Hebrew word · H1999

הֲמֻלָּה

hamulah

tumult

Roar, rushing noise, tumult, din. It occurs only here and in Jeremiah 11:16 ('with the sound of a great hamullah he has kindled fire on it'). It is probably related to verbs for noise and turmoil.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

rushing, roaring, rainstorm, roaring sound, rushing sound

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 Ezekiel 1:24

Range of meaning

Roar, rushing noise, tumult, din. It occurs only here and in Jeremiah 11:16 ('with the sound of a great hamullah he has kindled fire on it'). It is probably related to verbs for noise and turmoil.

Against the English

BSB, ESV and WEB render it 'tumult'. KJV has 'the voice of speech', following an ancient guess that linked the word to millah, 'word'. The supplied gloss 'rainstorm' leans on the storm imagery of Jeremiah 11:16, and that sense is not secure.

How it drifted

KJV's 'voice of speech' comes from Greek revisers who connected the word with speaking (they rendered it logos). Modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT) favour 'roar/tumult'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 11:16 is the only other use. HALOT gives 'noise, roar'. Theodotion's Greek renders the phrase 'voice of speech'. The Vulgate reads roughly 'like the sound of a multitude, like the sound of camps'.

From the study of Jeremiah 11:16

Range of meaning

A rare noun for a loud, rushing roar or din. It is related to hāmāh, 'to roar, be noisy', and hāmôn, 'crowd, uproar' (BDB, HALOT).

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'tumult/roar', BSB 'mighty roar', some modern versions 'storm' or 'tempest'. 'Storm' picks one meaning (thunder and lightning), while the Hebrew word itself only means 'noise'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its only other use is Ezekiel 1:24: the wings of the living creatures sound 'like the sound of a hămullāh, like the sound of an army camp'. The Greek translation of Jeremiah 11:16 seems to have read it as a different word, from the root mûl 'to cut', and rendered 'pruning' (peritomē).

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 11:16 הֲמוּלָּ֣ה a rainstorm

    The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.

    Here: A rare word for a huge, rushing noise. Its only other use is Ezekiel 1:24, where it is compared to 'the sound of an army camp'. Here it could be the crash of a storm or the din of an invading army.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 1:24 הֲמֻלָּ֖ה a rainstorm

    When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

    Here: A rare word, found only here and in Jeremiah 11:16. It means a great rushing roar or uproar, like the din of a crowd or a storm. The supplied gloss 'rainstorm' is one interpretation. 'Roar, tumult' is the safer meaning.

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