Aramaic word · H4101

מָה

mah

what?

'What have you done?' This is the question by which a superior holds someone to account, or a challenger protests an act.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 13 times in 11 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) what, whatever

1a) what?

1b) whatever, what, whatsoever

1c) how?, why?, wherefore? (with prefixes)

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 Daniel 4:35

Range of meaning

'What have you done?' This is the question by which a superior holds someone to account, or a challenger protests an act.

Against the English

KJV 'What doest thou?', WEB 'What are you doing?' (present). BSB/NIV/ESV 'What have you done?' (follows the Aramaic perfect). NLT 'What do you mean by doing these things?' (spells out the challenge). The differences are slight. The perfect fits demanding an account for a deed already done.

Used elsewhere in the period

This is court language. Ecclesiastes 8:4: 'the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, What are you doing?' Job 9:12: 'Who will say to him, What are you doing?' Isaiah 45:9: 'Does the clay say to the potter, What are you making?' Wisdom of Solomon 12:12 uses the same formula.

Where it appears

Ezra · 4

  1. Ezra 4:22 לְמָה֙ <to> why?

    See that you do not neglect this matter. Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?

  2. Ezra 6:9 וּמָ֣ה and whatever

    Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given to them daily without fail.

  3. Ezra 7:18 וּמָ֣ה and whatever

    You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

  4. Ezra 7:23 לְמָ֤ה <to> why?

    Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?

Daniel · 9

  1. Daniel 2:15 מָ֥ה what?

    “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

  2. Daniel 2:22 מָ֣ה what?

    He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

    Here: Normally 'what?', but here it means 'whatever' or 'that which': whatever is in the darkness.

  3. Daniel 2:28 מָ֛ה what

    But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

    Here: Joined with the next word ('what that') it means 'that which, whatever'. It points to the content of the coming events.

  4. Daniel 2:29 מָ֛ה מָה־ what

    As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

  5. Daniel 2:45 מָ֛ה what

    And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

    Here: "What," here in the sense of "that which."

  6. Daniel 4:3 כְּמָ֣ה כְּמָ֣ה how much!

    How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.

    Here: "How...!": an exclamation of amazement (literally "like what"). Biblical Aramaic uses it only in this verse, twice, giving the line a breathless, hymn-like ring.

  7. Daniel 4:35 מָ֥ה what?

    All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

    Here: The questioning word of a challenge: demanding an explanation.

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