מָה H4100
What? how? why? how much?; interrogative and exclamatory pronoun for things, manner, degree, quantity, and cause
The interrogative pronoun mah is Hebrew's all-purpose question word for non-personal inquiries — the counterpart of mi ('who?') for persons. Far more than a simple 'what?', it flexes across semantic roles: asking about identity ('what is this?'), manner ('how shall we do it?'), degree ('how wonderful!'), quantity ('how many days?'), time ('how long?'), and cause ('why?'). Its exclamatory use in the Psalms ('how lovely are your dwelling places!', Ps 84:1) reveals a word equally at home in urgent questioning and awed praise. Multiple vocalization forms (mah, meh, ma) adapt to surrounding phonology without changing meaning.
7. when (temporal) — Temporal interrogative: 'when?', 'until when?', 'how long?' Ps 74:9 ('how long, O God?') and Ps 79:5 ('how long, LORD?') are lament formulae. Ps 89:46 extends the anguished temporal question. Spanish 'cuándo' and French 'quand' map cleanly, though Hebrew achieves this with plain mah or mah plus a temporal phrase. The 5 occurrences cluster in psalms of distress, making this a distinctly liturgical usage. 5×
AR["مَادَا","مَتى","مَتَى"]·ben["কত","কি","কী","দীর্ঘকাল","পর্যন্ত।"]·DE["Krieg","als"]·EN["long","when"]·FR["quand","quoi"]·heb["מה"]·HI["कब-तक","क्या"]·ID["kapan"]·IT["che","quando"]·jav["pinten","pinten-dangu"]·KO["어느","어느-때","언제"]·PT["onde","quando"]·RU["каких-пор","когда","чего"]·ES["cuándo","¿qué?"]·SW["lini"]·TR["ne","ne-kadar","ne-zaman","ne-zamana"]·urd["کب","کب-تک"]
▼ 7 more senses below
Senses
1. what (interrogative pronoun) — The core interrogative use: 'what?' — asking about the identity, nature, or content of something. At 654 occurrences this dominates overwhelmingly. Gen 4:10 ('what have you done?') and Gen 3:13 ('what is this you have done?') are paradigmatic. All target languages deploy their basic interrogative: Spanish 'qué,' French 'quoi,' German 'was.' The Aramaic cognate ma and Arabic ma confirm this as the pan-Semitic interrogative root for things. 654×
AR["ما","ماذا","مَا","مَاذَا","مَاذَا-"]·ben["কী","কী-"]·DE["was","was-"]·EN["what","what-"]·FR["quoi","quoi-"]·heb["מה"]·HI["क्य","क्य-","क्या","क्या-","क्या-हैं"]·ID["apa","apa-"]·IT["che","che-"]·jav["Punapa","Punapa-","menapa","menapa-","punapa"]·KO["무엇","무엇-을","무엇을","무엇을-","무엇이","무엇이-","무엇이냐"]·PT["Que","Que-","o-que-","que","que-"]·RU["какое","какой","что","что-"]·ES["Qué","qué","qué-"]·SW["kwako","ni-nini","nini","nini-"]·TR["Ne","Ne-","Nedir","ne","ne-"]·urd["کیا"]
2. in/by/with what (instrumental) — Combined with beth to ask about instrument, means, or location: 'by what?', 'with what?', 'in what?' Gen 15:8 ('by what shall I know?') and Judg 16:5 ('with what might he be bound?') are classic examples. Spanish distinguishes 'con qué' (instrument) from 'en qué' (location), while French uses 'dans quoi' for both. The 27 occurrences cluster in narrative dialogue where characters seek practical information. 27×
AR["بِ-ماذا","بِ-مَاذَا","بِـ-مَاذَا","بِمَاذَا","بِمَاذَا-","بِهِ","وَ-بِ-مَاذَا","وَ-بِمَ"]·ben["-কিসের-জন্য","এবং-কিসে","এবং-কীভাবে","কিসে","কী-নিয়ে","কীতে-","কীসে"]·DE["Hoehe","durch-Krieg","in-was","und-in-was"]·EN["With-what","and-in-what","at-what","by-what","in-what"]·FR["dans-quoi","dans-quoi?","et-dans-quoi","haut-lieu"]·heb["ב-מה","ו-ב-מה"]·HI["और-किस-में","और-किसमें","किस-में","किस-में-","किसमें","किससे","क्या-में"]·ID["Dan-dengan-apakah","Dengan-apa","apa","atas-apa","dalam-hal-apa","dan-dengan-apa","dengan-apa","sebagai-apa"]·IT["e-in-che","in-che","in-che-cosa"]·jav["Kanthi-menapa","Lan-ing-menapa","ing-menapa","ing-punapa","kalayan-menapa","lan-ing-menapa","punapa","wonten-menapa"]·KO["그리고-무엇으로","그리고-에-무엇","무엇-에","무엇-에서","무엇-으로","무엇-을","무엇으로","에-무엇","에-무엇-으로"]·PT["Com-que","E-em-que","Em-quê","e-em-quê","em-o-que","em-que","em-quê"]·RU["В-чём","И-чем","С-чем","Чем-","в-чём","во-что","и-в-чём","обо-что","что"]·ES["con-qué","en-lo-que","en-qué","y-en-qué","¿Con-qué","¿En-qué","¿en-qué","¿y-en-qué?"]·SW["kipi","kwa-nini","na-kwa-nini","na-nini"]·TR["-de-neyle","Neyle","Ve-neyle","icinde-ne","nasıl","ne-ile","nede","neye","neyle","ve--de-neyle"]·urd["اور-کس-طرح-سے","اور-کس-میں","کس-سے","کس-قدر","کس-میں","کس-چیز-سے","کیا-میں"]
Gen 15:8, Exod 22:27, Exod 33:16, Judg 6:15, Judg 16:5, Judg 16:5, Judg 16:6, Judg 16:6, Judg 16:10, Judg 16:13, Judg 16:15, 1 Sam 6:2 (+15 more)
3. how (manner) — Adverbial use asking about manner: 'how?' — inquiring about the way something is done or the nature of a situation. Num 23:8 ('how shall I curse whom God has not cursed?') uses mah where English requires 'how.' Gen 28:17 ('how awesome is this place!') straddles manner and exclamation. Spanish 'cuán' and French 'comment' show how target languages sometimes split manner-mah from identity-mah into separate lexemes. 25×
AR["كَمْ-","كَيْفَ-","ما-","ماذا","مَا-","وَ-ماذا","وَكَيْفَ"]·ben["এবং-কিভাবে-","কত-","কতো-","কি","কিন্তু-কীভাবে-","কিভাবে-","কী","কী-","কেন-"]·DE["Krieg","Krieg-","und-was","was","wie"]·EN["How","and-how","and-how-","how","how-","what-"]·FR["comment","et-quoi","quoi","quoi?"]·heb["ו-מה","מה","מה-","מה־"]·HI["और-कैसे","कितने","कैसा","कैसा-","कैसी-","कैसे","कैसे-","क्या","क्या-"]·ID["Betapa-","bagaimana","betapa-","dan-bagaimana","mengapa"]·IT["che","che-cosa","come","e-che-cosa"]·jav["Sapinten-","kados-pundi","kados-pundi-","lan-kados-pundi","lan-kados-pundi-","menapa-","pinten-","sapinten","sepinten"]·KO["그리고-무엇으로-","그리고-어떻게","무엇으로-","무엇을-","어째서","어찌","어찌-","어찌나","얼마나","얼마나-좋은가"]·PT["Como","Como-","E-como","Por-que","Que","Quão","como","e-como-","que-","quão","quão-"]·RU["Как","Как-","зачем-","и-как","и-как-","как-"]·ES["Por-qué-","Qué","cuán-","cuánto","cómo","qué","y-cómo-","¡Cómo","¡Qué","¡cuán-","¿Qué-","¿Y-cómo-","¿qué-","¿y-cómo"]·SW["Jinsi-","Jinsi-gani","Na-jinsi-gani","ataelewaje","jinsi","jinsi-gani","jinsi-gani-","lakini-jinsi-gani","na-jinsi-gani","walivyoongezeka"]·TR["nasıl","nasıl-","ne","ne-","ne-kadar-","ve-nasıl-"]·urd["اور-کیسے","اور-کیسے-","کیا","کیا-","کیسا","کیسی-","کیسے-","کیوں-"]
4. how! (exclamatory degree) — Exclamatory use expressing surprise, awe, or emphasis about degree: 'how great!', 'how precious!' Concentrated in Psalms and wisdom literature — Ps 84:1 ('how lovely!'), Ps 36:7 ('how precious your lovingkindness!'). Spanish 'Cuán' and French 'Que' preserve the exclamatory register. The 18 occurrences show mah functioning not as a question but as an intensifier, a shift attested in cognate languages and paralleled by English 'what a...!' 18×
AR["ما","ما-","مَا","مَا-","مَه-"]·ben["কত","কত-","কি","কি-","কী","কেমন"]·DE["Krieg","was"]·EN["how","how-"]·FR["Que","quoi","quoi?"]·heb["מה","מה-","מה־"]·HI["कितना","कितनी","कितनी-","कितने-","कैसी","कैसी-","कैसे","कैसे-","क्या"]·ID["'Betapa","Betapa","betapa"]·IT["che","che-cosa"]·jav["Kados-punapa","Pinten","Punapa","Sapinten","Sapinten-","punapa","sapinten-","sepinten"]·KO["어떠한","어찌","어찌-","어찌나","얼마나"]·PT["Quanto","Quão","Quão-","como-","quão","quão-"]·RU["Как-","как","как-","насколько"]·ES["Cuán","Cuán-","Qué","cuán","cuán-","cuánto","¡Cuán","¡Cuánto","¡Qué-","¿Cuán","¿Cómo?"]·SW["Jinsi","Jinsi-","Jinsi-gani","jinsi","jinsi-","jinsi-gani-","ni-bora-sana"]·TR["Ne","Ne-","nasıl","ne","ne-","ne-kadar","ne-kadar-"]·urd["کیا","کیسی","کیسے"]
Job 6:25, Ps 31:19, Ps 36:7, Ps 39:4, Ps 84:1, Ps 92:5, Ps 104:24, Ps 119:97, Ps 119:103, Ps 139:17, Prov 16:16, Prov 30:13 (+6 more)
5. how many/much (quantity) — Interrogative about quantity, number, or duration: 'how many?', 'how much?', 'how long?' Gen 47:8 (Pharaoh asking Jacob 'how many are the days of your years?') and Job 7:19 ('how long will you not look away from me?') typify this sense. Spanish 'cuántas' and German 'wie viele' use dedicated quantity interrogatives, revealing that Hebrew mah covers ground that many languages split between 'what' and 'how many.' 12×
AR["كَم","كَمْ","كَمْ-"]·ben["কত","কত-","কতকাল","কতক্ষণ","কতবার"]·DE["Krieg","wie-viel","wie-viele","wie-was"]·EN["how-long","how-many","how-many-times","how-much","how-often"]·FR["comme-quoi","comme-quoi?","comment-beaucoup","quoi","wie-quoi"]·heb["כ-מה","כמה","כמה-","מה"]·HI["कब-तक","कितनी","कितनी-","कितनी-बार","कितने"]·ID["Berapa","Berapa-lama","Betapa-sering","berapa","berapa-","berapa-banyak","berapa-sering"]·IT["che-cosa","come-che","come-che-cosa","come-molti","how-molti"]·jav["Pinten","Pinten-sanget","pinten","pinten-","pinten-dangu","sepinten"]·KO["몇","몇이냐","얼마나","얼마나-많은"]·PT["Quantas","Quantas-vezes","Quantos","até-quando","quantas","quanto","quanto-tempo","quantos"]·RU["Сколько","доколе","как-часто","какова-","скольких","сколько","сколько-раз","сколько-то"]·ES["Cuántas-veces","cuánta","cuántas","cuánto","cuántos","¡Cuántas-veces","¿Cuántas","¿Cuántos","¿Hasta-cuándo","¿cuántos?"]·SW["Mara-ngapi","hadi-lini","mara","mara-ngapi","miaka-mingi-kiasi-gani","mpaka-lini","ni-kwa-nini","ni-ngapi","upana-wake-ni"]·TR["kaç","kaç-tane","ne-kadar","ne-kadar-"]·urd["کب-تک","کتنی","کتنی-","کتنی-بار","کتنی-دفعہ","کتنے"]
6. sense 6 — Residual or textually uncertain occurrences including ketiv/qere variants and indefinite uses ('anything,' 'whatever'). Job 13:13 ('let come upon me whatever may') and Prov 9:13 show mah shading toward the indefinite. Isa 3:15 ('what do you mean by crushing my people?') may carry rhetorical or accusatory force. The 6 occurrences sit at the boundary between genuine interrogation and rhetorical or indefinite function. 6×
AR["(مَا)","[مَا-]","شَيْئًا","ما","مَا"]·ben["[কে]","[রাজাদের]","কিছু","কী","যাই-হোক"]·DE["was"]·EN["[ketiv:who]","anything","what"]·FR["quoi"]·heb["מה","מי-","מלכם"]·HI["[राजा-तुम्हारा]","कुछ-भी","जो","जो-कुछ","मुझे"]·ID["Apa","[Q1]","apa-pun","apapun"]·IT["che-cosa"]·jav["[piyambakipun-ngraja]","[sinten-]","menapa","punapa","punapa-kemawon"]·KO["(ketiv)","무엇-을","무엇-이든지","무엇이-","어떠하든"]·PT["[Qere]","[quê-a-vós]","o-que","quê"]·RU["[(что)]","что"]·ES["[Qere]","[ketiv]","lo-que","lo-que-sea","nada"]·SW["[nini-kwenu]","chochote","k","lolote"]·TR["[ne-]","[onlarin-krali]","bir-şey","ne"]·urd["جو-کچھ","جو-کچھ-بھی","کچھ","کیا-حق"]
8. why (reason/cause) — Causal interrogative: 'why?', 'for what reason?' Gen 25:32 ('why then do I need this birthright?') and Ps 10:13 ('why does the wicked renounce God?') use mah to probe motivation. Spanish 'por qué' and German 'wozu' show that most languages require a compound form (preposition + interrogative) where Hebrew uses mah alone or with lamed. Only 2 occurrences, suggesting Hebrew preferred lammah as the standard 'why' while bare mah carried this force only in specific constructions. 2×
AR["مَاذَا","وَلِمَاذَا"]·ben["আর-কেন-","বিষয়ে"]·DE["Krieg","und-wozu-"]·EN["and-for-what","what-account"]·FR["et-pour-quoi","quoi"]·heb["ו-ל-מה","מה"]·HI["और-क्यों-","कैसे"]·ID["apa","dan-untuk-apa"]·IT["che","e-per-che"]·jav["lan-kangge-menapa-","menapa"]·KO["그리고-어찌하여","무엇-"]·PT["e-para-que","razão"]·RU["и-зачем-","что"]·ES["por-qué","y-para-qué"]·SW["kwa-nini","na-kwa-nini"]·TR["ne","ve-neden"]·urd["اور-کیوں","کیا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מָה rarely מָה־ (e.g. Gn 31:43; Jos 22:16; Ju 8:1), מַה־, מַה·, מֶה, מַ· (†Ex 4:2; Is 3:15; Mal 1:13; 1 Ch 15:13; 2 Ch 30:3), מָ (only in מָהֵם †Ez 8:6 Kt., Qr. מָה הֵם)—on the distinction in the use of these forms, see Ges§ 37—pron. interrog. and indef. what? how? aught; used of things, as מִי of persons (Aramaic ܡܳܐ, מָא, Arabic مَا; prob. apoc. from a longer form with n or nt, Assyrian minû…