קְיָם

# Qeyam (H7010): A Rare Hebrew Term for Statute The Hebrew word *qeyam* (קְיָם) appears only twice in the biblical text, making it an uncommon term for designating a statute or established decree. Based on its minimal attestation, the word functioned as a specialized legal or administrative term within Hebrew, likely referring to something formally established or set in place—the root sense of "standing" or "enduring" that underlies the concept of a statute. Because *qeyam* appears so infrequently in the biblical record, its precise range of meaning and contexts remain limited. The scarcity of occurrences prevents us from determining whether it carried specific connotations distinct from other Hebrew words for law or decree, or whether it was simply an alternative term used in particular textual traditions or periods. Without additional usage data, we cannot establish whether it held particular importance in legal, religious, or administrative discourse within ancient Hebrew. The rarity of *qeyam* in biblical Hebrew suggests it may have been archaic, regional, or specialized—a term preserved in only a few textual contexts rather than one that gained widespread use. Its very infrequency makes it a window into the diversity of legal vocabulary available to biblical writers, even when most preferred more common alternatives.