מָה
whatever
‘whatever’ is one of 4 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Pronoun
- A word standing in for a noun (“he,” “this,” “who”).
- Particle
- A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H4101 appears in the Book of Daniel — 7 distinct verses. 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.
Daniel
- Daniel 2:15 מָ֥ה ptcl inter he answered Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
- Daniel 2:22 מָ֣ה pron indef bs he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
- Daniel 2:28 מָ֛ה pron indef bs but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
- Daniel 2:29 מָ֛ה מָה pron indef bs pron indef bs as for you, O king, your thoughts came [into your mind] on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.
- Daniel 2:45 מָ֛ה pron indef bs Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure.
- Daniel 4:3 כְּ/מָ֣ה כְּ/מָ֣ה prep + pron indef cs prep + pron indef cs How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
- Daniel 4:35 מָ֥ה pron inter bs All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or tell him, What do you?
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.
“whatever” is the headline sense of the Hebrew word מה (mâh). More than half of its appearances fall in Daniel. It appears 11 verses across 2 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its uncommon vocabulary. First canonically at Ezra 4:22, it enters the text early. Its meaning spans more than one sense — see its full sense range. See the sense tree, 11-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4101 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 →
- 11
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 11 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #2,001
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 2,001 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 11 occurrences in the concordance →
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 11 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 11 verses · 100%
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: What 5×, Why 3×, How 2×
- American Standard Version: What 4×, How 2×, Why 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: What 5×, How 2×, Whatever 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: What 6×, Why 3×, How 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4101 across 13 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 3 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 H4101 across 13 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 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 H4101 across 12 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears 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 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4101 across 14 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 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 17 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. interrog. what?
- a. in a direct question, before either verbs or nouns Gn 4:10 מֶה עשׂית what hast thou done? 15:2 מה־תתן־לי what wilt thou give me? Ex 3:13 מַה־שְּׁמוֹ, 12:26; 13:14 and so very often: מַה־הִיא Zc 5:6; מה אלה Zc 1:9; מָה אַתָּה רֹאֶה Je 1:11; Am 7:8 +; Jl 4:14 מה אתם לי; Ju 18:8 מה אתם vid. Comm., v 24 מה לי עוד what have I still? Is 21:11 מה־מלילה what (= how much) of the night (is past)? = as what? (qualem?) Hg 2:3 (cf. מִי Am 7:2); to express surprise, Jb 9:12 who shall say to him, מה תעשׂה what doest thou? 22:13 Ec 8:4; Is 45:9, 10; sq. כִּי, Gn 20:10 מה ראית כי עשׂית what hadst thou in view, that thou hast done, etc.? 31:36 Ex 16:7 וְנַחְנוּ מָה כִּי and what are we, that …? 32:21 Nu 22:28; Hb 2:18, etc. Note in partic.—(a) מָה is followed sometimes by a subst. in appos. (against Arabic usage, which does not permit this: WAG. ii. § 170), so that it becomes virtually an adj.: מַה־בֶּצַע what profit …? Gn 37:26 ψ 30:10 Mal 3:14; Is 40:18 מַה־דְּמוּת, Mal 1:13 ψ 89:48 זְכָר־אֲנִי מֶה חָ֑לֶד (inverted for מַה חֶלֶד אָ֑נִי) remember (of) what (short) duration I am, Ec 1:3; 5:10, 15; 6:8, 11 (Da § 8, R. 2 Köiii. 23 f.); as exclam., ψ 89:48b (?) Jb 26:14. And with the subst. idiom. at the end (in Arabic preceded then by مِنْ: WAG. ii. § 49. 7), 1 S 26:18 ומַה־בידי רעה and what is there in my hand, evil? 20:10 (vid. 3), 2 S 19:29; 24:13; 1 K 12:16; Je 2:5 מה־מצאו אבותיכם בי עָוֶל, Ec 11:2 Est 6:3. (b) מַה־זֶּה what, now? 1 S 10:11, contr. מַזֶּה †Ex 4:2 (זֶה 4 c); Gn 3:13 מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ; 12:18; 29:25 מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָה לִּי; similarly 26:10; 42:28 +, either what, now, hast thou done? or what is this that thou hast done? (vid. זֶה 4 d). (c) מַה־לְּךָ what to thee? i.e. what aileth thee? or what dost thou want? Gn 21:17 מַה־לָּךְ הָגָר; Jos 15:18; 2 S 14:5; 1 K 1:16; 2 K 6:28; Ez 18:2 (accents); sq. כִּי, Ju 18:23 מה־לך כי נזעקת, Gn 20:9 (cf. 1 S 11:5 מה לעם כי יבכו), Is 22:1 מַה־לָּךְ כִּי עָלִית (cf. τί παθὼν τοῦτο ποιεῖς;), ψ 114:5; without כִּי Is 3:15 (cf. Qor 57:8, 10); with a ptcp., Jon 1:6 what is it to thee as a sleeper? (accus.: Da § 70a cites Qor 74:50), Ez 18:2 (if אתם be treated as strengthening לכם). (d) מַה־לְּךָ (לִי) פֹה = what hast thou (have I) here? Ju 18:3; 1 K 19:9; Is 22:16; 52:5. (e) in the genit., Jer 8:9 וְחָכְמַת־מֶה לָהֶם, and wisdom of what (= what kind of wisdom) is theirs? Nu 23:3 (v. infr. 3). e.g. Genesis 4:10
- b. often in an indirect question, as after ראה, Gn 2:19 to see מה־יקרא־לו what he would call it, 37:20 וְנִרְאֶה מה־יהיו חלֹמֹתיו to what his dreams will come, Nu 13:19f.; Hb 2:1; הִכִּיר Gn 31:32; ידע 39:8; Ex 2:4 לדעת מה־יֵּעָשֶׂה לו, 16:15; 32:1; Jb 34:4; שׁמע Nu 9:8 וְאשׁמעה מה־יצוה י׳ (cf. ψ 85:9), 2 S 17:5; פֹּרַשׁ Nu 15:34; שׁאל 1 K 3:5; 2 K 2:9; הֵבִין Jb 6:24; 23:5: Nu 13:18 וראיתם את הארץ מה היא, ψ 39:5 Is 41:22 הראשׁנות מָה הֵנָּה הַגִּידוּ.—In some such cases it approximates in meaning to the simple rel., as Jer 7:17; 33:24; Mi 6:5, 8; Jb 34:33. e.g. Genesis 2:19
- c. = of what kind? (Germ. was für ein …?), with an insinuation of blame, or reproach, or contempt: Gn 37:10 מה החלום הזה what is this dream which thou hast dreamt? 44:15 Jos 22:16 Ju 8:1; 15:11; 20:12 1 S 29:3 מָה הָעִבְרִים האלה, 1 K 9:13 מה הערים האלה אשׁר נתתה לי, 2 K 9:22; 18:19. e.g. Genesis 37:10
- d. מה is often used in questions to which the answer little, or nothing, is expected, and it thus becomes equivalent to a rhetorical negative (cf. הֲ b, מִי f c): (a) Gn 23:15 land worth 400 shekels …, מה היא what is it? (i.e. it is something quite insignificant), 27:37 Ju 8:3 ומה־יכלתי עשׂות ככם, 14:18 Ho 9:5; 10:3 ψ 30:10; 56:5; Jb 15:9; 16:6; 21:21; 22:13, 17; La 2:13; Ct 5:9 מַה־דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד what is thy beloved (more) than a(nother) beloved? ‖ לא, 1 K 12:16 מַה־לָּנוּ חֵלֶק בְּדָוִד וְלֹא־נַחֲלָה בְּבֶן יִשַׁי (2 S 20:1 אֵין־לָנוּ חֵלֶק וג׳), Jb 16:6. (b) sq. כִּי (כִּי 1 f), Gn 20:9; 37:26 מַה־בֶּצַע כִּי נַהֲרֹג what profit (is it) that we should slay him? Ex 16:7 Nu 16:11 Hb 2:18 2 K 8:13 what is thy servant, the dog, that he should do, etc.? and often in poetry, as ψ 8:5 מָה אנושׁ כי תזכרנו what is man that thou rememberest him? Jb 6:11 מַה־כֹּחִי כִּי אֲיַחֵל, v 11b; 7:17; 15:12f, 14; 16:3; 21:15 + (cf. מִי f b). Hence, (c) in the formula of repudiation, or emphatic denial, (וְלָכֶם) מַה־לִּי וָלָךְ what is there (common) to me and to thee? i.e. what have I to do with thee? †Ju 11:12; 2 S 16:10 מה לי ולכם, 19:23; 1 K 17:18; 2 K 3:13; 2 Ch 35:21; cf. Jos 22:24; 2 K 9:18, 19; rather differently, without וְ, †Je 2:18 מה לך לדרך מ׳ what is there to thee with reference to the way to Egypt? Ho 14:9 מַה־לּוֹ לַעֲצַבִּים, cf. ψ 50:16 (לְסַפֵּר); with את, †Je 23:28 מַה־לַתֶּבֶן אֶת־הַבָּר beside (or in comparison with) the wheat? cf. τί ἐμοὶ (ἡμῖν) καὶ σοί; Mt 8:29 Mk 5:7 Jn 2:4; and Arabic مَا لِى وَلَهُ e.g. Genesis 23:15
- e. = whatsoever (cf. מִי g): (a) Ju 9:48 מה אתם ראיתם עשׂיתי מהרו עשׂו כמוני, lit. what do you see (that) I have done? hasten, and do like me (= whatever ye see, etc.), 2 S 21:4 מה אתם אמרים אעשׂה לכם, Jb 6:24; with the apod. introd. by וְ, 1 S 20:4 מה תאמר נפשׁך ואעשׂה לך; Est 5:3 מַה־ בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ … וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ, v 6; 7:2; 9:12; hence in the late and strange idiom of Ch., it sinks twice almost to the rel. what, 1 Ch 15:13 כי לְמַבָּרִאשׁוֹנָה לא אתם because ye were not (employed) for what was at first (on the former occasion), J etc., 2 Ch 30:3 לְמַדַּי according to what was sufficient (= in sufficient numbers), cf. Est 9:26. (b) מַה־שֶּׁ- (late: frequently in Mishn., etc.), whatever, what (cf. מִי אֲשֶׁר, מִי g end): †Ec 1:9 מַה־שֶּׁהָיָה הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, lit. what is that which hath been? it is that which shall be (= whatever hath been, it is that which shall be), v 9 3:15, 22; 6:10; 7:24; 8:7; 10:14. e.g. Judges 9:48
- 2. Used adverbially:
- a. as an interrogative: (a) how? especially in expressing what is regarded as an impossibility, Gn 44:16 מַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק how shall we justify ourselves? Nu 23:8(×2) 1 S 10:27 מַה־יּשִׁעֵנוּ זֶה, 2 K 4:43; Jb 9:2; 25:4(×2) 31:1 I made a covenant with my eyes, וּמָה אֶתְבּוֹנֵן עַל ב׳ and how should I look upon a maid? (𝔊 οὐ, 𝔙 non), Pr 20:24 וְאָדָם מַה־יָּבִין דַּרְכּוֹ; in an indirect question, Ex 10:26; ψ 39:5 אֵֽדְעָה מֶה־חָדֵל אָ֑נִי; מַה־זֶּה how, now? (in surprise), Gn 27:20 מַה־זֶּה מִהַרְתָּ לִמְצֹא בְּנִי, Ju 18:24; 1 K 21:5; 2 K 1:5. (b) why? Ex 14:15 מַה תִּצְעַק אֵלַי, 17:2(×2) 2 K 6:33; 7:3 ψ 42:6 מַה־תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי עלי, Jb 15:12 +; Ct 8:4 I adjure you מַה־תָּעִירוּ וּמַה־תְּעוֹרֲרוּ, why will ye stir up, etc.? (i.e. do not: ‖ אִם 2:7; 3:5).—The transition from the interrog. to the neg., to which in Heb. there is an approx. (especially 1 K 12:16 [cf. 2 S 20:1] Jb 6:5; 31:1; Ct 5:8; 8:4), is in Arabic complete, مَا being there used constantly in the sense of not (cf. WalkerHbr. xii. 244 ff.; Köiii. 478). e.g. Genesis 44:16
- b. as an exclam., how …! with adjectives and verbs, Gn 28:17 מַה־נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה how dreadful is this place! 38:29 Nu 24:5 מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ, Is 52:7 ψ 3:2 מה רבו, 8:2 מה אדיר, 21:2; 36:8, etc., Ct 4:10(×2); 7:2; ironically, 2 S 6:20; Je 2:33, 36; Jb 26:2, 3. e.g. Genesis 28:17
- 3. Indef. pron. anything, aught, Nu 23:3 וּדְבַר־מַה־יַּרְאֵנִי וְהִגַּדְתִּי לָ֑ךְ and he will shew me the matter of aught, and I will tell thee (= if he shew me … I will, etc., Dr§ 149), 1 S 19:3 וְרָאִיתִי מָה וִהִגַּדְתִּי לָ֑ךְ = and if I see aught, I will, etc., 20:10 אוֹ מַה־יַּעַנְךָ אָבִיךָ קָשָׁה if perchance thy father shall answer thee aught that is harsh (order, 1 a a), 2 S 18:22 וִיהִי־מָה אָרוּצָה־נָּא but let there happen what may (lit. aught), I will run, v 23 (cf. Jb 13:13 וְיַעֲבֹר עָלַי מָה), v 29 וְלֹא יָדַעְתִּי מָה (cf. Pr 9:13), Pr 25:8. Cf. Köiii. § 65. e.g. Numbers 23:3
- 4. With preps.:
- a. בַּמָּה9, בַּמֶּה19 wherein? Ex 22:26; Ju 16:5; 1 S 14:38 (indirect question; We בְּמִי); and so according to the various senses of בְּ: whereby? Gn 15:8; Ex 33:16; Mal 1:2, 6, 7; 2:17; 3:7–8; wherewith? 1 S 6:2 2 S 21:3 Mi 6:6; by what means? Ju 16:5 וּבַמֶּה נוּכַל לוֹ; at what (worth)? Is 2:22; for what? 2 Ch 7:21 (‖ 1 K 9:8 על־מה). e.g. Exodus 22:26
- b. יַעַן מֶה †Hg 1:9 because of what? e.g. Haggai 1:9
- c. כַּמָּה, כַּמֶּה, proposes the like of what? (Arabic كَمْ, Syriac ܟܡܳܐ ); hence (a) how much? how many? כַּמָּה יְמֵי וגו׳ Gn 47:8; 2 S 19:35; ψ 119:84 Jb 13:23; עַד כַּמֶּה פְעָמִים 1 K 22:16 (= 2 Ch 18:15); כַּמָּה how often? Jb 21:17 (i.e. how seldom!); in an indirect question, how much? Zc 2:6(×2). As an exclamation, Zc 7:3 as I have done זֶה כַמֶּה שָׁנִים now (זֶה 4 i), how many years! ψ 78:40 כַּמָּה how often! (b) for how long? ψ 35:17 כמה תראה, Jb 7:19. e.g. Genesis 47:8
- d. לָ֫מָּה, לָמָ֫ה (לָמָ֫ה mostly before the gutturals א, ה, ע, and י׳ [i.e. אֲדֹנָי], but twice besides, ψ 42:10; 43:2; לָ֫מָּה also occurs before gutt., in five places noted by Mas. on ψ 43:2, viz. 1 S 28:15; 2 S 2:22; 14:31; ψ 49:6 Je 15:18, and before ח †Gn 4:6; 2 S 14:13; 24:3; Ec 2:15), לָ֫מָה †Jb 7:20, לָ֫מֶה †1 S 1:8(×3), for what reason? why? Gn 4:6 למה חרה לך why art thou angry? 24:31, etc.; often strengthened by זֶה (זֶה 4 e), Gn 18:13; 32:30 (= Ju 13:18) למה זה תשׁאל לשׁמי, 33:15; Ex 2:20; 5:22; 17:3, etc., Je 6:20; 20:18 +; Gn 25:22 אם כן למה־זה אנכי if so, why, then, am I? (why do I continue to live?); = to what purpose (sq. לִ pers.), Gn 27:46 למה לי חיים, Is 1:11; Je 6:20 Am 5:18 למה זה לכם יום י׳, Jb 30:2; in an indirect question, 1 S 6:3 Dn 10:20. Note especially (a) in expostulations, Gn 12:18 למה לא הגדת לי why didst thou not tell me, etc.? v 19; 29:25; 31:27; 42:1; 43:6; 1 S 21:15; 22:13; 24:10; ψ 22:2; 44:24, 25; 74:1, 11 + often; (b) with an impf., often deprecating, or introducing rhetorically, the reason why something should, or should not, be done, why should …? 1 S 19:5, 17; 20:8 but to thy father (emph.) למה זה תביאני, why shouldst thou bring me? 20:32 למה יומת מה עשׂה why should he be put to death? 2 S 13:26; 16:9; 20:19; 2 K 14:10, etc.: in such cases, it approximates in meaning to lest (cf. Ph. CIS i. 2, 21 לָםָ יסגרינם אלנם ne tradant eos dii), and is in 𝔊 often rendered by μήποτε, as Gn 27:45 למה אשׁכל why should I be bereaved, etc.? Ex 32:12 למה יאמרו מצרים Ne 6:3 ψ 79:10; 115:2; Ec 7:16, μή, Jer 40:15, ἵνα μή, Gn 47:19; 2 S 2:22; 2 Ch 25:16; Ec 5:5; 7:17, or ὅπως μή, Jo 2:17 (in 1 S 19:17; 2 S 13:26, paraph. by εἰ μή); and, connected with the foreg. sentence by אשׁר, or שֶׁ, in late, or dial., Heb. it actually has that meaning, Dn 1:10 אֲשֶׁר לָמָּה יִרְאֶה lest he see, Ct 1:7 שַׁלָּמָ֫ה אֶהְיֶה lest I become (so in Aramaic דִּי לְמָה Ezr 7:23, דִּילְמָא 𝔗, Syriac ܕܰܠܡܳܐ, both regularly = lest). e.g. Psalms 42:10
- e. עַד־מָה (ψ 4:3 עַד־מֶה) until when? how long? †Nu 24:22 (aposiop.), ψ 4:3; 79:5; 89:47; in indirect qu., ψ 74:9 (cf. עד אנה, עד מתי). e.g. Psalms 4:3
- f. עַל־מָה, and עַל־מֶה, upon what? Jb 38:6; 2 Ch 32:10; upon what ground? wherefore? Nu 22:32 עַל־מָה הִכִּיתָ אֶת־אֲתֹנְךָ, Dt 29:23 (cf. 1 K 9:8; Je 22:8), Is 1:5; Je 8:14; 9:11; 16:10; Ez 21:12; ψ 10:13 Jb 13:14 (probably dittogr. from v 13); על־מה־זה Ne 2:4. In an indirect question, Jb 10:2 הוֹדִיעֻנִי עַל מַה־תְּרִיבֻנִי, Est 4:5 לָדַעַת מַה־זֶּה וְעַל־מַה־זֶּה. e.g. Job 38:6
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
rarely מָה־ (e.g. Gn 31:43; Jos 22:16; Ju 8:1), מַה־, מַה·, מֶה, מַ· (†Ex 4:2; Is 3:15; Mal 1:13; 1 Ch 15:13; 2 Ch 30:3), מָ (only in מָהֵם †Ez 8:6 Kt., Qr. מָה הֵם)—on the distinction in the use of these forms, see Ges§ 37—pron. interrog. and indef. what? how? aught; used of things, as מִי of persons (Aramaic ܡܳܐ, מָא, Arabic مَا; prob. apoc. from a longer form with n or nt, Assyrian minû (DlHWB 417 f.), Ethiopic ምንት: ment; cf. WCG 123 ff. Köii. 368):—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from מה (mâh) (H4100) — what.
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.
מָה
- (b. h.)
- 1. something; anything. Num. R. s. 14; Tanḥ. Ḥayé 3, v. בְּלִימָה.
- 2. what? which? Ḥull. 89ᵃ (play on הא̇מ̇נ̇ם א̇ל̇ם̇, Ps. LVIII, 2) מה א̇ומ̇נ̇תו … כא̇ל̇ם̇ which is the best policy for man in this world? Let him act as if he were mute (keep silence). B. Mets. 63ᵃ, a. e. מה לו הן מה לי דמיהן what are they to me and what their equivalent, i.e. what difference does it make whether the purchased objects or their equivalent be delivered?; Y. Yoma V, 43ᵃ bot. מה ביניהן ומה בין דמיהן. B. Bath. 32ᵇ; 31ᵃ מה (לי) לו לשקר what motive could he have to tell a lie? Ib., a. e. מה לי לשקר במקום עדים וכ׳ we do not apply the principle that we believe a defendant because he has no motive to lie, where witnesses are on hand; a. v. fr.—מה … אף what …?, even so, i.e. as … so. Gitt. 23ᵇ מה אתם … אף וכ׳ as you (Num. XVIII, 28) refers to Israelites, so must your delegate be an Israelite. Sabb. 133ᵇ מה הוא … אף וכ׳ as He is gracious and merciful, so be thou &c.; a. fr.—מה … לא כל שכן, v. כָּל.—מה … אינו דין, v. דִּין II.—מה ל־ … שכן … תאמר what has this to do with …? In this case …, whereas &c., i.e. it is different with … because &c. Kidd. 4ᵇ מה ליבמה שכן … תאמר וכ׳ the case of a Y’bamah is different, because she can neither be acquired by means of a document, whereas this (an ordinary woman) &c.; a. fr.—מָה נַפְשְׁךָ (in Babli mostly: מִמָּה נפשך; abbr. ממ"נ) whatever be thy opinion (from whatever opinion thou start), i.e. whichever side you take, at all events. Y. Ber. I, 2ᵇ מ׳ נ׳ אם וכ׳ at all events (he has offended); if it was day-time when the first stars (on Friday evening) were visible, it was day-time when the first stars (on Sabbath evening) were visible &c.; Sabb. 35ᵇ חייכ חטאת ממ"נ must bring a sin-offering at all events (whether you consider twilight a part of the day or a part of the night). Ib. 34ᵃ (in Chald. dict.) מה נפשך אי וכ׳ whichever side you take, if twilight is day &c. Erub. 10ᵃ גדולה … למה לי ממ"נ אי וכ׳ what reason was there for saying ‘large …’? In either case (it is incorrect), if it be to permit the use of the larger court &c. Ḥull. 29ᵃ ממ"נ אי מחצה וכ׳ in either case (the slaughtering is ritually correct); if you adopt the opinion that an exact half is to be considered as if it were the larger portion &c.; a. v. fr.—Ib. 78ᵇ מה אם נפשך, v. נֶפֶשׁ.—בַּמֶּה a) wherewith? B. Bath. 10ᵇ במה תרום וכ׳ whereby can the horn of Israel be lifted up? Sabb. II, 1; a. fr.—b) in what case? במה דברים אמורים (abbr. בד"א), v. אָמַר I.—לָמָּה wherefore? Ber. 3ᵃ תחלת … סימנא למה לי what need is there for a sign for the beginning of the first watch? M. Kat. 28ᵃ ל׳ נסמכה וכ׳ why is the account of the death of Miriam attached to &c.?; a. fr.—לַמֶּה to what?, whereto? Kidd. 40ᵇ ל׳ צדיקים נמשלים what are the righteous to be compared to?—ל׳ הדבר דומה, v. דָּמָה; a. fr.—V. לָמָה. e.g. Psalms 58:2
- 3. (relat.) which, what. Pes. 88ᵇ מה שקנה עבד וכ׳ whatever the slave acquires belongs to the master. Ber. I, 1 כל מה שאמרו וכ׳ for whatever act the scholars designated the time ‘up to midnight’ &c.; a. v. fr.
מָה ²
- ch. same (v. מָא). Targ. II Sam. XVIII, 23. Targ. Ex. XXXIII, 21; a. v. fr.—Snh. 65ᵇ; Gen. R. s. 11, v. גּוּבְרָא. Y. Ned. VI, end, 40ᵃ מה שבקית תמן what (prominent men) I left there (in Palestine); Y. Snh. I, 19ᵃ top (corr. acc.) [Ib. מה מודע לי, read מאן.]—Y. Gitt. I, 43ᵈ מה אנן קיימין what do we stand at, i.e. what is the case before us? Y. Dem. I, 21ᵈ bot. מה אפשר דר׳ וכ׳ what? is it possible that &c.? i.e. it is impossible that &c.; ib. מה ר׳ ז׳ מיכול וכ׳ it is impossible that R. Z. should eat &c. Y. Sabb. XIV, 14ᶜ מה ביניהון wherein do they differ?, v. בֵּין. Ḥull. 34ᵃ, a. e. מה נפשך, v. preced.; a. v. fr.—מָהִיא = מה היא, how is it? Y. Sabb. l. c.
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 8 distinct written forms H4101 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.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| מָ֛ה | Pronoun, Indefinite, Both, Singular | Daniel 2:28 | 3 |
| מָ֥ה | Pronoun, Interrogative, Both, Singular | Daniel 4:35 | 2 |
| וּ/מָ֣ה | Pronoun, Indefinite, Common, Singular | Ezra 6:9 | 2 |
| כְּ/מָ֣ה | Pronoun, Indefinite, Common, Singular | Daniel 4:3 | 2 |
| לְ/מָ֤ה | Pronoun, Interrogative, Common, Singular | Ezra 7:23 | 1 |
| לְ/מָה֙ | Particle, Interrogative | Ezra 4:22 | 1 |
| מָ֣ה | Pronoun, Indefinite, Both, Singular | Daniel 2:22 | 1 |
| מָה | Pronoun, Indefinite, Both, Singular | Daniel 2:29 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4101, 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
- מא mâʼ H3964 what
- מדוע maddûwaʻ H4069 why
- מדי madday H4078 what is enough, sufficiency, enough
- מהה mâhahh H4102 to delay
- מי mîy H4310 who
- מן mân H4478 manna
- מתלאה mattᵉlâʼâh H4972 weariness
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 11 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 10 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 11 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
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.
