Hebrew word · H6006

עָמַס

he'mis

to lift

To load up, to put a load on (an animal), to carry a burden. Psalm 68:19 (68:20 in Hebrew) applies it to God, who 'bears our load' (or 'bears us') day by day.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to load, carry, carry a load

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to load

1a2) to carry a load

1b)(Hiphil) to lay a load on

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 Isaiah 46:3

Range of meaning

To load up, to put a load on (an animal), to carry a burden. It is a word from the world of baggage and pack animals: Genesis 44:13 has the brothers 'loading' their donkeys, Nehemiah 13:15 has people 'loading' donkeys on the Sabbath, and Zechariah 12:3 has Jerusalem as a 'heavy stone' for those who 'lift' it. Psalm 68:19 (68:20 in Hebrew) applies it to God, who 'bears our load' (or 'bears us') day by day.

Against the English

KJV 'borne', WEB 'carried', BSB 'sustained', NIV 'upheld'. Only KJV and WEB keep the physical picture of hauling. 'Sustained' and 'upheld' turn it into a general idea of support and lose the literal image of carrying a load.

How it drifted

Translators often smooth a concrete, slightly awkward image (Israel as baggage) into a dignified abstraction. The pun with verse 1 is then lost in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is rare in Hebrew. Its standard use for loading pack animals is well established (BDB, HALOT s.v. עמס). The passive form used here, ʿamus, appears in Isaiah 46:1 ('your burdens are loaded') and again in this verse.

From the study of Psalm 68:19

Range of meaning

To load something onto a carrier, or to carry a load. It is used for:

  • loading donkeys (Gen 44:13; Neh 13:15)
  • a heavy stone that everyone who lifts it is hurt by (Zech 12:3)
  • Rehoboam's father laying a heavy yoke on the people (1 Kgs 12:11, with ʿal, "upon")
  • God carrying Israel "from the womb" (Isa 46:3)

The word always pictures a real weight being shouldered or loaded.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and NASB: "bears our burden(s)." ESV and NRSV: "bears us up." NLT: "carries us in his arms." YLT: "layeth on us." KJV: "loadeth us [with benefits]". The KJV's italics show that "with benefits" was added by the translators. No word in the Hebrew stands behind it.

How it drifted

The KJV translators had a verb of loading with no object. They supplied "benefits" so it would be a load of blessings, perhaps under the influence of the gifts and spoils in v. 18. The phrase "daily loadeth us with benefits" then became a well-known devotional line, and the added word came to be read as the point of the verse.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 46:1–4 is the closest parallel. The Babylonian gods Bel and Nebo are "loaded" (ʿamusot) onto weary animals and become a burden. YHWH says Israel has been "carried" (ha-ʿamusim) by him from birth and he will keep carrying them into old age. The Septuagint did not translate the image here. It has "he will prosper our way" (kateuodōsei), which suggests its translators read or understood the line differently (HALOT and BDB s.v. עמס).

From the study of Zechariah 12:3

Range of meaning

To load, lade, lift a load, carry a burden (Gen 44:13 loading donkeys; Neh 4:17 burden-carriers; Isa 46:1, 3 idols as loads for animals, versus God who carries Israel; Ps 68:19 God 'bears our load').

Against the English

KJV 'burden themselves with it' and YLT 'loading it' keep the root. BSB 'heave it away', ESV/NASB 'lift it', NIV 'try to move it'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Standard Hebrew verb for loading animals and carrying loads. The noun and participle here share the root, a sound-play the Hebrew hearer would catch: the 'load-stone' and its 'loaders'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 44:13 וַֽיַּעֲמֹס֙ and he loaded

    Then they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 12:11 הֶעְמִ֤יס he loaded

    Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:11 הֶעְמִ֤יס he loaded

    Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 4:17 עֹמְשִׂ֑ים [were] carrying [it]

    who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

  2. Nehemiah 13:15 וְֽעֹמְסִ֪ים and [some who] loaded [them]

    In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

    Here: Putting a load onto pack animals (compare Gen 44:13). This is the work of getting goods ready to carry to market.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 68:19 יַֽעֲמָס־ he carries a load

    Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah

    Here: A verb of physical burden-bearing: loading a pack animal, hoisting a heavy stone, carrying something on the shoulders. The verb form describes ongoing, repeated action ("he keeps carrying"). What is carried, and by whom, is not stated, so translators supply it: "our burden," "us," or (KJV) "benefits."

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 46:1 עֲמוּס֔וֹת [are] carried

    Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.

    Here: "Are loaded up", strapped on as freight. Verse 3 repeats this verb for Israel "borne by me from birth".

  2. Isaiah 46:3 הַֽעֲמֻסִים֙ who have been carried

    “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.

    Here: 'The ones who have been loaded up / carried as a load.' This is the same verb used in verse 1 for the idols 'loaded' onto pack animals. Israel too has been a load, but one that God carries.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 12:3 עֹמְסֶ֖יהָ [those who] carry it

    On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.

    Here: 'Its lifters', from the same root as maʿămāsâ, a deliberate echo: the 'load-stone' and its 'load-lifters'. Those who try to pick up and carry off the stone, meaning to seize Jerusalem.

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