Hebrew word · H5934

עָלוּמִים

alumov

youth

'Youth, youthfulness, young days': the period of a young man's (or woman's) life and the vigor that goes with it. It is always plural, an abstract plural much like English 'salad days'. It is related to ʿelem, 'young man', and ʿalmah, 'young woman' (BDB, HALOT).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

youth, youthful, vigour

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 Job 20:11

Range of meaning

'Youth, youthfulness, young days': the period of a young man's (or woman's) life and the vigor that goes with it. It is always plural, an abstract plural much like English 'salad days'. It is related to ʿelem, 'young man', and ʿalmah, 'young woman' (BDB, HALOT).

Against the English

Most modern versions give 'youthful vigor' (BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV) or 'youth' (WEB, YLT). The KJV reads 'full of [the sin] of his youth', with 'the sin' printed in italics to show the translators supplied it. That changes the verse from a statement about strength into a statement about guilt.

How it drifted

Jerome's Latin Vulgate rendered the word vitiis adulescentiae eius, 'the vices of his youth', and that moral reading carried into the KJV. Some medieval interpreters also linked the word to the root ʿ-l-m, 'to hide', and read 'his hidden (secret) things'. Psalm 90:8 has a similar ambiguity: 'our secret sins' (ʿalumenu). Context in Job favors 'youth'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 33:25, 'let him return to the days of his youth (yeme ʿalumav)', where it plainly means restored youthful freshness of the flesh. Psalm 89:45 (Heb. 46), 'you have cut short the days of his youth'. Isaiah 54:4, 'the shame of your youth', where youth is the time of life and 'shame' is a separate word. The Greek Septuagint here has neotētos autou, 'his youth', with no word for sin.

From the study of Job 33:25

Range of meaning

Youth, youthful vigor; an abstract plural from the root behind ʿelem ('young man') and ʿalmâ ('young woman').

Against the English

'Youth' is correct, though it can sound like mere age. The word carries vigor and potency, the strength of the prime of life, which is why some versions say 'youthful vigor.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 20:11 ('his bones are full of his youthful vigor'); Ps 89:45 ('you have cut short the days of his youth'); Isa 54:4 ('the shame of your youth').

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 20:11 עֲלוּמָ֑יו youthful vigor<s> his

    The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.

    Here: An abstract plural, 'his young days' or 'his youthfulness', meaning the strength of a young man. What fills his bones is vigor, not wrongdoing. The Hebrew has no word for 'sin' here.

  2. Job 33:25 עֲלוּמָֽיו׃ youth<s> his

    then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.

    Here: An abstract plural meaning the strength and sap of youth, the prime of life. It matches 'youth' in the first line and adds the idea of energy and potency, not just age.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 89:45 עֲלוּמָ֑יו youth<s> his

    You have cut short the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 54:4 עֲלוּמַ֙יִךְ֙ youth<s> your

    Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

    Here: 'Your youth': the early part of Zion's life story as a woman. Which period of Israel's history it points to is debated (see debates).

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