מָהmâh
what?
Pronunciation: maw · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H4101
Meanings
1. what? (Daniel 4:32)
2. whatever, what (Daniel 2:22; Ezra 6:9; Daniel 2:28)
3. with prefixes
a. כְּמָה how! (Daniel 3:33)
b. לְמָה why? (Ezra 4:22; Ezra 7:23)
c. עלמֿה wherefore? (Daniel 2:15)
Same root
- מָהmâh · H4100properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses
- מָןmân · H4479who or what (properly, interrogatively, hence, also indefinitely and relatively)
Where it appears
Appears 13 times in the Bible.
- Ezra 4:22 Be diligent, and don’t neglect this matter, for we must not permit the situation to harm the king’s interests.”
- Ezra 6:9 “Give the priests in Jerusalem whatever is needed in the way of young bulls, rams, and male lambs for the burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven. And without fail, provide them with as much wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil as they need each day.
- Ezra 7:18 Any silver and gold that is left over may be used in whatever way you and your colleagues feel is the will of your God.
- Ezra 7:23 Be careful to provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his Temple, for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons?
- Daniel 2:15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened.
- Daniel 2:22 He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.
Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).