מְעָא
me.ah
belly
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "me.ah" (H4578) is defined as "belly." This term is part of the semantic domain of "Body & Health," indicating its focus on physical aspects of the human experience. With 32 occurrences in the Bible, "me.ah" is a relatively common word used to describe various aspects of the body, particularly the stomach or abdominal region. The range of usage for "me.ah" is quite broad, encompassing both literal and figurative meanings. In some cases, it refers to the physical belly or stomach, as in descriptions of eating or hunger. In other instances, it is used metaphorically to describe emotions, such as the "pangs of hunger" or the "fullness of joy." This versatility highlights the importance of understanding the nuances of the word in its biblical context. The significance of "me.ah" lies in its connection to fundamental human experiences, such as sustenance, nourishment, and emotional well-being. By examining the various occurrences of this word in the Bible, we can gain insight into the physical and emotional needs of ancient Israelites, as well as the ways in which they understood their bodies and their relationship with the world around them.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
32 total occurrences across the text
and you will have great sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.’ ”
2 Chronicles 21:15and you will have great sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.’ ”
2 Chronicles 21:18After all this Yahweh struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
2 Chronicles 21:19In process of time, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of severe diseases. His people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
2 Chronicles 32:21Yahweh sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains, in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. When he had come into the house of his god, those who came out of his own body killed him there with the sword.
Job 20:14yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
Job 30:27My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest. Days of affliction have come on me.
Psalms 22:14I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me.
Psalms 40:8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
Psalms 71:6I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.
Song of Solomon 5:4My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him.
Song of Solomon 5:14His hands are like rings of gold set with beryl. His body is like ivory work overlaid with sapphires.
Isaiah 16:11Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres.
Isaiah 48:19Your offspring also would have been as the sand and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”
Isaiah 49:1Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
Isaiah 63:15Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me.
Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I still earnestly remember him. therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh.
Lamentations 1:20“Look, Yahweh; for I am in distress. My heart is troubled. My heart turns over within me, for I have grievously rebelled. Abroad, the sword bereaves. At home, it is like death.
Lamentations 2:11My eyes fail with tears. My heart is troubled. My liver is poured on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the young children and the infants swoon in the streets of the city.
Ezekiel 3:3He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Ezekiel 7:19They will cast their silver in the streets, and their gold will be as an unclean thing. Their silver and their gold won’t be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath. They won’t satisfy their souls or fill their bellies; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.
Jonah 1:17Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly.
Genesis 15:4Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
Genesis 25:23Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger.”
Numbers 5:22and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”
Ruth 1:11Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
2 Samuel 7:12When your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
2 Samuel 16:11David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, “Behold, my son, who came out of my bowels, seeks my life. How much more this Benjamite, now? Leave him alone, and let him curse; for Yahweh has invited him.
2 Samuel 20:10But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and didn’t strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.