H4405 H4405
Word, utterance, speech; poetic synonym for 'dabar,' concentrated almost entirely in Job
An Aramaic-flavored noun for 'word' or 'utterance' that appears 38 times in the Hebrew Bible, with 34 of those in Job alone. Where the common Hebrew 'dabar' serves everyday prose, millah belongs to elevated poetic discourse -- the speeches of Job's friends, God's rhetorical questions, and David's last oracle (2 Sam 23:2). Its Aramaic cognate is the standard word for 'word' in that language, suggesting the term entered Hebrew poetry as a prestige borrowing. Psalm 19:4 (ET 19:3) uses it in parallel with 'voice' for the wordless speech of the heavens. In Job 30:9, it narrows to 'byword' -- a fixed mocking expression -- while Job 29:22 stretches it to encompass sustained discourse.
Senses
1. word(s), utterance — The primary sense: a word or collection of words as a unit of speech. Job's friends offer 'words' of counsel (Job 4:2, 4); Job demands they hear 'my words' (Job 13:17; 19:23); David's last oracle begins 'his word was on my tongue' (2 Sam 23:2). Spanish 'palabra(s),' French 'parole,' and German 'Wort' converge on straightforward verbal content. 36×
AR["الكَلِماتِ","بِ-كَلِماتٍ","كَلامِي","كَلِماتٌ","كَلِماتٍ","كَلِماتِي","كَلِمَاتٍ","كَلِمَاتِي"]·ben["আমার-কথা","কথা","কথা?","কথাগুলি","কথাগুলো","কথাগুলোর"]·DE["Wort","von-mir"]·EN["my-words","words"]·FR["mon-parole-moi","parole"]·heb["מילי","מילים","מילין"]·HI["मेरे-शब्द","वचन","शब्द","शब्दों","शब्दों-की","शब्दों-को","शब्दों-मेरे","शब्दों-से"]·ID["kata-kata","kata-kataku","perkataan","perkataan-perkataan","perkataan-perkataanku","perkataanku"]·IT["parola","parola-mio"]·jav["pangandikan-kula","tembung","tembung-tembung","tembung-tembung-kawula"]·KO["나의-말들을","나의-말들의","나의-말이","말들-을","말들로","말들을","말들의","말들이"]·PT["as-palavras","minhas-palavras","palavras","palavras.","palavras?"]·RU["слов","слов-моих","слова","слова-мои","словами"]·ES["las-palabras","mi-palabra","mis-palabras","mis-palabras;","palabras","palabras?"]·SW["maneno","maneno-yangu","ya-maneno","ya-maneno-yangu"]·TR["sözler","sözler-var","sözleri","sözlerim","sözlerimi","sözlerimin","sözlerin","sözlerle"]·urd["الفاظ","الفاظ سے","الفاظ کو","الفاظ کی","الفاظ-کو","باتیں","باتیں-میری","میرے الفاظ","میرے الفاظ کی"]
2. byword, proverb — A specialized narrowing to 'byword' or proverbial taunt. In Job 30:9, the suffering Job laments 'I have become their byword' -- a fixed, repeatable expression of mockery. Spanish 'refran' (proverb) and English 'byword' capture the shift from neutral 'word' to a crystallized expression used derisively against a person. 1×
AR["لِ-كَلِمَةٍ"]·ben["প্রবাদ"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["for-byword"]·FR["à-parole"]·heb["ל-מילה"]·HI["कहावत"]·ID["sebagai-kata-kata"]·IT["per-parola"]·jav["kanggé-pitembungan"]·KO["속담이"]·PT["provérbio"]·RU["притчею"]·ES["por-refrán"]·SW["mithali"]·TR["atasözü"]·urd["ایک کہاوت"]
3. speech, discourse — An expansive sense covering sustained speech or discourse as a whole. Job 29:22 recalls a time when 'after my speech they did not speak again' -- here millah denotes not individual words but the entire act of eloquent public speaking. Spanish 'dicho' (saying, discourse) and the singular collective use distinguish this from the distributive plural of sense 1. 1×
AR["كَلِمَتِي"]·ben["আমার-বক্তব্য"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["my-speech"]·FR["mon-parole-moi"]·heb["מילתי"]·ID["kata-kataku"]·IT["parola-mio"]·jav["pangandikan-kula"]·KO["나의-말이"]·PT["minha-fala"]·RU["речь-моя"]·ES["mi-dicho"]·SW["kauli-yangu"]·TR["sözüm"]·urd["بات-میری"]
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
† מִלָּה n.f. word, speech, utterance (poet., especially Jb; common in Aramaic);—מ׳ ψ 139:4 Jb 30:9; sf. מִלָּתִי Jb 13:17 + 3 times; מִלָּתוֹ 2 S 23:2; pl. מִלִּים Jb 6:26 + 9 times (all Jb); מִלִּין Jb 4:2 + 12 times (all Jb); pl. sf. מִלָּ֑י Jb 19:23 + 4 times; מִלֶּיךָ Jb 4:4 Pr 23:9; מִלֵּיהֶם ψ 19:5;—word בִּלְשׁוֹנִי in (on) my tongue ψ 139:4; word (of י׳), עַל־לְשׁוֹנִי on my tongue 2 S…