Bible Word Study
הִמּוֹ
himmôw · they
הִמּוֹ
they
Definition
הִמּוֹ is an Aramaic third-person plural pronoun meaning 'they' or 'them.' It functions identically to its Hebrew counterpart הֵם (H1992), serving to refer to a group of people previously mentioned. In the biblical texts where it appears, it consistently points back to specific groups, such as the adversaries of the Jews in Ezra 4:10 or the Jewish elders and leaders in Ezra 5:5. Its usage is strictly pronominal, with no variation in core meaning across its occurrences.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively in the Aramaic portions of the Old Testament, specifically in the books of Ezra and Daniel. It appears 11 times, always within official documents, letters, or royal decrees from the Persian period. For example, it refers to the hostile peoples transplanted into Samaria (Ezra 4:10), the Persian officials (Ezra 4:23), and the Jewish leaders overseeing temple reconstruction (Ezra 5:5, 11-12). Its pattern is consistent: it is a standard pronoun in formal Aramaic prose.
Etymology
הִמּוֹ is the Aramaic form corresponding to the Hebrew pronoun הֵם (H1992, 'they'). It is derived from a common Semitic root for the third-person plural. The prolonged form הִמּוֹן is also attested in Aramaic. This demonstrates the close linguistic relationship between Hebrew and Aramaic, with this pronoun being a direct cognate carrying the same grammatical function and meaning.
Semantic Range
The use of this Aramaic pronoun highlights the historical context of the Jewish exile and restoration. During the Persian Empire, Aramaic was the lingua franca of administration and diplomacy. Its appearance in biblical texts like Ezra reflects the reality of Jewish life under foreign rule, where official correspondence and decrees were conducted in Aramaic, not Hebrew. הֵם (hēm, H1992) — The direct Hebrew equivalent meaning 'they.' הֵמָּה (hēmmâ, H1992) — A variant Hebrew form with the same meaning.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]