Hebrew word · H8382

תָּאַם

mat'imot

be double

The root t-'-m means to be double or paired. The noun te'omim means twins (Rebekah's sons in Gen 25:24; Tamar's in Gen 38:27). In Exodus 26:24 and 36:29 the boards of the tabernacle are 'doubled, joined in pairs'. The causative form here means 'producing twins' or 'forming pairs'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be double, be joined

1a) (Qal) to be double

1b) (Hiphil) to bear twins

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 Song of Songs 4:2

Range of meaning

The root t-'-m means to be double or paired. The noun te'omim means twins (Rebekah's sons in Gen 25:24; Tamar's in Gen 38:27). In Exodus 26:24 and 36:29 the boards of the tabernacle are 'doubled, joined in pairs'. The causative form here means 'producing twins' or 'forming pairs'.

Against the English

KJV, ESV and NASB say the ewes 'bear twins', keeping the farm image. BSB and NIV say 'each has its twin', which moves straight to the meaning: matched teeth.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX has 'all of them bearing twins' (didymeuousai). The Vulgate speaks of 'twin offspring'. Both kept the flock image.

Where it appears

Song of Songs · 2

  1. Song of Songs 4:2 מַתְאִימ֔וֹת [are] bearing twins

    Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.

    Here: 'Bearing twins', or 'making pairs'. The root gives the Hebrew word for twins (te'omim, Gen 25:24). Each ewe has its matching partner, just as each tooth has its counterpart.

  2. Song of Songs 6:6 מַתְאִימ֔וֹת [are] bearing twins

    Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.

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