Hebrew word · H1949

הוּם

vatehom

to make noise

To make a confused noise, roar, be in uproar or commotion. A town buzzing with news (Ruth 1:19; 1 Kgs 1:45), the camp shouting so that the ground roared (1 Sam 4:5), the panic God sends on enemies (Deut 7:23, mᵉhûmâ).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to distract, ring again, make a (great) noise, murmur, roar, discomfit, be moved

1a) (Qal) to discomfit

1b) (Niphal) to be in a stir

1c) (Hiphil)

1c1) to murmur

1c2) to show disquietude

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Micah 2:12

Range of meaning

To make a confused noise, roar, be in uproar or commotion. A town buzzing with news (Ruth 1:19; 1 Kgs 1:45), the camp shouting so that the ground roared (1 Sam 4:5), the panic God sends on enemies (Deut 7:23, mᵉhûmâ). The rare causative form appears elsewhere only in Ps 55:2 [Heb 55:3], "I am restless/moan".

Against the English

BSB has "a noisy throng", KJV "they shall make great noise", WEB "swarm with people". The supplied gloss "be distraught" comes from the Psalm 55 sense and does not fit a crowded sheepfold well.

Used elsewhere in the period

The noun mᵉhûmâ, "tumult, panic", is common in holy-war settings (Deut 7:23; 1 Sam 5:9; Zech 14:13). The verb in Ruth 1:19 describes a whole town abuzz.

Where it appears

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 1:19 וַתֵּהֹ֤ם and it was excited

    So Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women of the town exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 4:5 וַתֵּהֹ֖ם and it was stirred

    When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 1:45 וַתֵּהֹ֖ם and it was excited

    Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 55:2 וְאָהִֽימָה׃ and I am distraught

    Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and distraught

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 2:12 תְּהִימֶ֖נָה they will be distraught

    I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture—a noisy throng.

    Here: "They will hum, murmur, be in uproar". The "they" is feminine plural because it refers to the flock. The picture is the loud noise of a packed sheepfold, which here signals sheer numbers.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.