רָם
ram
Ram
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Hebrew Word Analysis: רָם (ram) Based on the lexical data provided, רָם (ram) is a Hebrew noun with a straightforward concrete meaning: it refers to a male sheep. The word appears only twice in the biblical text, which suggests it held a limited but specific role in biblical vocabulary rather than serving as a frequent or culturally dominant term. The rarity of this particular lemma in Scripture is noteworthy. With only two occurrences, רָם does not appear to have been the primary Hebrew word for discussing rams in general contexts, despite rams being economically and ritually significant animals in ancient Israelite life. This scarcity indicates that other Hebrew terms may have been preferred for most discussions of male sheep, whether in narrative, legal, or sacrificial contexts. Without access to the specific biblical passages where these two occurrences appear, the precise contexts and theological significance of this word cannot be determined from the data alone. However, the existence of this distinct lemma demonstrates that biblical Hebrew possessed specialized vocabulary for particular animal types, suggesting that when this word was used, it may have carried particular emphasis or applied to a specific variety or context involving rams.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences across the text