אֻמָּה
um.mah
people
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# אֻמָּה (ummah): People and Nation The Hebrew word *ummah* (H0523) denotes "people" and appears seven times throughout the biblical text. Based on its limited occurrences, this term represents a specific way of referring to human communities or ethnic groups rather than a common everyday word for people. Its rarity suggests it carried particular significance or was used in specific contexts, though the lexical data provided does not detail those particular contexts. The term's definition as "people" indicates it functioned similarly to other Hebrew words for human collectives, likely carrying connotations of shared identity, whether ethnic, national, or social. The fact that it occurs exactly seven times in Scripture suggests deliberate or contextual usage rather than standard vocabulary for describing individuals or generic groups. Without access to the specific biblical passages where *ummah* appears, the precise nuances of its usage—whether it emphasized national identity, religious community, or general population—remain beyond what the lexical data alone can establish. What we can conclude from the entry is that *ummah* represents one of several Hebrew options for expressing the concept of "people" as a collective entity, and its limited frequency indicates it was selected for particular communicative purposes by biblical authors rather than serving as routine terminology.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences across the text
You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
Psalms 57:9I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.
Psalms 108:3I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples.
Psalms 117:1Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
Psalms 149:7to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples;
Genesis 25:16These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments: twelve princes, according to their nations.
Numbers 25:15The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian.