H5972 H5972
People, nation (Aramaic); the collective population of a kingdom or ethnic group in Daniel and Ezra.
This Aramaic noun ʿam functions exactly like its Hebrew cognate, designating a people or national population. It appears in the royal decrees and apocalyptic visions of Daniel and Ezra, where Babylonian and Persian kings address 'all peoples, nations, and tongues' (Dan 3:4, 7; 5:19; 6:26; 7:14). The emphatic plural ʿammayāʾ recurs in these sweeping proclamations, while the singular appears in contexts like Cyrus's decree referencing 'its people' (the Jewish nation, Ezra 5:12; 6:12). German 'Volk' and Spanish 'pueblo' both capture the collective national sense. The word's restriction to Aramaic court and visionary contexts gives it a distinctly imperial register.
Senses
1. people, nation — A collective noun for a people or nation, the Aramaic counterpart of Hebrew עַם. Used in the imperial Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra to denote national or ethnic groups, especially in formulaic royal addresses ('all peoples, nations, and languages,' Dan 3:4; 7:14) and in administrative decrees concerning the Jewish people (Ezra 5:12; 7:13, 25). The grammatical variants—singular, plural, determinate, with prepositions—all share this single referent of a collective national population. 15×
AR["أَيُّهَا-الشُّعُوبُ", "الشَّعْب", "الشَّعْب-", "الشُّعُوبِ", "شَعْب-", "شَعْبٍ", "لِ-شَعْبٍ", "لِـ-شَعْبِ", "وَ-الشَّعْب", "وَ-شَعْب"]·ben["-জনকে", "-জাতির-কাছে", "আর-জাতি", "আর-লোকদের", "জাতি", "জাতিদের", "জাতির", "জাতিরা"]·DE["Volk", "[ועמה]", "[עמא]", "[עמה]", "und-Volk", "zum-Volk"]·EN["O-peoples", "and-people", "and-the-people", "people", "peoples", "the-people", "the-people-of", "the-peoples", "to-people", "to-people-of"]·FR["[ועמה]", "[עמא]", "[עמה]", "et-peuple", "peuple", "pour-peuple"]·heb["ה-עמים", "ו-עם", "ו-עמה", "ל-עם", "עם", "עמא", "עמה", "עמים"]·HI["और-लोगों-को", "को-लोगों", "या-लोगों-को", "लोग", "लोगों", "लोगों-की", "लोगों-में-से", "हे-लोगों"]·ID["-bangsa-bangsa", "bangsa", "bangsa-bangsa", "dan-bangsa", "dan-rakyat", "hai-bangsa-bangsa", "kepada-bangsa", "kepada-umat", "rakyat"]·IT["[ועמה]", "[עמא]", "[עמה]", "al-popolo", "e-popolo", "popolo"]·jav["bangsa", "bangsa-bangsa", "dhateng-bangsa", "dhateng-umat", "kang-umat", "lan-umat", "mbucal", "para-bangsa"]·KO["그-백성", "그리고-그-백성", "그리고-백성", "민족들이", "백성들", "백성들아", "백성들이", "백성이", "에게-백성", "에게-백성에게"]·PT["a-povo", "ao-povo-dos", "e-o-povo", "e-povo", "o-povo", "o-povo-de", "os-povos", "povo", "ó-povos"]·RU["-народам", "-народы", "и-народ", "и-народ-его", "народ", "народа", "народам", "народу", "народы"]·ES["a-pueblo", "al-pueblo", "el-pueblo", "el-pueblo-de", "los-pueblos", "oh-pueblos", "pueblo", "y-al-pueblo", "y-pueblo"]·SW["kwa-watu", "mataifa", "na-watu", "taifa", "watu", "ya-watu"]·TR["halk", "halka", "halkin", "halkindan", "halkini", "halklar", "halklara", "ve-halki"]·urd["اور-قوم-اُس-کی", "اور-قوم-کو", "اے-قوموں", "قوم", "قوم-اُس-کی", "قوم-کو", "قوموں", "قوموں-نے", "قومیں", "کو-قوم"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עַם n.m. Ezr 6:12 people (v. BH I. עמם, עַם);—ע׳ abs. Dn 2:44; 3:29; Ezr 6:12, cstr. Dn 7:27; emph. עַמָּה Ezr 5:12, עַמָּא 7:13, 16, 25; pl. emph. עַמְמַיָּא (K§§ 15 d); 55, 5 a)) Dn 3:4, 7(×2), 31; 5:19; 6:26; 7:14.