טָמֵא
unclean
‘unclean’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 59 times (67%)
- Adjective, Adjective, Feminine, Singular, Absolute 12 times (14%)
- Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 11 times (13%)
- Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Singular, Construct 4 times (5%)
- Adjective, Adjective, Feminine, Singular, Construct 2 times (2%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 88 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H2931 appears — 78 distinct verses across 15 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Leviticus 38 verses
- Leviticus 5:2 טָמֵא֒ טְמֵאָ֗ה טְמֵאָ֔ה טָמֵ֑א טָמֵ֖א adj Adjective ms adj Adjective fs adj Adjective fs adj Adjective ms adj Adjective ms "'Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.
- Leviticus 7:19 טָמֵא֙ adj Adjective ms "'The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat it;
- Leviticus 7:21 טָמֵ֗א טְמֵאָ֗ה טָמֵ֔א adj Adjective ms adj Adjective fs adj Adjective ms When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
- Leviticus 10:10 הַ/טָּמֵ֖א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms and that you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean;
- Leviticus 11:4 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms "'Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:5 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms The coney, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:6 טְמֵאָ֥ה adj Adjective fs The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn't part the hoof, she is unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:7 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms The pig, because he has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn't chew the cud, he is unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:8 טְמֵאִ֥ים adj Adjective mp Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:26 טְמֵאִ֥ים adj Adjective mp "'Every animal which parts the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean.
- Leviticus 11:27 טְמֵאִ֥ים adj Adjective mp Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 11:28 טְמֵאִ֥ים adj Adjective mp He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:29 הַ/טָּמֵ֔א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms "'These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,
- Leviticus 11:31 הַ/טְּמֵאִ֥ים ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective mp These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 11:35 טְמֵאִ֣ים וּ/טְמֵאִ֖ים adj Adjective mp conj + Adjective Adjective mp Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:38 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms But if water is put on the seed, and part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
- Leviticus 11:47 הַ/טָּמֵ֖א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.'"
- Leviticus 13:11 טָמֵ֖א adj Adjective ms it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.
- Leviticus 13:15 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
- Leviticus 13:36 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.
- Leviticus 13:44 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.
- Leviticus 13:45 וְ/טָמֵ֥א טָמֵ֖א conj + Adjective Adjective ms adj Adjective ms "The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
- Leviticus 13:46 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. Outside of the camp shall be his dwelling.
- Leviticus 13:51 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.
- Leviticus 13:55 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms Then the priest shall examine it, after the plague is washed; and, behold, if the plague hasn't changed its color, and the plague hasn't spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.
- Leviticus 14:40 טָמֵֽא adj Adjective ms then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the plague, and cast them into an unclean place outside of the city:
- Leviticus 14:41 טָמֵֽא adj Adjective ms and he shall cause the inside of the house to be scraped round about, and they shall pour out the mortar, that they scraped off, outside of the city into an unclean place.
- Leviticus 14:44 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms then the priest shall come in and look; and, behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean.
- Leviticus 14:45 טָמֵֽא adj Adjective ms He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house's mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.
- Leviticus 14:57 הַ/טָּמֵ֖א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.
- Leviticus 15:2 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean.
- Leviticus 15:25 טְמֵאָ֥ה adj Adjective fs "'If a woman has a discharge of her blood many days not in the time of her period, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her period; all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be as in the days of her period: she is unclean.
- Leviticus 15:26 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her period: and everything whereon she sits shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her period.
- Leviticus 15:33 טְמֵאָֽה adj Adjective fs and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
- Leviticus 20:25 לַ/טְּמֵאָ֔ה הַ/טָּמֵ֖א prep det + Adjective Adjective fs ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms "'You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean: and you shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you.
- Leviticus 22:4 טְמֵא adj Adjective ms cs "'Whoever of the seed of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;
- Leviticus 27:11 טְמֵאָ֔ה adj Adjective fs If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to Yahweh, then he shall set the animal before the priest;
- Leviticus 27:27 הַ/טְּמֵאָה֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective fs If it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back according to your valuation, and shall add to it the fifth part of it: or if it isn't redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
Numbers 11 verses
- Numbers 5:2 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
- Numbers 9:6 טְמֵאִים֙ adj Adjective mp There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
- Numbers 9:7 טְמֵאִ֖ים adj Adjective mp Those men said to him, "We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season among the children of Israel?"
- Numbers 9:10 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms "Say to the children of Israel, 'If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Passover to Yahweh.
- Numbers 18:15 הַ/טְּמֵאָ֖ה ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective fs Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal shall be yours: nevertheless the firstborn of man shall you surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals shall you redeem.
- Numbers 19:13 טָמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn't purifies himself, defiles the tent of Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.
- Numbers 19:15 טָמֵ֖א adj Adjective ms Every open vessel, which has no covering bound on it, is unclean.
- Numbers 19:17 לַ/טָּמֵ֔א prep det + Adjective Adjective ms For the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering; and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
- Numbers 19:19 הַ/טָּמֵ֔א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms and the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
- Numbers 19:20 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
- Numbers 19:22 הַ/טָּמֵ֖א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches it shall be unclean until even.
Deuteronomy 8 verses
- Deuteronomy 12:15 הַ/טָּמֵ֤א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms Notwithstanding, you may kill and eat flesh within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which he has given you: the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
- Deuteronomy 12:22 הַ/טָּמֵא֙ ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms Even as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so you shall eat of it: the unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.
- Deuteronomy 14:7 טְמֵאִ֥ים adj Adjective mp Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the rabbit; because they chew the cud but don't part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
- Deuteronomy 14:8 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms The pig, because it has a split hoof but doesn't chew the cud, is unclean to you: of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.
- Deuteronomy 14:10 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms and whatever doesn't have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean to you.
- Deuteronomy 14:19 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms All winged creeping things are unclean to you: they shall not be eaten.
- Deuteronomy 15:22 הַ/טָּמֵ֤א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms You shall eat it within your gates: the unclean and the clean [shall eat it] alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart.
- Deuteronomy 26:14 בְּ/טָמֵ֔א prep + Adjective Adjective ms I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away of it, being unclean, nor given of it for the dead: I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done according to all that you have commanded me.
Joshua 1 verse
Judges 1 verse
2 Chronicles 1 verse
Job 1 verse
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 5 verses
- Isaiah 6:5 טְמֵֽא טְמֵ֣א adj Adjective ms cs adj Adjective ms cs Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Hosts!"
- Isaiah 35:8 טָמֵ֖א adj Adjective ms A highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but is shall be for for him who walks in the Way. Wicked fools will not go there.
- Isaiah 52:1 וְ/טָמֵֽא conj + Adjective Adjective ms Awake, awake, put on your strength, Zion; put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
- Isaiah 52:11 טָמֵ֖א adj Adjective ms Depart you, depart you, go you out from there, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh.
- Isaiah 64:6 כַ/טָּמֵא֙ prep det + Adjective Adjective ms For we are all become as one who is unclean, and all our righteousness are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Jeremiah 1 verse
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 5 verses
- Ezekiel 4:13 טָמֵ֑א adj Adjective ms Yahweh said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.
- Ezekiel 22:5 טְמֵאַ֣ת adj Adjective fs cs Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one [and] full of tumult.
- Ezekiel 22:10 טְמֵאַ֥ת adj Adjective fs cs In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.
- Ezekiel 22:26 הַ/טָּמֵ֥א ptcl def.art + Adjective Adjective ms Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
- Ezekiel 44:23 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Hosea 1 verse
Amos 1 verse
Haggai 2 verses
- Haggai 2:13 טְמֵא adj Adjective ms cs Then Haggai said, "If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, will it be unclean?" The priests answered, "It will be unclean."
- Haggai 2:14 טָמֵ֥א adj Adjective ms Then Haggai answered, "'So is this people, and so is this nation before me,' says Yahweh; 'and so is every work of their hands. That which they offer there is unclean.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
טמא (ṭâmêʼ) is a Hebrew adjective most often rendered “unclean.” It is not a single-sense word — see its full sense range. Spanning 78 verses in 15 books, it ranks among the moderately common words of the Hebrew Bible. Leviticus dominates its distribution — 38 of 78 verses. It first appears in Leviticus 5:2. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2931 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 78
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 78 distinct verses.
- 15 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 15 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #467
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 467 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 78 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Leviticus 38 verses 49%
- Numbers 11 verses 14%
- Deuteronomy 8 verses 10%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 78 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 57 verses · 73%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 17 verses · 22%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 4 verses · 5%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Unclean 22×, Is unclean 11×, He is unclean 9×
- American Standard Version†: Unclean 19×, Is unclean 8×, Between the unclean 5×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Unclean 38×, Is unclean 20×, Are unclean 8×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Unclean 43×, Is unclean 22×, Are unclean 8×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2931 across 87† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2931 across 85† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 31 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H2931 across 85† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 9 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2931 across 95† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 14 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
24 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Pual (the passive of Piel), Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal), and Hothp (the passive of Hithpael).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 24 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
טמא I be or become unclean (NH Pi. pollute (ceremonially)
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. ט׳ Lv 11:25 + 22 times; 3 fs. טָֽמְאָה 12:2 + 2 times; 2 fs. טָמֵאת Ez 22:4; pl. טָֽמְאוּ Lv 15:18; Impf. יִטְמָא Lv 5:3 + 34 times; 3 fs. תִּטְמָא 12:2 + 4 times; pl. יִטְמְאוּ ψ 106:39; Inf. טָמְאָה Lv 15:32 + 6 times;—be or become unclean: e.g. Leviticus 11:25
- 1. sexually, c. בְּ Lv 18:20, 23 (H), Ez 23:17; the land Lv 18:25, 27 (H). e.g. Leviticus 18:20
- 2. religiously, with idols Ez 22:3; c. בְ v 4; with necromancers Lv 19:31 (H); by sacrificing children to idols ψ 106:39. e.g. Ezekiel 22:3
- 3. ceremonially, by contact with carcasses of unclean animals Lv 11:24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34(×2), 35, 36, 40 (P); any carcass 17:15 (H); eating of a carcass 22:8 (H); by issues 15:4, 9, 20(×2), 24, 27, 32 (P); by contact with an unclean man 5:3; 15:4 (P), 22:5 (H), or thing 22:6 (H); by leprosy 13:14, 46; 14:36, 46 (P); by contact with the dead Nu 6:12; 19:20 (P), Ez 44:25, or with one unclean by such contact Nu 19:22 (P), Hg 2:13(×2); by contact with creeping things Lv 22:5 (H); certain animals were always unclean 11:26, 27 (P). In ordinary cases of uncleanness טמא עד הערב unclean till even Lv 11:24, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 39, 40(×2); 14:46; 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 10(×2), 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 27 Nu 19:7, 8, 10, 21, 22 (all P), Lv 17:15; 22:6 (H); but uncleanness lasted 7 days for woman bearing a son Lv 12:2(×2) (P), for man lying with woman having an issue 15:24 (P), or one coming in contact with the dead Nu 19:11, 14, 16 (P); it lasted 14 days for a woman bearing a daughter Lv 12:5 (P). e.g. Leviticus 11:24
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נִטְמָא Ho 5:3; 6:10; 3 fs. נִטְמְאָה Nu 5:27, 28; נִטְמָ֑אָה 5:13 + 5 times; 1 s. נִטְמֵאתִי Je 2:23; 2 m.pl. נִטְמֵתֶם Lv 11:43 (א omitted by scribal error; but Ges al. derive from טמה), etc. + 4 times pf.; Pt. pl. נִטְמְאִים Ez 20:30, 31;—defile oneself, be defiled: e.g. Hosea 5:3
- 1. sexually, Lv 18:24 (H), Nu 5:13, 14(×2), 20, 27, 28, 29 (P). e.g. Leviticus 18:24
- 2. by idolatry conceived as whoredom Ho 5:3; 6:10 Je 2:23 Ez 20:30, 31, 43; 23:7, 13, 30. e.g. Hosea 5:3
- 3. ceremonially, by eating creeping things Lv 11:43. e.g. Leviticus 11:43
- 4. be regarded as unclean (cf. Pi. 4), prob. נִטְמִינוּ Jb 18:3 we are accounted as unclean; metapl. form; on another view v. טמה. e.g. Job 18:3
Piel
- Pf. טִמֵּא Gn 34:5 + 15 times; sf. טִמְּאוֹ Lv 13:8 + 3 times; 2 fs. טִמֵּאת Ez 5:11, etc. + 7 times Pf.; Impf. יְטַמֵּא 2 K 23:8, etc. + 12 times Impf.; Imv. pl. טַמְּאוּ Ez 9:7; Inf. טַמֵּא Lv 13:44 + 2 times; sf. טַמְּאָם 15:31, etc. + 4 times Inf.;—defile: e.g. Genesis 34:5
- 1. sexually Gn 34:5, 13, 27 (R), Ez 18:6, 11, 15; 22:11; 33:26; the land by sexual impurities of the people Lv 18:28 (H); Isr. by spiritual whoredom Ez 23:17. e.g. Genesis 34:5
- 2. religiously: the land, by bloodshed Nu 35:34 (P); by allowing the dead body of the murderer to hang on the tree over night Dt 21:23; by idolatry Je 2:7 Ez 36:17, 18; Isr. defiled the sacred places by the sacrifice of children Lv 20:3 (H), Ez 23:38, and God defiled him thereby 20:26; he defileth the sacred places by idolatry 2 Ch 36:14 Je 7:30 = 32:34, Ez 5:11; the holy name of י׳ 43:7, 8; Josiah defiled the idolatrous places of worship by destroying them and making them unfit for use 2 K 23:8, 10, 13, 16; of Isr. defiling idolatrous images Is 30:22, and the nations the temple of God ψ 79:1. e.g. Numbers 35:34
- 3. ceremonially: by ceremonial uncleanness, the sacred places Lv 15:31 Nu 19:13, 20 (P); the camp Nu 5:3 (P); the temple by dead bodies Ez 9:7; the Nazirite’s head of separation by a death occurring in his presence Nu 6:9 (P); the people defile themselves (נפשׁתיכם) by creeping things Lv 11:44 (P). e.g. Leviticus 15:31
- 4. pronounce or declare ceremonially unclean: the leper Lv 13:3, 8, 11, 15, 20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 44(×2), 59 (P); unclean animals 20:25 (H). e.g. Leviticus 13:3
Pual
- Pt. נַפְשִׁי לֹא מְטֻמָּאָה Ez 4:14 myself is not polluted. e.g. Ezekiel 4:14
Hithpael
- Impf. יִטַּמָּא Lv 21:1 + 4 times; pl. יִטַּמְּאוּ Ez 14:11; 37:23; יִטַּמָּ֑אוּ Ho 9:4 Ez 44:25, etc. + 6 times Impf.;—reflexive, defile oneself: by eating of an unaccepted peace-offering Ho 9:4; c. בְּ Lv 18:24, 30 (H), 11:43 (P), Ez 14:11; 20:7, 18; 37:23; c. לְ for a dead person Lv 21:1, 3, 11 (H), Nu 6:7 (P); by Lv 11:24 (P); without prep. 21:4 (H), Ez 44:25. e.g. Leviticus 21:1
Hothp
- Pf. אַהֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר הֻטַּמָּ֑אָה Dt 24:4 after that she has been defiled (sexually); on form v. Ges§ 54. 3. e.g. Deuteronomy 24:4
טמא II unclean
- 1. ethically and religiously ט׳ שׂפתים Is 6:5(×2) unclean of lips; ט׳ השׁם Ez 22:5 defiled of name, infamous; טהור מִטּ׳ Jb 14:4. e.g. Isaiah 6:5
- 2. ritually:
- a. of persons, ‖ טהור Dt 12:15, 22; 15:22 Ec 9:2; ט׳ נפשׁ Lv 22:4 (H); (אדם) ט׳ לנפשׁ unclean for a (dead) person Nu 5:2; 9:6, 7, 10 (P) = ט׳ נפשׁ Hg 2:13; elsewhere for various reasons Dt 26:14; Lv 5:2; 13:11, 36, 44, 45(×2), 46; 15:2, 25, 33 Nu 19:13, 17, 19, 20, 22 (all P), 2 Ch 23:19; Is 64:5 Ez 4:13; 22:10 La 4:15. e.g. Deuteronomy 12:15
- b. of animals Lv 5:2(×4); 7:21(×2); 11:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31; 27:11, 27 Nu 18:15 (all P), Lv 20:25(×2) (H), Dt 14:7, 8, 10, 19. e.g. Leviticus 5:2
- c. of things in gen. Lv 11:35(×2), 38; 15:26 Nu 19:15 (all P), Is 52:11; food Ju 13:4 Ho 9:3; houses Je 19:13; leprosy Lv 13:15, 51, 55; 14:44, 57 (P); offering Hg 2:14. e.g. Leviticus 11:35
- d. persons and things in general כל טמא Lv 7:19, 21 (P); הבדיל בין הט׳ ובין הטהור Lv 10:10; 11:47; הודיע בין (ה)ט׳ לטהור Ez 22:26; 44:23; of aliens Is 52:1 (‖ עָרֵל), perhaps also 35:8. e.g. Leviticus 7:19
- 3. specif. of places: מקום ט׳ unclean place (place of refuse away from holy place and human habitation) Lv 14:40, 41, 45 (P); טמאה ארץ land on the east of the Jordan separated from the land of the tabernacle of י׳ Jos 22:19 (P); so אדמה ט׳ a foreign land Am 7:17. e.g. Leviticus 14:40
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. be or become unclean (NH Pi. pollute (ceremonially); Aramaic טְמָא and especially deriv., ܛܰܡܰܐ Pa. pollute; v. RSK 307 ff.)—
II. adj. unclean;—ט׳ Lv 5:2 + 58 times; cstr. טְמֵא 22:4 + 3 times; f. טְמֵאָה 5:2 + 11 times; cstr. טְמֵאַת Ez 22:5, 10; pl. טְמֵאִים Lv 11:8 + 10 times;—unclean,
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from טמא (ṭâmêʼ) (H2930) — to be unclean.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
טַמָּא
- (= טעמא, v. M. Kat. 18ᵃ quot. s. v. טַעֲמָא, a. T’shuboth G’onim ed. Cassel, p. 22ᵃ) reason, argument (on the cause of grief), consolation.—Pl. טַמַּיָּא, or טָמַיָּא.—בֵּי ט׳ gathering of comforters around the mourner in his house or at the place of worship. Ber. 6ᵇ אגרא דבי ט׳ וכ׳ (Ar. טמא, Tshub. G’onim l. c. טעמא) the merit of attending the mourner’s gathering lies in the silence (which must be observed until the mourner begins to speak). Snh. 113ᵃ [read:] למשאל ביה ט׳ (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note), v. טַעֲמָא.
טָמֵא I
- [to be filled up, inaccesible,] to be unclean; v. טָמֵא II.
- 1. to make unclean, to soil, defile. Yoma 39ᵃ אדם מְטַמֵּא עצמו מעט מְטַמְּאִין וכ׳ if a man begins to defile himself a little (through sin), he will soon be defiled largely. Yad. III, 5, a. fr. מט׳ את הידים their handling makes the hands unclean (washing the hands is required after handling them). Kel. I, 1; a. v. fr.
- 2. to declare unclean. Toh. VI, 2. Eduy. I, 11; a. v. fr.—Makhsh. VI, 2 טִימְּאוּ; Y. Dem. V, 24ᵈ טִימּוּ.
- , Hithpa. הִתְטַמֵּא, הִיטַּמֵּא
- 1. to become unclean, to be made unclean. Ukts. I, 1 מְטַמֵּא ומִיטַּמֵּא eventually makes unclean and becomes unclean. Kel. II, 1 מִיתְטַמְּאִין וכ׳ (ed. Dehr. מִיטַּ׳) are fit to become unclean and to make unclean. Ib. ומיט׳ מאחוריהן ואינן מיט׳ וכ׳ Mish. ed. (Talm. ed. מִטַּ׳) may be made unclean through their backs (touching uncleanness), &c. Ib. VI, 4 ונִטְמְאוּ and which became unclean; a. v. fr.—Yoma 38ᵇ [read:] בא לִטַּמֵּא פְּתָחִין לו (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) to him who is willing to defile himself, doors are open; Sabb. 104ᵃ; Ab. Zar. 55ᵃ; Men. 29ᵇ
- 2. to make one’s self unclean by handling a corpse &c. (v. Lev. XXI, 1, sq.). Yeb. 60ᵃ מִטַּמֵּא לה he (the priest) may attend to her burial; a. fr. e.g. Leviticus 21:1
טְמָא
- v. טְמִי
טָמֵא II
- v. preced. art.) unclean, levitically impure, forbidden. Kel. XII, 2 המחובר לט׳ ט׳ whatever is attached to an object which is fit to become unclean, may become unclean. Ib. 1 טבעת אדם ט׳ a ring used by man may eventually become unclean; a. v. fr.—Ḥull. VII, 5 דג ט׳ a fish forbidden to eat. Ib. 6 (בהמה) ט׳ a forbidden animal; a. v. fr.—Ab. Zar. 39ᵃ (referring to ‘the ass of the sea’, v. חֲמָר, a. ‘the ox of the sea’, v. תּוֹרָא) ט׳ טהור טהור ט׳ what is unclean (on land) is clean (in water) &c.—טְמֵא מת = b. h. טָ׳ למת, one made unclean through a corpse. Pes. 19ᵇ; a. fr.—Pl. טְמֵאִים, טְמֵאִין; f. טְמֵאוֹת. Ḥull. VIII, 6. Pes. 17ᵃ. Kel. XI, 8; a. v. fr.—טְמֵאֵי מתים, v. supra. Pes. 66ᵇ; a. fr.
טְמֵא
- v. טְמֵי
טְמִי
- = h. טָמֵא, to be, become unclean. Targ. Ps. CVI, 39 טְמִיאוּ (some ed. incorr. טַמִּי׳).
- to make unclean. Targ. Y. II, Num. XII, 12.—Targ. Mic. II, 10 בדיל לטַמָּיוּתָהּ ed. Lag. (ed. בדיל ט׳ corr. acc.) in order to defile her.—Ḥull. 3ᵃ לטַמְּיֵיה וטַמִּיתֵיה לבשר … the person will make the knife unclean and then the knife will make the flesh unclean. Pes. 79ᵃ דבשר הוא דמְטַמְּיָא ליה וכ׳ which affects only the flesh, but not the person. (Ms. M. דמִיטַּמֵּי … מִיטַּמְּאֵי, Ithpe.). Ib. 67ᵇ טַמּוּיֵי מְטַמֵּי makes unclean; a. fr.
- to be made unclean. Ḥull. 2ᵇ; a. e.
טְמֵי
- , constr. (preced.) unclean. Targ. Num. V, 2, a. fr. ט׳ נפשא, v. טָמֵא II.—Pl. f. טַמְיַין. Targ. Y. Deut. XIV, 4 [read:] עִיבּוּרֵי ט׳ (v. Bekh. 7ᵃ) offsprings of unclean mothers.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 43 distinct written forms H2931 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2931, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 78 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 78 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Leviticus 5:2
- Numbers 5:2
- Deuteronomy 12:15
- Joshua 22:19
- Judges 13:4
- 2 Chronicles 23:19
- Job 14:4
- Ecclesiastes 9:2
- Isaiah 6:5
- Jeremiah 19:13
- Lamentations 4:15
- Ezekiel 4:13
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
