מְאֹד H3966
Very, exceedingly, greatly — the primary Hebrew intensifier for degree or magnitude
Me'od is Biblical Hebrew's most versatile intensifier, appearing 301 times to amplify adjectives, verbs, and even other adverbs. Its first occurrence sets the tone: 'God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good' (Gen 1:31). Beyond adverbial use, it carries a rare nominal sense of 'force' or 'might' in the Shema: 'with all your me'od' (Deut 6:5) — a passage so striking that translators struggle with it (Spanish 'muy/mucho,' French 'très/grandement,' German 'sehr/groß'). This dual capacity — abstract intensifier and concrete noun — makes it one of Hebrew's most theologically loaded small words.
Senses
1. [split] very, exceedingly, greatly — An adverb of degree meaning 'very,' 'exceedingly,' or 'greatly,' used to intensify adjectives (Gen 1:31, 'very good'), verbs (Gen 4:5, 'exceedingly angry'), and quantities (Gen 7:18-19). In one notable nominal use, Deut 6:5 calls for loving God 'with all your me'od' — your utmost force or capacity. The multilingual evidence (spa: 'muy,' fra: 'très,' deu: 'sehr') confirms its consistent rendering as a simple intensifier, though the Deuteronomy passage resists easy translation. 0×
AR["بِ-كَثْرَةٍ", "جِدًّا"]·ben["-অতিশয়", "অতি", "অতিশয়", "অত্যন্ত", "খুব", "মহান"]·DE["groß", "sehr"]·EN["greatly", "very"]·FR["grandement", "très"]·heb["ב-מאוד", "מאוד"]·HI["अधिक", "बहुत"]·ID["sangat", "sangat-", "sungguh"]·IT["grandemente", "molto"]·jav["kathah-sanget", "sanget"]·KO["매우", "매우-"]·PT["em-muito", "muito"]·RU["весьма", "очень"]·ES["en-muy", "mucho", "muy"]·SW["pembetatu", "sana"]·TR["büyüktür", "çok"]·urd["بہت", "زیادہ"]
1. very, exceedingly, greatly (adverbial intensifier) — Split from sense 109330. Criteria: Modifies adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs to express high degree: 'very good' (Gen 1:31), 'exceedingly angry' (Gen 4:5), 'greatly increased' (Gen 7:18-19) 299×
AR["بِ-كَثْرَةٍ", "جِدًّا"]·ben["-অতিশয়", "অতি", "অতিশয়", "অত্যন্ত", "খুব", "মহান"]·DE["groß", "sehr"]·EN["greatly", "very"]·FR["grandement", "très"]·heb["ב-מאוד", "מאוד"]·HI["अधिक", "बहुत"]·ID["sangat", "sangat-", "sungguh"]·IT["grandemente", "molto"]·jav["kathah-sanget", "sanget"]·KO["매우", "매우-"]·PT["em-muito", "muito"]·RU["весьма", "очень"]·ES["en-muy", "mucho", "muy"]·SW["pembetatu", "sana"]·TR["büyüktür", "çok"]·urd["بہت", "زیادہ"]
2. might, strength, utmost capacity (substantive) — Split from sense 109330. Criteria: Nominal use with pronominal suffixes meaning 'muchness, utmost force': 'with all your me'od' (Deut 6:5; 2 Kgs 23:25), where it denotes the full measure of one's resources or strength 2×
AR["قُوَّتِكَ", "قُوَّتِهِ"]·ben["তাঁর-শক্তিতে", "তোমার-শক্তি"]·DE["dein-Staerke", "sein-koennte"]·EN["his-might", "your-strength"]·FR["son-pourrait", "ton-force"]·heb["מאודו", "מאודך"]·HI["उसके-बल", "तेरी-शक्ति-से"]·ID["kekuatan-mu", "kekuatannya"]·IT["suo-potrebbe", "tuo-forza"]·jav["kakiyatan-panjenengan", "kakiyatanipun"]·KO["그의-힘으로", "너의-힘으로"]·PT["força-dele", "tua-força"]·RU["-силою-твоею", "силой-его"]·ES["su-fuerza", "tu-fuerza"]·SW["nguvu-yake", "nguvu-zako"]·TR["gücünle", "gücüyle"]·urd["اپنی-طاقت-سے", "طاقت-اپنی"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מְאֹד n.m. muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly (cf. Assyrian mu’du, abundance, HomZMG 1878, 711 (‘treasures ana mu’di, in abundance’) DlHWB 399):— 1. force, might, †Dt 6:5 וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶ֑ךָ and with all thy might; hence 2 K 23:25. 2. in diff. idioms (298 times) to express the idea of exceedingly, greatly, very (whether of magnitude or degree): a. (so mostly) as adv. acc., qualifying both adj.…