Keraia
Lexicon

מָה

mahwhat?How to read Hebrew
hebrewOld TestamentQuestion word751 occurrences37 books657 verses

Definition

or מַה; or מָ; or מַ; also מֶה; a primitive particle; properly, 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
Traditional renderings: how (long, oft, (-soever)), (no-) thing, what (end, good, purpose, thing), whereby(-fore, -in, -to, -with), (for) why.

In the Greek Old Testament

How the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders מָה:

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

751 total
  1. Ecclesiastes 3:22בְּמֶ֖ה · what
    I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?
  2. Ecclesiastes 5:6לָ֣מָּה · Why
    Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?
  3. Ecclesiastes 5:11וּמַה־ · what then
    When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?
  4. Ecclesiastes 5:16וּמַה־ · What
    This too is a grievous affliction: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
  5. Ecclesiastes 6:8מַה־ · What; מַה־ · What [gain comes]
    What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?
  6. Ecclesiastes 6:10מַה־ · Whatever
    Whatever exists was named long ago, and it is known what man is; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
  7. Ecclesiastes 6:11מַה־ · and how
    For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?
  8. Ecclesiastes 6:12מַה־ · what; מַה־ · what
    For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
  9. Ecclesiastes 7:10מֶ֣ה · Why
    Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
  10. Ecclesiastes 7:16לָ֖מָּה · Why
    Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
  11. Ecclesiastes 7:17לָ֥מָּה · Why
    Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
  12. Ecclesiastes 7:24מַה־ · What
    What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
  13. Ecclesiastes 8:4מַֽה־ · What
    For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
  14. Ecclesiastes 8:7מַה־ · what
    Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
  15. Ecclesiastes 10:14מַה־ · what
    Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming, and who can tell him what will come after him?
  16. Ecclesiastes 11:2מַה־ · what
    Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.
  17. Ecclesiastes 11:5מַה־
    As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
  18. Song of Solomon 1:7שַׁלָּמָ֤ה · Why
    Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
  19. Song of Solomon 4:10מַה־ · How; מַה־ · is much
    How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.
  20. Song of Solomon 5:8מַה־
    O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
  21. Song of Solomon 5:9מַה־ · How; מַה־ · How
    How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so?
  22. Song of Solomon 6:13מַֽה־ · Why
    Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?
  23. Song of Solomon 7:1מַה־ · How
    How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master.
  24. Song of Solomon 7:6מַה־ · How; וּמַה־ · and
    How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!
  25. Song of Solomon 8:4מַה־; וּֽמַה־
    O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
  26. Song of Solomon 8:8מַֽה־ · What
    We have a little sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?
  27. Isaiah 1:5מֶ֥ה
    Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
  28. Isaiah 1:11לָמָּה־ · What [good]
    “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
  29. Isaiah 2:22בַמֶּ֥ה · Of what
    Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
  30. Isaiah 3:15מַלָּכֶם · Why
    Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
  31. Isaiah 5:4מַה־ · What
    What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?
  32. Isaiah 10:3וּמַֽה־ · What
    What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
  33. Isaiah 14:32וּמַֽה־ · What
    What answer will be given to the envoys of that nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, where His afflicted people will find refuge.”
  34. Isaiah 19:12מַה־ · what
    Where are your wise men now? Let them tell you and reveal what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt.
  35. Isaiah 21:11מַה־ · what is left; מַה־ · what is left
    This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?”
  36. Isaiah 22:1מַה־ · What
    This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
  37. Isaiah 22:16מַה־ · What
    What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?
  38. Isaiah 36:4מָ֧ה · What
    The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
  39. Isaiah 38:15מָֽה־ · What
    What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
  40. Isaiah 38:22מָ֣ה · What
    And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”
  41. Isaiah 39:3מָ֥ה · and what
    Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?” “They came to me from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”
  42. Isaiah 39:4מָ֥ה · What
    “What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked. “They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
  43. Isaiah 40:6מָ֣ה · What
    A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.