Hebrew word · H547
אֹמְנָה
ha'omenot
pillar
Found only here in the Bible. It is usually linked to the root 'mn, 'to be firm, to support' (the root behind 'amen'). HALOT and BDB suggest 'doorposts' or 'pillars (supports)'. It probably means the jambs and framing of the doorway.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) pillar, supporters of the door
2) confirm, support, uphold
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 2 Kings 18:16
- Range of meaning
Found only here in the Bible. It is usually linked to the root 'mn, 'to be firm, to support' (the root behind 'amen'). HALOT and BDB suggest 'doorposts' or 'pillars (supports)'. It probably means the jambs and framing of the doorway.
- Against the English
KJV and WEB say 'pillars', which modern readers tend to picture as free-standing columns such as the bronze Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:15–22). BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'doorposts', which is the likelier meaning.
- How it drifted
In 1611 'pillar' could mean any upright support. Today it suggests monumental columns.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint seems to render it with a word meaning 'the things set firm' or 'supports', which shows its translators were guessing from the root as well. Solomon's doorposts into the main hall were olive wood (1 Kings 6:33).
Where it appears
2 Kings · 1
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2 Kings 18:16 הָאֹ֣מְנ֔וֹת the door-posts
At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.
Here: A word found only here in the Bible, probably from the root for 'firm, supporting'. It most likely means the doorposts (jambs) that framed and held the doors, not free-standing columns.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.