmsa the sheaf the sheaf
H6016-02 Leviticus 23:12 הָ/עֹ֑מֶר haomer HTd/Ncmsa the sheaf the sheaf
H6016-03 Leviticus 23:15 עֹ֖מֶר omer HNcmsc the sheaf sheaf
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