Hebrew word · H6771

צָמֵא

tzame'

thirsty

Thirsty. It is used of people and animals that lack water (Judg 4:19; Isa 21:14; 29:8) and, in poetry, of land (Isa 44:3; compare the related noun ṣimmāʾôn, "thirsty ground," in Deut 8:15 and Isa 35:7). Figuratively it describes longing (Ps 42:2: "my soul thirsts for God").

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

What it means

thirsty

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 44:3

Range of meaning

Thirsty. It is used of people and animals that lack water (Judg 4:19; Isa 21:14; 29:8) and, in poetry, of land (Isa 44:3; compare the related noun ṣimmāʾôn, "thirsty ground," in Deut 8:15 and Isa 35:7). Figuratively it describes longing (Ps 42:2: "my soul thirsts for God").

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB supply "land" ("thirsty land"), following the parallel with "dry ground." KJV, WEB and YLT keep the masculine adjective as a person ("him that is thirsty", "a thirsty one"). Neither choice is wrong, but each picks one side of a double picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Latin Vulgate has super sitientem ("upon the thirsting one"), which the KJV follows. The Septuagint turns it into thirsty travellers in the desert.

From the study of Isaiah 55:1

Range of meaning

Thirsty: of people and animals without water (Judg 4:19), of dry ground (Isa 44:3, 'thirsty land'), and figuratively of deep longing (the related verb in Ps 42:2; 63:1, 'my soul thirsts for God').

Against the English

'Thirsty' is accurate. English readers tend to hear only the inner, spiritual side, but in Isaiah the physical picture of a parched traveller or dry land is kept fully alive.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 41:17–18: 'the poor and needy seek water… their tongue is parched with thirst; I the LORD will answer them… I will open rivers on the bare heights.' Isa 44:3: 'I will pour water on the thirsty land… my Spirit on your offspring.' Isa 48:21 recalls water from the rock for those led through deserts. Amos 8:11–13 speaks of a famine and thirst 'for hearing the words of the LORD.'

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 29:19 הַצְּמֵאָֽה׃ the thirsty [ground]

    because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

    Here: Dry, thirsty ground, the other half of the pair. Wet and dry together mean the whole land and everyone in it. One secret apostate brings ruin on all.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 17:29 וְצָמֵ֖א and thirsty

    honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 107:5 צְמֵאִ֑ים thirsty

    They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 25:21 צָ֝מֵ֗א thirsty

    If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

    Here: 'Thirsty'. The subject is not repeated because the same enemy is still in view. In a dry land, thirst was an urgent danger.

Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 21:14 צָמֵ֖א [the] thirsty

    Bring water for the thirsty, O dwellers of Tema; meet the refugees with food.

  2. Isaiah 29:8 הַצָּמֵא֙ the thirsty [person]

    as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, then awakens still hungry; as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, then awakens faint and parched. So will it be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.

  3. Isaiah 32:6 צָמֵ֖א [the] thirsty

    For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

    Here: A thirsty person. In a dry land, refusing water was a serious breach of basic decency.

  4. Isaiah 44:3 צָמֵ֔א thirsty [ground]

    For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

    Here: An adjective used as a noun: "a thirsty one." It is masculine, so it could mean a thirsty person (KJV: "him that is thirsty"). The parallel with "dry ground" points to thirsty land. The ambiguity may be intended, since Jacob is the land.

  5. Isaiah 55:1 צָמֵא֙ thirsty [one]

    “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

    Here: An adjective used as a noun: 'thirsty person'. In a dry land it means real physical need, and in Isaiah it also stands for the people's longing for God's restoring presence.

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