Hebrew word · H2933
טָמָה
nitminu
to defile
An uncertain and rare word. (1) A by-form of ṭāmēʾ, 'to be ritually unclean, defiled' (compare Lev 11:43, nitmētem, 'you become unclean'). (2) A separate root linked to Aramaic and later Hebrew ṭmm / ṭamṭem, 'to stop up, make dull,' which gives 'to be stupid, dense.'
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) (Niphal) to be stopped up
1a) to be regarded as unclean (metaplastic)
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
- Range of meaning
An uncertain and rare word. (1) A by-form of ṭāmēʾ, 'to be ritually unclean, defiled' (compare Lev 11:43, nitmētem, 'you become unclean'). (2) A separate root linked to Aramaic and later Hebrew ṭmm / ṭamṭem, 'to stop up, make dull,' which gives 'to be stupid, dense.'
- Against the English
Older versions follow sense (1): KJV 'reputed vile,' WEB 'become unclean,' YLT 'defiled.' Modern versions (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) choose sense (2), 'stupid,' which pairs naturally with 'cattle.'
- How it drifted
The older 'vile/unclean' renderings came through the Latin Vulgate (sorduimus, 'we are filthy/worthless') and the Jewish tradition of reading the word with ṭāmēʾ. Modern renderings come from comparing related languages and from the parallel with 'cattle.'
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint guesses 'we have been silent.' The Vulgate has sorduimus. Rabbinic commentators (e.g. Rashi) connect it with 'unclean' or with being 'stopped up.' A related idea appears in Job 17:4: 'you have closed their hearts to understanding.'
Where it appears
Job · 1
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Job 18:3 נִ֝טְמִ֗ינוּ are we considered stupid?
Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?
Here: Another passive form, matching 'are we reckoned.' The ancient tradition read it as 'we are unclean/defiled' (a by-form of ṭāmēʾ). Most modern scholars link it to a root meaning 'stopped up, dull,' and so 'we are stupid.' Either way it describes the low place the friends think Job has given them.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.