יָם
sea
‘sea’ is one of 9 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
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
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.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
44 distinct verses where H3220 appears in the Construct state, across 14 books. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
Genesis 1 verse
Exodus 5 verses
- Exodus 10:19 יָם֙ יָ֣מָּ/ה n c ms n c ms cs + sfx dem Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.
- Exodus 13:18 יַם n c ms cs but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 15:4 בַ/יָּ֑ם בְ/יַם prep det + n c ms prep + n c ms cs Pharaoh's chariots and his host has he cast into the sea; His chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.
- Exodus 15:22 מִ/יַּם prep + n c ms cs Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
- Exodus 23:31 מִ/יַּם יָ֣ם prep + n c ms cs n c ms cs I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
Numbers 7 verses
- Numbers 14:25 יַם n c ms cs Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley: tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
- Numbers 21:4 יַם n c ms cs They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
- Numbers 33:10 יַם n c ms cs They traveled from Elim, and encamped by the Red Sea.
- Numbers 33:11 מִ/יַּם prep + n c ms cs They traveled from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
- Numbers 34:3 יָם n c ms cs then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward;
- Numbers 34:11 יָם n c ms cs and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
- Numbers 34:12 יָ֣ם n c ms cs and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to the borders of it round about.
Deuteronomy 5 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:40 יַם n c ms cs But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
- Deuteronomy 2:1 יַם n c ms cs Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we compassed Mount Seir many days.
- Deuteronomy 3:17 יָ֤ם יָ֣ם n c ms cs n c ms cs the Arabah also, and the Jordan and the border [of it], from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.
- Deuteronomy 4:49 יָ֣ם n c ms cs and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
- Deuteronomy 11:4 יַם n c ms cs and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how Yahweh has destroyed them to this day;
Joshua 9 verses
- Joshua 2:10 יַם n c ms cs For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
- Joshua 3:16 יָ֧ם יָם n c ms cs n c ms cs that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
- Joshua 4:23 לְ/יַם prep + n c ms cs For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you, until you were passed over, as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were passed over;
- Joshua 12:3 יָ֨ם יָ֣ם יָם n c ms cs n c ms cs n c ms cs and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and to the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah:
- Joshua 13:27 יָם n c ms cs and in the valley, Beth Haram, and Beth Nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan and the border [of it], to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward.
- Joshua 15:2 יָ֣ם n c ms cs Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;
- Joshua 15:5 יָ֣ם הַ/יָּ֔ם n c ms cs ptcl def.art + n c ms The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan;
- Joshua 18:19 יָם n c ms cs and the border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the goings out of the border were at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this was the south border.
- Joshua 24:6 הַ/יָּ֑מָּ/ה יַם ptcl def.art + n c ms + sfx dem n c ms cs I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea.
Judges 1 verse
1 Kings 1 verse
2 Kings 2 verses
- 2 Kings 14:25 יָ֣ם n c ms cs He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath Hepher.
- 2 Kings 25:13 יָ֧ם n c ms cs The pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
1 Chronicles 1 verse
Ezra 1 verse
Nehemiah 1 verse
Psalms 5 verses
- Psalms 106:7 יָ֣ם בְּ/יַם n c ms prep + n c ms cs Our fathers didn't understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn't remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
- Psalms 106:9 בְּ/יַם prep + n c ms cs He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; So he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
- Psalms 106:22 יַם n c ms cs Wondrous works in the land of Ham, And awesome things by the Red Sea.
- Psalms 136:13 יַם n c ms cs To him who divided the Red Sea apart; For his loving kindness endures forever;
- Psalms 136:15 בְ/יַם prep + n c ms cs But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; For his loving kindness endures forever:
Isaiah 1 verse
Jeremiah 4 verses
- Jeremiah 48:32 יָ֔ם יָ֥ם n c ms n c ms cs With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for you, vine of Sibmah: your branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: on your summer fruits and on your vintage the destroyer is fallen.
- Jeremiah 49:21 בְּ/יַם prep + n c ms cs The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.
- Jeremiah 51:36 יַמָּ֔/הּ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
- Jeremiah 52:17 יָ֧ם n c ms cs The pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
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.
At its core, ים (yâm) means “sea.” Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. It appears 339 verses across 35 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its common vocabulary. Scripture first uses it in Genesis 1:10. It clusters with ים under a shared root. Dig into 339-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3220 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 →
- 339
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 339 distinct verses.
- 35 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 35 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #127
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 127 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 339 occurrences in the concordance →
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 339 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 195 verses · 58%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 72 verses · 21%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 72 verses · 21%
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).
- King James Version: Sea 248×, West 36×, Seas 21×
- American Standard Version: Sea 218×, West 34×, Westward 24×
- Berean Standard Bible: Sea 244×, West 50×, Seas 19×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Sea 215×, Sea of 42×, West 38×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3220 across 396 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 31 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 H3220 across 393 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 50 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 H3220 across 378 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 26 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 17 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3220 across 398 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 22 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
13 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
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 13 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.
- 1. Mediterranean S. Nu 13:29 (E), 34:5 (P), Dt 1:7 Jos 5:1 1 K 5:23(×2) Jon 1:4(×2) + often; the Mediterr. is called also הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל Nu 34:6, 7 Jos 15:12, 47 Ez 47:10, 15, 19, 20; 48:28 +, cf. הַיּ׳ גּ׳ וּרְחַב יָדַיִם ψ 104:25; הַיָּם הַגּ׳ מְבוֹא הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ Jos 1:4; 23:4 (v. its Assyrian name tiamtu rabîtu šâ šulmi šamši etc., SchrNamen der Meere. 171ff.); הַיּ׳ הַגּ׳ אֶל־מוּל הַלְּבָנוֹן Jos 9:1; הַיּ׳ הָאַחֲרוֹן the hinder sea Dt 11:24; 34:2 Zc 14:8 Jo 2:20 (in the last two opp. הַיּ׳ הַקַּדְמֹנִי, v. infr.); of Mediterr. in particular part יָם פְּלִשְׁתִּים Ex 23:31 (JE); יָם יָפוֹ 2 Ch 2:15 = יָם יָפוֹא Ezr 3:7; of Mediterr. in pl. Dn 11:45 [cf. 8 d] Hi Ke Meinh Bev Dr (world-encircling seas Behrm). e.g. Numbers 13:29
- 2. יַם־סוּף ‘Red Sea’ (v. סוּף Ex 13:18 (cf. 10:19), 15:4; Nu 14:25; Dt 1:40; Jos 2:10 Ju 11:16 + often; also הַיָּם Ex 14:2(×2), 9 (?) Is 51:10(×2); 63:11 +; prob. also יָם־מִצְרַיִם 11:15; ‘Red Sea’ named or referred to c. 66 times; יַם־סוּף clearly of Ælanitic Gulf 1 K 9:26 (cf. 2 Ch 8:17). e.g. Exodus 13:18
- 3. Dead Sea, יָם מֶלַח sea of salt Gn 14:3 Nu 34:3, 12 Dt 3:17 Jos 3:16; 12:3; 15:2, 5; 18:19; יָם הָעֲרָבָה Dt 3:17; 4:49 Jos 3:16; 12:3 2 K 14:25; הַיּ׳ הַקַּדְמֹנִי Ez 47:18 Zc 14:8 Jo 2:20 (v. supr.) simply יָם Is 16:8 Je 48:32;—in יָם יַעְזֵר Je 48:32 יָם is text. error, del. c. Gf Gr Che Gie e.g. Genesis 14:3
- 4. Sea of Galilee יָם כִּנֶּרֶת Nu 34:11 Jos 13:27; יָם כִּנְּרוֹת 12:3; simply יָם Dt 33:23. e.g. Numbers 34:11
- 5. more gen. sea, opp. earth and (or) sky Gn 1:26, 28; 9:2 (P), Ex 20:11 (E), Hg 2:6 + often Jb ψ Is 2 etc.; Am 6:12 read בַּבָּקָר יָם for בקרים (v. בָּקָר); sea as under earth ψ 24:2 (cf. Gn 1:10; 6:11 Ex 20:5 = Dt 5:3); fig. of flood of invaders, עָלָה עַל־בָּבֶל הַיָּם Je 51:42. e.g. Genesis 1:26
- 6. of a mighty river, the Nile Na 3:8(×2) Is 19:5 (‖ נָהָר); cf. הַתַּנִּין אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם 27:1 and כַּתַּנִּים בַּיַּמִּים Ez 32:2 (sim. of Pharaoh); of Euphrates Is 21:1 Je 51:36 (according to Che Gf al.; Is 21:1 perhaps better of Persian Gulf, v. Di). e.g. Nahum 3:8
- 7. the great basin in temple-court, called the sea: וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת־הַיָּם מוּצָק 1 K 7:23 = 2 Ch 4:2; יָם הַנְּחשֶׁת 2 K 25:13 1 Ch 18:8 Je 52:17; הַיָּם alone 1 K 7:24, 25 + 10 times K Ch + Je 52:20. e.g. 1 Kings 7:23
- 8. combinations are:
- a. 10 שְׂפַת הַיָּם Jos 11:4 1 K 5:9, and in sim. Gn 22:17 Ju 7:12 1 S 13:5; חוֹף הַיּ׳ Jos 9:1 Ez 25:16; חוֹף יַמִּים Gn 49:13 Ju 5:17; cf. חֶבֶל הַיָּם Zp 2:5 region by the sea; so v 6 but dub., v i. חֶבֶל 3 e.g. Joshua 11:4
- b. sand of the sea (shore) חוֹל הַיָּם (in sim.) Gn 32:13; 41:49 Ho 2:1 Is 10:22 + often (v. חוֹל); חוֹל גְּבוּל לַיָּם Je 5:22. e.g. Genesis 32:13
- c. לְשׁוֹן הַיָּם tongue (arm or gulf) of sea Jos 15:5; 18:19 Is 11:15. e.g. Joshua 15:5
- d. מִיָּם עַד־יָם Am 8:12 Zc 9:10 ψ 72:8, cf. Mi 7:12 Zc 14:8(×2) Jo 2:20(×2) Dn 11:45. e.g. Amos 8:12
- 9. = 3 (orig. 3, from position of Mediterr. with ref. to Palestine, and this sense still often perceptible): with other three points of compass Gn 13:14; 28:14 (J), Nu 2:18; 35:5 (P), Dt 3:27 1 K 7:25 1 Ch 9:24 2 Ch 4:4 Ez 42:19 + 6 times, Ez, Zc 14:4 Dn 8:4 ψ 107:3 (מִמִּזְרָח וּמִמַּעֲרָב מִצָּפוֹן וּמִיָּם; but read perhaps וּמִיָּמִן from the south, Hu Pe Bi Che); opp. east Jos 11:2; 16:6 + 16 times Ez 48; west alone Gn 12:8 (J); רוּחַ יָם Ex 10:19 (J) west wind; מִיָּם לְ westward Jos 8:9, 12, 13 +; יָ֫מָּה westward, often of tabernacle Ex 26:22, 27 Nu 3:23 + (all P), and of land Jos 5:1; 15:8, 10 etc., + often Ez; דֶּרֶךְ הַיָּם = westward Ez 41:12; גְּבוּל יָם western border Nu 34:6(×2) Jos 15:12; פְּאַת־יָם west side Ex 27:12; 38:12 Nu 35:5 Jos 18:14; פְּאַת דרך הים Ez 41:12 (v. further פאה). e.g. Genesis 13:14
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
n.m. Ex 14:27 sea (Ph. ים; Arabic يَمٌّ; Palm. בימא on the sea, VogNo. 79; on Assyrian iâmu,, sea, v. DlHWB307 M-ACD 52 HptBAS i.171 n.)—abs. יָם 1 S 13:5 +; יָ֫מָּה Gn 28:14 +; cstr. יָם Gn 14:3 + 23 times, also יָ֫מָּה סוּף Ex 10:19, but always יַם־סוּף Ex 13:18 + 22 times; sf. יַמָּהּ Je 51:36; pl. יַמִּים Ju 5:17 + 29 times;—sea: especially
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: from an unused root meaning to roar
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.
יָם
- (b. h.) sea, lake, reservoir. Ber. 54ᵇ יורדי הים seafarers (on landing). B. Bath. 74ᵇ יַמָּהּ של טבריא the Lake of Tiberias; ים הגדול the Mediterranean Ocean. Gitt. 8ᵃ ים אוקיינוס; (Tosef. Ter. II, 14; a. e. only אוק׳).—Bekh. 13ᵇ, a. fr. ים המלח the Dead Sea; a. fr.—Pl. יַמִּים, B. Bath. l. c.; a. fr.—Esp. a) the cosmetic paint bottle. Cant. R. to I, 3, v. זַכְרוּת.—b) יַם נפה the receiver of flour at sifting or in the mill. Kel. XV, 3; (Tosef. Kel. B. Mets. V, 5 only נפה). Zab. IV, 2 (only הים).—c) the receptacle in the wine or oil press, tank. B. Bath. IV, 5.—d) the water reservoir in the Solomonic Temple. Zeb. 62ᵇ; Yoma 58ᵇ; a. e.—Fem. form: יַמָּה. Y. Shek. V, 48ᵈ לְיַמָּתִי (I offer a sacrifice) for my yammah, סברין מימר שופעת כים they thought she meant that she had a hemorrhage (flowing like a sea), אמר לון בימה סכנת said he to us, she was in danger on sea; Men. 64ᵇ, v. זִיבָה).
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 118 distinct written forms H3220 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.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 58 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3220, 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.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 314 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 339 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
- Genesis 1:10
- Exodus 10:19
- Leviticus 11:9
- Numbers 2:18
- Deuteronomy 1:7
- Joshua 1:4
- Judges 5:17
- 1 Samuel 13:5
- 2 Samuel 17:11
- 1 Kings 5:9
- 2 Kings 14:25
- 1 Chronicles 9:24
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.
