Hebrew word · H7429
רָמַס
remos
to trample
To tread, trample: treading clay as a potter does (Isa 41:25), trampling courtyards (Isa 1:12), animals trampling (2 Kgs 14:9), horses trampling Jezebel (2 Kgs 9:33). It is often used for conquest, when a defeated people is 'trampled' (Isa 26:6; Isa 63:3).
Appears 19 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to trample
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to trample
1a2) trampler (participle)
1b) (Niphal) to be trampled
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
- Range of meaning
To tread, trample: treading clay as a potter does (Isa 41:25), trampling courtyards (Isa 1:12), animals trampling (2 Kgs 14:9), horses trampling Jezebel (2 Kgs 9:33). It is often used for conquest, when a defeated people is 'trampled' (Isa 26:6; Isa 63:3).
- Against the English
'Trodden under foot' (KJV, WEB) and 'trampled underfoot' (BSB, ESV) are accurate. The English words are not misleading.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 5:5 uses a related noun (mirmās, 'a trampled place') for the vineyard of Israel that God gives over to be trampled. Isa 28:18 later says that Jerusalem's leaders, too, will be 'a trampled thing' (mirmās) before the flood.
Where it appears
2 Kings · 4
-
2 Kings 7:17 וַיִּרְמְסֻ֧הוּ and they trampled him
Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.
-
2 Kings 7:20 וַיִּרְמְס֨וּ and they trampled
And that is just what happened to him. The people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
-
2 Kings 9:33 וַֽיִּרְמְסֶֽנָּה׃ and he trampled her
“Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
-
2 Kings 14:9 וַתִּרְמֹ֖ס and it trampled
But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.
2 Chronicles · 1
-
2 Chronicles 25:18 וַתִּרְמֹ֖ס and it trampled
But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.
Psalms · 2
-
Psalm 7:5 וְיִרְמֹ֣ס and he may trample
then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
-
Psalm 91:13 תִּרְמֹ֖ס you will trample
You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Here: A stronger verb meaning to trample down or crush underfoot. It is used of crowds crushing a man to death (2 Kgs 7:17) and of God treading the nations like grapes (Isa 63:3). Placing it right after 'tread' makes the image grow stronger from the first line to the second.
Isaiah · 6
-
Isaiah 1:12 רְמֹ֥ס to trample
When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?
-
Isaiah 16:4 רֹמֵ֖ס [the] trampler
Let my fugitives stay with you; be a refuge for Moab from the destroyer.” When the oppressor has gone, destruction has ceased, and the oppressors have vanished from the land,
-
Isaiah 26:6 תִּרְמְסֶ֖נָּה it will trample it
Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.
-
Isaiah 28:3 תֵּֽרָמַ֑סְנָה they will be trampled
The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot.
Here: A passive future: 'will be trodden down'. The verb is used for treading clay, for soldiers or animals trampling a field, and for conquerors crushing the defeated. Here it is a picture of military conquest. It is feminine plural, which is odd beside a singular 'crown' (see textual notes).
-
Isaiah 41:25 יִרְמָס־ [who] he tramples
I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.
Here: 'Tramples.' The verb is used for treading down grapes, streets and defeated enemies. Here it describes the potter kneading clay with his feet. The conqueror will handle the empire's officials just as easily.
-
Isaiah 63:3 וְאֶרְמְסֵ֖ם and I trampled them
“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
Here: “And I trample them.” It repeats the idea of the previous verb with a harsher word, one used for trampling mud in the streets and for stamping out a beaten enemy.
Ezekiel · 2
-
Ezekiel 26:11 יִרְמֹ֖ס he will trample
The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
-
Ezekiel 34:18 תִּרְמְס֖וּ you are trampling
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Here: 'You trample.' The verb is used for trampling grapes, clay, enemies, or temple courts (Isa 1:12; 41:25). Here it means grass crushed into the dirt so that nobody can eat it.
Daniel · 2
-
Daniel 8:7 וַֽיִּרְמְסֵ֔הוּ and it trampled it
I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.
-
Daniel 8:10 וַֽתִּרְמְסֵֽם׃ and it trampled them
It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth and trampled them.
Micah · 1
-
Micah 5:8 וְרָמַ֥ס and it tramples
Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.
Here: 'Then it tramples': it crushes underfoot. The same verb is used for treading clay or treading down enemies (Isa 41:25; Mic 7:10).
Nahum · 1
-
Nahum 3:14 וְרִמְסִ֥י and trample
Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.