מַי
water
‘water’ 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
- 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
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
98 distinct verses where H4325 appears in the Construct state, across 19 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 3 verses
- Genesis 7:7 מֵ֥י n c mp cs Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, because of the waters of the flood.
- Genesis 7:10 וּ/מֵ֣י conj + n c mp cs It happened after the seven days, that the waters of the flood came on the earth.
- Genesis 9:11 מִ/מֵּ֣י prep + n c mp cs I will establish my covenant with you; neither will all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither will there any more be a flood to destroy the earth."
Exodus 6 verses
- Exodus 4:9 מִ/מֵּימֵ֣י הַ/מַּ֨יִם֙ prep + n c mp cs ptcl def.art + n c mp It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on the dry land."
- Exodus 7:19 מֵימֵ֨י מֵימֵי/הֶ֖ם n c mp cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
- Exodus 7:24 מַ֣יִם מִ/מֵּימֵ֖י n c mp prep + n c mp cs All the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink of the water of the river.
- Exodus 8:6 מֵימֵ֣י n c mp cs Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 15:19 מֵ֣י n c mp cs For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea on them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.
- Exodus 23:25 מֵימֶ֑י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst.
Numbers 17 verses
- Numbers 5:18 מֵ֥י n c mp cs The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
- Numbers 5:19 מִ/מֵּ֛י prep + n c mp cs The priest shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.
- Numbers 5:23 מֵ֥י n c mp cs "The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness.
- Numbers 5:24 מֵ֥י הַ/מַּ֥יִם n c mp cs ptcl def.art + n c mp He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
- Numbers 8:7 מֵ֣י n c mp cs Thus shall you do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
- Numbers 19:9 לְ/מֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside of the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for impurity: it is a sin-offering.
- Numbers 19:13 מֵ֨י n c mp cs 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 19:20 מֵ֥י n c mp cs 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 19:21 מֵֽי בְּ/מֵ֣י n c mp cs prep + n c mp cs It shall be a perpetual statute to them: and he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.
- Numbers 20:8 מֵימָ֑י/ו מַ֨יִם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak you to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their cattle drink.
- Numbers 20:13 מֵ֣י n c mp cs These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Yahweh, and he was sanctified in them.
- Numbers 20:17 מֵ֣י n c mp cs Please let us pass through your land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.
- Numbers 20:19 מֵימֶ֤י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms The children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price of it: let me only, without [doing] anything [else], pass through on my feet.
- Numbers 20:24 לְ/מֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
- Numbers 21:22 מֵ֣י n c mp cs Let me pass through your land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed your border.
- Numbers 27:14 בַ/מַּ֖יִם מֵֽי prep det + n c mp n c mp cs because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes. (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
- Numbers 31:23 בְּ/מֵ֥י בַ/מָּֽיִם prep + n c mp cs prep det + n c mp everything that may abide the fire, you shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that doesn't withstand the fire you shall make to go through the water.
Deuteronomy 4 verses
- Deuteronomy 11:4 מֵ֤י n c mp 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;
- Deuteronomy 29:11 מֵימֶֽי/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms your little ones, your wives, and your foreigner who is in the midst of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water;
- Deuteronomy 32:51 בְּ/מֵֽי prep + n c mp cs because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:8 מֵ֥י n c mp cs Of Levi he said, Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, Whom you did prove at Massah, With whom you did strive at the waters of Meribah;
Joshua 13 verses
- Joshua 2:10 מֵ֤י n c mp 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 3:8 מֵ֣י n c mp cs You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.
- Joshua 3:13 בְּ/מֵ֣י מֵ֤י הַ/מַּ֥יִם prep + n c mp cs n c mp cs ptcl def.art + n c mp It shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Yahweh, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap.
- Joshua 4:7 מֵימֵ֤י מֵ֣י n c mp cs n c mp cs then you shall tell them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.
- Joshua 4:18 מֵֽי n c mp cs It happened, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh were come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
- Joshua 4:23 מֵ֧י n c mp 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 5:1 מֵ֧י n c mp cs It happened, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
- Joshua 11:5 מֵ֣י n c mp cs All these kings met together; and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.
- Joshua 11:7 מֵ֥י n c mp cs So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and fell on them.
- Joshua 15:7 מֵי n c mp cs and the border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river; and the border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and the goings out of it were at En Rogel;
- Joshua 15:9 מֵ֣י n c mp cs and the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border extended to Baalah (the same is Kiriath Jearim);
- Joshua 16:1 לְ/מֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to Bethel;
- Joshua 18:15 מֵ֥י n c mp cs The south quarter was from the uttermost part of Kiriath Jearim; and the border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah;
Judges 1 verse
1 Samuel 1 verse
2 Kings 3 verses
- 2 Kings 5:12 מֵימֵ֣י n c mp cs Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
- 2 Kings 18:27 מימֵ֥י n c mp cs But Rabshakeh said to them, Has my master sent me to your master, and to you, to speak these words? Hasn't he sent me to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?
- 2 Kings 18:31 מֵֽי n c mp cs Don't listen to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat you everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree, and everyone drink the waters of his own cistern;
2 Chronicles 2 verses
- 2 Chronicles 32:3 מֵימֵ֣י n c mp cs he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the springs which were outside of the city; and they helped him.
- 2 Chronicles 32:30 מֵימֵ֤י n c mp cs This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
Job 2 verses
Psalms 7 verses
- Psalms 23:2 מֵ֖י n c mp cs He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
- Psalms 33:7 מֵ֣י n c mp cs He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
- Psalms 46:3 מֵימָ֑י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Though the waters of it roar and are troubled, Though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.
- Psalms 73:10 וּ/מֵ֥י conj + n c mp cs Therefore their people return to them, And they drink up waters of abundance.
- Psalms 81:7 מֵ֖י n c mp cs You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah." Selah.
- Psalms 105:29 מֵימֵי/הֶ֣ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
- Psalms 106:32 מֵ֥י n c mp cs They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, So that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
Isaiah 15 verses
- Isaiah 8:6 מֵ֣י n c mp cs Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
- Isaiah 8:7 מֵ֣י n c mp cs now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up on them the waters of the River, strong and many, [even] the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks;
- Isaiah 15:6 מֵ֥י n c mp cs For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the grass is withered away, the tender grass fails, there is no green thing.
- Isaiah 15:9 מֵ֤י n c mp cs For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; for I will bring yet more on Dimon, a lion on them of Moab that escape, and on the remnant of the land.
- Isaiah 22:9 מֵ֥י n c mp cs You saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool;
- Isaiah 22:11 לְ/מֵ֖י prep + n c mp cs you made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn't look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.
- Isaiah 33:16 מֵימָ֖י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given [him]; his waters shall be sure.
- Isaiah 36:12 מֵימֵ֥י n c mp cs But Rabshakeh said, Has my master sent me to your master, and to you, to speak these words? [has he] not [sent me] to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?
- Isaiah 36:16 מֵי n c mp cs Don't listen to Hezekiah: for thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat you everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree, and drink you everyone the waters of his own cistern;
- Isaiah 44:24 מי n c mp cs Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who stretches forth the heavens alone; who spreads abroad the earth (who is with me?);
- Isaiah 48:1 וּ/מִ/מֵּ֥י conj + prep + n c mp cs Hear you this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Yahweh, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
- Isaiah 51:10 מֵ֖י n c mp cs Isn't it you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?
- Isaiah 54:9 מֵ֥י מֵי n c mp cs n c mp cs For this is [as] the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
- Isaiah 57:20 מֵימָ֖י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can't rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.
- Isaiah 58:11 מַ֔יִם מֵימָֽי/ו n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don't fail.
Jeremiah 8 verses
- Jeremiah 2:18 מֵ֣י מֵ֥י n c mp cs n c mp cs Now what have you to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what have you to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
- Jeremiah 6:7 מֵימֶ֔י/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs As a well casts forth its waters, so she casts forth her wickedness: violence and destruction is heard in her; before me continually is sickness and wounds.
- Jeremiah 8:14 מֵי n c mp cs Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 9:15 מֵי n c mp cs therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
- Jeremiah 23:15 מֵי n c mp cs Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
- Jeremiah 46:7 מֵימָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Who is this who rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
- Jeremiah 48:34 מֵ֣י n c mp cs From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, to Eglath Shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate.
- Jeremiah 50:38 מֵימֶ֖י/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols.
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 9 verses
- Ezekiel 12:18 וּ/מֵימֶ֕י/ךָ conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness;
- Ezekiel 12:19 וּ/מֵֽימֵי/הֶ֖ם conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp and tell the people of the land, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, [and despoiled] of all that is therein, because of the violence of all those who dwell therein.
- Ezekiel 32:14 מֵֽימֵי/הֶ֔ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 47:3 בַ/מַּ֖יִם מֵ֥י prep det + n c mp n c mp cs When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.
- Ezekiel 47:4 בַ/מַּ֖יִם מַ֣יִם מֵ֥י prep det + n c mp n c mp n c mp cs Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through [the waters], waters that were to the loins.
- Ezekiel 47:5 הַ/מַּ֨יִם֙ מֵ֣י ptcl def.art + n c mp n c mp cs Afterward he measured one thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
- Ezekiel 47:12 מֵימָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms By the river on the bank of it, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit of it fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters of it issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit of it shall be for food, and the leaf of it for healing.
- Ezekiel 47:19 מֵי֙ n c mp cs The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook [of Egypt], to the great sea. This is the south side southward.
- Ezekiel 48:28 מֵ֚י n c mp cs By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook [of Egypt], to the great sea.
Daniel 2 verses
- Daniel 12:6 לְ/מֵימֵ֣י prep + n c mp cs One said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
- Daniel 12:7 לְ/מֵימֵ֣י prep + n c mp cs I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Hosea 1 verse
Amos 2 verses
- Amos 5:8 לְ/מֵֽי prep + n c mp cs Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, And turns the shadow of death into the morning, And makes the day dark with night; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
- Amos 9:6 לְ/מֵֽי prep + n c mp cs It is he who builds his chambers in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth; Yahweh is his name.
Nahum 1 verse
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.
מים (mayim) is a Hebrew noun most often rendered “water.” Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. With 525 verses in 33 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. It first appears in Genesis 1:2. It clusters with מידבא, מי הירקון and מי זהב under a shared root. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4325 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 →
- 525
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 525 distinct verses.
- 33 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 33 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #85
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 85 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 525 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 525 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 226 verses · 43%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 180 verses · 34%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 119 verses · 23%
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: Water 252×, Waters 224×, Himself in water 12×
- American Standard Version: Water 224×, Waters 204×, Himself in water 13×
- Berean Standard Bible: Water 292×, Waters 162×, Like water 14×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Water 286×, Waters 175×, Waters of 51×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4325 across 578 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 59 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 4 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4325 across 575 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 97 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 1 further occurrence.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H4325 across 532 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 48 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 43 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4325 across 606 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.
25 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 25 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.
- a. water, of a spring or well (עַיִן, בְּאֵר) Gn 16:7; 24:11, 13(×2), 43 Ex 15:27(×2) (J), Gn 21:19, 25 Nu 20:17; 21:16 (E), etc.; for drinking, also Am 4:8; 8:11 Jon 3:7 + often; out of rock Ex 17:6 (E), Nu 20:8(×2), 10, 11 (P), Dt 8:15 etc.; מֵי מְרִיבָה (RSSem. i. 165. 2nd ed. 181) Nu 20:13, 24; 27:14 (P), Dt 33:8 ψ 81:8 106:32; cf. Dt 32:51 Ez 47:19; 48:28; for washing (hands, feet, person) Gn 18:4; 24:32; 43:24 (J), 2 K 3:11, Ex 29:4; 30:20 Lv 15:5, 6 + (P); (victims) Lv 1:9, 13; 8:21 (P); (vessels) Lv 6:21; 11:32, 34 (P); (garments) Lv 15:17 Nu 19:8 (P); for cooking Ex 12:9 (P), cf. Is 64:1 Ez 24:3 (symbol.); for purification Nu 8:7 (מֵי חַטָּאת), 19:9 (מֵי נִדָּה), cf. v 13, 18, 20, 21, 20:13; 31:23(×2) (all P), Ez 36:25 (fig.). e.g. Genesis 16:7
- b. of a river, Nile Ex 2:10; 4:9(×2) (J), Je 2:18 etc.; Jordan Jos 3:8 (D), v 15, 16 (JE), etc.; Euphrates Is 8:7 (fig.), Je 2:18; Ezek.’s river Ez 47:1(×2), 2 +, etc.; of streams, canals, etc., especially as condition of fertility Dt 8:7; 10:7 Is 1:30 Pr 30:16 2 K 3:17 +, etc. e.g. Exodus 2:10
- c. of sea Am 5:8; 9:6; Red Sea Ex 15:8, 10, 19 (song), 14:21, 22, 26 + (P), Jos 2:10 (D), etc. e.g. Amos 5:8
- d. of flood Gn 7:7, 10; 8:3, 7, 8, 9, 11 (J), 6:17; 7:6, 17, 18(×2) 19; 8:5; 9:11, 15 (P); so מֵי־נֹחַ Is 54:9(×2) waters of Noah. e.g. Genesis 7:7
- e. subterranean Ex 20:4 (E), Dt 4:18; 5:8, cf. Jb 26:5 ψ 136:6. e.g. Exodus 20:4
- f. in clouds Je 10:13 Jb 26:8 ψ 29:3(×2) 104:3; 148:4, etc. e.g. Jeremiah 10:13
- g. of rain Ju 5:4 2 S 21:10 Dt 11:11 ψ 65:10 Jb 5:10 (‖ מָטָר), etc. e.g. Judges 5:4
- h. of dew Ju 6:38. e.g. Judges 6:38
- i. primæval deep Gn 1:2, 6 (P). e.g. Genesis 1:2
- 2. c. nomm. pr. loc. (q.v.), to denote springs, streams, or seas belonging to, near, such places: מֵימֵי מִצְרַיִם Ex 7:19; 8:2; מֵי מְרִיבָה (v. supr. 1 a); מֵי מֵרוֹם Jos 11:5, 7; מֵי עֵין־שֶׁמֶשׁ Jos 15:7; מֵי נֶפְתּוֹחַ 15:9; 18:15; מֵי יְרִיחוֹ 16:1; מֵי מְגִּדּוֹ Ju 5:19; מֵי נִמְרִ(יִ)ם Is 15:6 Je 48:34; מֵי דִימוֹן Is 15:9; cf. מֵי הַשִּׁלֹּחַ Is 8:6; מֵימֵי גִּיחוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן 2 Ch 32:30; cf. also n. pr. loc. מִשְׂרְפוֹת מַיִם Jos 11:8; 13:6. e.g. Exodus 7:19
- 3. special uses are: מֵי רַגְלַיִם water of the feet = urine 2 K 18:27 = Is 36:12; cf. בְּמֵי מַדְמֵנָה Is 25:10 Kt in water of a dunghill (> Qr בְּמוֹ); מַיִם לַחַץ water (which is) distress, because drunk in imprisonment 1 K 22:27 (‖ לֶחֶם לַחַץ) = 2 Ch 18:26; בְּמֵי־שָׁ֑לֶג in snow-water Jb 9:30 Qr (Kt במו; Me Hoffm Siegfr כְּמוֹ), מֵימֵי שֶׁלֶג 24:19; מַיִם קְדשִׁים †Nu 5:17 holy water (cf. RSSem. 165, 2nd ed. 181, but text dubious, v. Di); מֵי הַמָּרִים bitter water †Nu 5:18, 19, 23, 24; cf. Ex 15:23 (בִּי מָרִים הֵם), opp. וַיִּמְתְּקוּ הַמַּיִם v 25 and the waters were sweetened; מֵי חַטָּאת, מֵי נִדָּה v. supr. 1 a; מַיִם חַיִּים living (i.e. running) water Lv 14:5, 6, 50, 51, 52 Nu 19:17, also (fig.) Zc 14:8 (cf. Ez 47), and (fig.) Je 2:13; 17:13. See also infr. (cf. Nu 21:17, 18; v. RSSem. i. 127, 157; 2nd ed. 135, 176). e.g. 2 Kings 18:27
- 4. among fig. uses are:
- a. of danger or distress Is 43:2 ψ 66:12; 69:2 La 3:54; usually many waters 2 S 22:17 = ψ 18:17, cf. Jb 22:11 ψ 32:6; 144:7, or deep waters ψ 69:3, 15, cf. v 16; also מֵי־רֹאשׁ water of gall Je 8:14; 9:14; 23:15. e.g. Isaiah 43:2
- b. פֶּרֶץ מַיִם 2 S 5:20 = 1 Ch 14:11 of outbursting force. e.g. 2 Samuel 5:20
- c. שְׁאוֹן מַיִם Is 17:12, 13 or rushing nations. e.g. Isaiah 17:12
- d. of what is impetuous, violent, overwhelming Is 28:2, 17 Ho 10:7 Jb 27:20 ψ 124:4, 5; 88:18; sim. of impetuousness פַּחַז כַּמַּיִם Gn 49:4. e.g. Isaiah 28:2
- e. (as running away) of heart in timidity Jos 7:5, cf. ψ 22:15, of knees Ez 7:17; 21:12. e.g. Joshua 7:5
- f. of transitoriness Jb 11:16; 24:18 ψ 58:8. e.g. Job 11:16
- g. of refreshment Is 32:2; 49:10; spiritual 12:3. e.g. Isaiah 32:2
- h. מֵי מְנֻחוֹת ψ 23:2 in fig. of rest and peace, cf. Je 31:9. e.g. Psalms 23:2
- i. of reckless bloodshed (poured out like water) ψ 79:3; cf. pouring away (and not eating) blood Dt 12:16, 24; 15:23. e.g. Psalms 79:3
- j. בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים Ct 4:15 fig. of bride; מַיִם מִבּוֹרֶ֑ךָ Pr 5:15 of enjoyment of one’s own wife; of harlotry מַיִם גְּנוּבִים Pr 9:17 stolen waters. e.g. Song of Solomon 4:15
- k. of outpoured wrath of י׳ Ho 5:10. e.g. Hosea 5:10
- l. of abundant justice Am 5:24. e.g. Amos 5:24
- m. of outpoured feelings Jb 3:24; שִׁפְכִי כַמַּיִם לִבֵּךְ La 2:19.—Is 48:1 read prob. מִמְּעֵי for MT מִמֵּי, so Secker Du CheHpt Skinner, cf. Di. e.g. Job 3:24
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. 2 S 14:14 only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water (NH id.; MI 23 [ין]מ; SI 5 המים; Aramaic מַיָּא, מַיִּין, ܡܰܝܴ̈ܐ; Assyrian mû, pl. mê, also mâmu DlHWB 394; Arabic مَآءٌ; Ethiopic ማይ, pl. ማያት; Sab. [מו], מום, pl. מון, Min. [מה], pl. מהן DHM6th Or. Congr. (Leiden) ii. 1, 451 f. (v. on these forms BaZMG xiii, 1888, 341 ff.));—מַ֫יִם (מָ֑יִם) Gn 1:2 +; הַמַּ֫יְמָה Ex 7:15; 8:16; cstr. מֵי Gn 7:7 + 71 times; מֵימֵי Ex 4:9 + 10 times + Qr 2 K 18:27 = Is 36:12; sf. מֵימַי Ho 2:7 + 1 S 25:11 (but read here יֵינִי 𝔊 Ew Th We Klo Dr Kit Bu); מֵימֶ֫יךָ Ex 23:25 + 3 times; מֵימָיו Nu 20:8 + 6 times; מֵימֶיהָ Je 6:7; 50:38; מֵימֵינוּ La 5:4; מֵימֵיהֶם Ex 7:19 + 4 times;—waters, water (c. adj. pl. Gn 26:19 Ex 15:10 Lv 14:5, 6, 50 + often, so always c. adj.; also c. pt. pl. Nu 5:18, 19, 24 2 K 3:20 +; c. pron. pl. Nu 20:13; 27:14 2 K 2:21 +; cf. sf. Jos 4:18; before pl. vb. Gn 1:9, 20, 21; 7:17 + often; after pl. vb. Jos 3:13 Is 28:17 Pr 9:17 Ez 31:4 +; rarely c. sg. vb.; before, Gn 9:15 Lv 11:34 Nu 20:2; 24:7; 33:14 2 K 3:9; after, Nu 19:13, 20);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense)
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.
מַיִם
- water, fluid; secretion; solution. Constr. מֵי; pl. מֵימוֹת, constr. מֵימֵי. Snh. 108ᵃ גלגל העין שדומה למ׳ the eye-ball which (in restlessness) resembles water, v. גַּלְגַּל. Par. VIII, 9 המ׳ המוכים וכ׳ smitten waters (springs or lakes formed through a catastrophe, v. Snh. l. c.). Ib. המ׳ המכזבים, v. כָּזַב; a. v. fr.—מ׳ ראשונים, מ׳ אחרונים &c., v. respective determinants.—מֵי פירות juice of fruits (wine, date-honey, &c.). Pes. 35ᵃ sq.; a. fr.—מֵי רגלים urin. Ker. 6ᵃ; a. fr.—בֵּית המ׳ urinary. Meg. III, 2; Y. Ber. II, 4ᶜ bot.—Ḥag. 3ᵃ מֵימֶיךָ אנו שותין we drink thy water, i.e. we depend on thy teaching; B. Mets. 84ᵇ מֵימֵיהֶן אנו שותין; Hor. 14ᵃ; a. e.—Taan. 16ᵃ כל מימות וכ׳ all the waters of the world; a. fr.
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 158 distinct written forms H4325 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; 98 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4325, 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.
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- מידבא Mêydᵉbâʼ H4311 Medeba
- מי הירקון Mêy hay-Yarqôwn H4313 Me-jarkon
- מי זהב Mêy Zâhâb H4314 Mezahab
Compare all same-root words → 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 494 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 525 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 1:2
- Exodus 2:10
- Leviticus 1:9
- Numbers 5:17
- Deuteronomy 2:6
- Joshua 2:10
- Judges 1:15
- 1 Samuel 7:6
- 2 Samuel 5:20
- 1 Kings 13:8
- 2 Kings 2:8
- 1 Chronicles 11:17
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.
