H5980 H5980
Close beside, alongside, parallel to; corresponding to, matching; over against in opposition.
Ummah is a feminine noun used almost exclusively in construct with the preposition le- (le'ummat), functioning as a compound preposition meaning 'alongside, corresponding to, opposite.' It is the go-to spatial term for architectural parallelism in Exodus and Ezekiel — describing how one structural element sits flush with or directly across from another. The tabernacle rings are placed le'ummat the border (Exod 25:27); Ezekiel's temple walls run 'alongside' the chambers (Ezek 42:7); and the tribal land allotments sit 'parallel to' one another (Ezek 48:13-21). Occasionally the spatial meaning shifts into abstract correspondence — the elder corresponding to the younger (1 Chr 24:31) or doing something 'in the same manner' (Eccl 5:16). A rare adversarial usage in Ezek 3:8 ('forehead against forehead') shows the word can express confrontation as well as alignment.
Senses
1. corresponding to, parallel with — Spatial correspondence or parallelism — the core sense at 15 occurrences, describing one thing positioned directly matching, parallel to, or corresponding to another. Especially prominent in Ezekiel's temple and land-division visions (Ezek 45:6-7; 48:13, 18, 21) and in Chronicles' organizational lists where one division 'corresponds to' another (1 Chr 24:31; 25:8; 26:12). French correspondant a and Spanish correspondiente a both capture the alignment-matching quality. The emphasis is structural: two things properly lined up or matched, not merely nearby. 15×
AR["بِ-مُقَابِلِ","بِـ-مُحَاذَاةِ","مُحَاذِيَةُ","مُقابِلَ","مُقَابِلَ"]·ben["-সামনে","পাশাপাশি","বরাবর","সমান","সমান-ভাবে","সমানভাবে","সমান্তরালে"]·DE["[לעמת]","corresponding-zu","gegenueber"]·EN["corresponding-to"]·FR["[לעמות]","[לעמת]","corresponding-à","en-face-de"]·heb["ל-עומות","ל-עומת","ל-עמת","ל-עמת ׀"]·HI["के-बराबर","के-समान","बारी-बारी-से","समानांतर","साथ-साथ","सामने"]·ID["berhadap-hadapan-dengan","sama-dengan","sejajar","sejajar-dengan","sesuai-dengan"]·IT["corresponding-a","di-fronte","di-fronte-a"]·jav["kangge-tandhing","nglawan","nglawan-","sakngajeng-ipun","sarujuk-kaliyan","sejajar-kaliyan"]·KO["맞은편-에","맞은편에","맞편에-","에-나란히","에-나란히들의","에-대하여","에-대한-맞은편","에-맞은편에"]·PT["correspondendo-a","correspondente-a","defronte","defronte-de","igualmente","junto-a","paralelo-a"]·RU["напротив","соответственно","соответствующая"]·ES["correspondiente-a","frente-a","igual","igual-a","paralelo-a"]·SW["kama","kuelekeana-na","mbele-ya","sambamba-na","sawa","sawa-na"]·TR["eşleşen","karşılıklı","karşılığında","karşılığında-","karşısında"]·urd["برابر","بمقابلہ","سامنے"]
Exod 38:18, 1 Chr 24:31, 1 Chr 24:31, 1 Chr 25:8, 1 Chr 26:12, 1 Chr 26:16, Neh 12:24, Ezek 40:18, Ezek 42:7, Ezek 45:6, Ezek 45:7, Ezek 48:13 (+3 more)
2. close beside, adjacent to — Close beside or adjacent to — 13 occurrences emphasizing physical proximity and nearness rather than abstract correspondence. This is the tabernacle-construction sense: the rings are placed 'close by' the border of the frame (Exod 25:27; 37:14), the shoulder-pieces sit 'beside' the ephod (Exod 28:27; 39:20), and the fat is removed 'close by the backbone' (Lev 3:9). Spanish junto a ('next to') and French en face ('facing') capture this spatial adjacency. The suffixed forms le'ummatam ('beside them') and le'ummato ('beside it/him') belong here, as does Neh 3:23's 'beside their house' and 7:2's placement 'beside' the fortress. 13×
AR["بِ-مُحاذاةِ","بِإِزائِهِ-","بِـ-إِزاءِ","تُجاهَ","تُجَاهَهَا","عِنْدَ","مَعَها","مُقَابِلَ"]·ben["-সামনে-তার","কাছে","তাদের-মুখোমুখি","তাদের-সাথে","বিপরীতে-","সমান","সামনে"]·DE["[לעמת]","gegenueber","nahe-zu","opposite","opposite-ihn","schliessen-zu"]·EN["alongside-","alongside-them","beside-them","close-to","opposite","opposite-him"]·FR["[לעמתם]","en-face","en-face-lui","fermer-à","à-à-côté-de"]·heb["ל-עומת","ל-עומת-","ל-עומת-ו","ל-עומתם","לעומתם"]·HI["उनके-साथ","उसके-सामने","के-पास","के-बराबर","पास","साथ-","सामने","सामने-की-ओर"]·ID["Berhadapan dengan","Dekat","berhadapan-dengannya","bersama-mereka","dekat","di-samping-mereka","sejajar-dengan"]·IT["chiudere-a","di-fronte","di-fronte-a-lui","opposite","per-alongside"]·jav["Celak-kaliyan","Mapag","celak-kaliyan","ing-ngarep-ipun","ing-ngiringipun","sarujuk-kaliyan","sesarengan","sesarengan-"]·KO["가까이-에","가면서","그것들과-함께","그들의-맞은편에서","그와-나란히","맞서-","에-가까이","에-맞은편에"]·PT["Junto-a","correspondência-de","junto-a","junto-a-eles","paralelo-a-ele"]·RU["Напротив","напротив","напротив-","напротив-него","напротив-них","рядом-с","у"]·ES["Junto-a","frente-a","frente-a-él","junto-a","junto-a-ellos"]·SW["kando-yao","karibu-na","karibu-nao","pamoja-na","pamoja-nao","sambamba-naye"]·TR["karsisinda","karşısında","ve-sesini","yakınında","yanlarında","yanıbaşlarında","yanında","çünkü"]·urd["ان-کے-ساتھ","اُن-کے-ساتھ","سامنے-اُس-کے","قریب","نزدیک","کے-مقابل"]
Exod 25:27, Exod 28:27, Exod 37:14, Exod 39:20, Lev 3:9, 2 Sam 16:13, 2 Sam 16:13, Eccl 7:14, Ezek 1:20, Ezek 1:21, Ezek 3:13, Ezek 10:19 (+1 more)
3. over against, in opposition — Over against in confrontation or opposition — a sharply distinct sense appearing only twice, both in Ezek 3:8, where God hardens Ezekiel's face 'against' the rebels' faces and his forehead 'against' their foreheads. Spanish contra and German gegenuber both shift to adversarial vocabulary. The doubling within a single verse emphasizes that this is not mere spatial proximity but active, confrontational positioning — face set against face. 2×
AR["مُقابِلَ"]·ben["-সম্মুখে"]·DE["gegenueber"]·EN["against"]·FR["[לעמת]"]·heb["ל-עומת"]·HI["के-सामने"]·ID["menghadapi"]·IT["di-fronte"]·jav["nglawan"]·KO["을-맞서"]·PT["diante-de"]·RU["напротив"]·ES["contra"]·SW["kinyume-na"]·TR["karşı"]·urd["کے-مقابلے-میں"]
4. from beside (with min) — From beside or from a position alongside — a single occurrence at 1 Kgs 7:20 where the preposition min is prefixed, creating me'ummat to indicate source-direction from alongside the belly-shaped protrusion of the pillars. This is a standard spatial extension: the same 'beside/alongside' meaning with directional 'from' added. French de a cote de and Spanish desde junto a both render this as 'from beside.' 1×
AR["مِنْ-مُقَابِلِ"]·ben["সামনে-থেকে"]·DE["von-neben"]·EN["from-beside"]·FR["de-à-côté-de"]·heb["מ-ל-עומת"]·HI["निकट-से"]·ID["dari-samping"]·IT["da-accanto-a"]·jav["saking-sejajar"]·KO["불록한-부분의-반대쪽의"]·PT["junto-a"]·RU["напротив"]·ES["desde-junto-a"]·SW["ambalo"]·TR["karşısında"]·urd["سے-سامنے"]
5. in like manner, same as — In like manner, equivalently — a single occurrence at Eccl 5:16 where the spatial metaphor of 'alongside' has been abstracted into qualitative comparison: 'just as he came, so shall he go.' The Qoheleth passage uses the bare ummat (without le-) in what BDB identifies as the only such form, meaning 'agreeing with, corresponding to' in manner rather than position. German in-gleicher-Weise and Spanish de la misma manera show the shift from spatial to modal correspondence. 1×
AR["وَغَمٌّ"]·ben["ঠিক-যেমন"]·DE["[עמת]"]·EN["same-as"]·FR["à-côté-de"]·heb["עומת"]·HI["उसी-तरह"]·ID["tepat-seperti"]·IT["same-as"]·jav["kados"]·KO["같이-"]·PT["correspondência-de"]·RU["как"]·ES["manera-que"]·SW["jinsi"]·TR["aynisi"]·urd["طرح"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. [עֻמָּה] n.f. juxtaposition, but only in st. c. with force of a prep. close by, side by side with, parallel to, agreeing with, corresponding to;—st. c. עֻמַּת, except Ec 5:15 always c. לְ, sf. לְעֻמָּתוֹ, once pl. cstr. לְעֻמּוֹת Ez 45:7;— a. close by, side by side with: Ex 25:27 (37:14), 28:27 (39:20), Lv 3:9 לְעֻמַּת הֶעָצֶה יְסִירֶנָּה shall take it away close by the backbone; especially…