Hebrew word · H5981

עֻמָּה

ve'umah

Ummah

A personal or place name. It appears only here. Its derivation is uncertain, and a link to ʿam ('people, kin') is only a guess.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Ummah = "union"

one of the cities of Asher; also probably 'Acco'

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 Joshua 19:30

Range of meaning

A personal or place name. It appears only here. Its derivation is uncertain, and a link to ʿam ('people, kin') is only a guess.

Against the English

All English versions transliterate it as 'Ummah'. None adopts the emendation to 'Acco'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found nowhere else in the Bible and not securely identified on the ground. Judges 1:31 lists Asher's unconquered towns as Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik and Rehob. Aphik and Rehob stand next to each other there, as Aphek and Rehob do here, and Acco heads that list.

Where it appears

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 19:30 וְעֻמָ֥ה and Umah

    Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities, along with their villages.

    Here: A town in Asher that appears only here. Its location is unknown. Many scholars suspect it is a miscopied 'Acco' (see textual notes). The 'and' carries on the running list from verses 25–29, which is why the KJV says 'Ummah also'.

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