פַּ֫עַם118 H6471
A beat, stroke, occurrence; most often 'time, occasion' for counting repetitions; also step, footstep; foot or base of a person or object; and anvil.
Pa'am is a wonderfully concrete Hebrew noun that migrates from the physical to the abstract while never fully losing its bodily grounding. Its etymological core is a beat or stroke — the fall of a foot, the blow of a hammer — and from this kinesthetic root it branches in three directions. Most frequently (over 100 times), it serves as the standard counting word for occasions: 'seven times' (sheva pe'amim), 'this time' (happa'am), 'as before' (kepha'am bepha'am). German Mal and French fois both specialize in exactly this counting function. But the bodily origin resurfaces vividly in poetic texts: the 'steps' of a person (Ps 119:133, 'make firm my steps'), the approaching 'hoofbeats' through Sisera's mother's window (Judg 5:28), or even the physical 'feet' that trample or are snared (Ps 57:6; 58:10). Spanish veces handles the temporal sense, while pasos and pies split the physical senses between motion and anatomy. A rare but fascinating usage in Isa 41:7 denotes an anvil — the thing that receives repeated blows — returning the word to its percussive etymology. The Arabic cognate fa'la also carries the sense of a single action or deed, showing the Semitic root's tendency to count discrete events.
Senses
1. time, occasion — A time or occasion of occurrence — the dominant sense at 101 occurrences, used in counting phrases and temporal expressions throughout the narrative and legal sections. In Gen 2:23 Adam exclaims 'this time' (happa'am) upon seeing Eve — the word's first appearance in Scripture marks the first act of human recognition. The dual pa'amayim means 'twice' (Gen 27:36, Esau laments 'he has supplanted me these two times'); the plural pe'amim serves as the standard multiplier: 'seven times' (Gen 33:3; Lev 4:6), 'three times' (Exod 23:14). The phrase kepha'am bepha'am ('as time after time, as before') appears in Judg 16:20 and 1 Sam 3:10 to indicate habitual repetition. German Mal is a precise equivalent — a dedicated counting noun for occasions with no spatial meaning remaining. French fois functions identically. Spanish veces captures the iterative quality. Arabic marra/marrat shares the same semantic profile. The word's dominance in this sense has almost entirely eclipsed its physical origins in everyday Hebrew, though poetry preserves the connection. 101×
AR["مَرَّاتٍ", "مَرَّةٍ", "مَرّاتٍ"]·ben["গুণ", "বার", "বার;"]·DE["Mal", "Zeiten"]·EN["times"]·FR["fois"]·heb["פעם", "פעמים"]·HI["और-शुद्ध ठहराएगा", "गुना", "बार", "यहोवा", "सामने"]·ID["kali", "kali.", "kali;"]·IT["tempi", "volte"]·jav["iji", "kaping", "kaping;", "wekdal"]·KO["배", "번", "번들"]·PT["vezes"]·RU["раз", "раза"]·ES["veces"]·SW["kumweka", "kwa-mwaka", "mara", "nyakati", "saba", "tatu"]·TR["kere", "kez"]·urd["بار", "مرتبہ", "گنا"]
Gen 2:23, Gen 29:34, Gen 29:35, Gen 30:20, Gen 33:3, Exod 23:17, Exod 34:23, Exod 34:24, Lev 4:6, Lev 4:17, Lev 8:11, Lev 14:7 (+38 more)
2. step, footstep — A step, footstep, or the sound of footfalls — 9 occurrences concentrated in poetic and prophetic texts. In Judg 5:28 Sisera's mother peers through the lattice asking 'why do his chariot's hoofbeats (pa'ame) delay?' — one of the most haunting moments in biblical poetry, where the word captures the rhythmic percussion of approaching horses. In Ps 85:13 'righteousness will go before him and set his steps (pe'amaw) on the way'; in Ps 119:133 the psalmist prays 'make firm my steps (pe'amay) in your word.' Ps 17:5 uses it in parallel with ashuray ('my tracks'): 'my steps have held to your paths, my feet have not slipped.' French mes pas ('my steps') and Spanish pasos cleanly distinguish this from the temporal fois/veces of sense 1. The semantic connection is transparent: a step is a single beat of the foot against the ground, and counting steps yields occasions. The Judges passage preserves the most archaic use — auditory percussion, the drumbeat of hooves. 9×
AR["خُطواتِكَ", "خُطُواتُ", "خُطُواتِهِ", "خُطُوَاتُ", "خُطُوَاتِكِ", "خُطُوَاتِهِ", "خُطُوَاتِي", "لِ-خُطُواتي"]·ben["আমার-পদক্ষেপ", "আমার-পদের-জন্য", "তাঁর-পদক্ষেপ", "তার-পদক্ষেপ", "তোমার-পা", "তোমার-পায়ের-পদক্ষেপ", "পদক্ষেপ", "পদধ্বনিগুলি", "পা-আমার।"]·DE["-der-steps-von", "[פעמי]", "[פעמיו]", "[פעמיך]", "dein-steps", "für-mein-steps", "mein-steps", "sein-steps"]·EN["-the-steps-of", "Your-steps", "for-my-steps", "his-steps", "my-steps", "steps", "your-steps"]·FR["-le-steps-de", "fois", "mes-pas", "pas", "son-pas-lui", "tes-pas", "à-mes-pas"]·heb["ל-פעמי-", "פעמי", "פעמיו", "פעמיי", "פעמייך", "פעמיך"]·HI["अपने-कदम", "कदम", "तेरे-पैर", "पैरों-उसके।", "मेरे-कदमों-के-लिए", "मेरे-कदमों-को"]·ID["Langkah-langkahku", "langkah-Mu", "langkah-langkah", "langkah-langkah-Nya", "langkah-langkahku", "langkah-langkahmu", "langkah-langkahnya"]·IT["-il-steps-di", "volta", "volta-suo", "volta-tua"]·jav["Sampéyan-kula", "jangkah", "jangkah-Panjenengan", "jangkah-panjenengan", "lampah-ipun", "lampah-kula", "langit", "sampeyanipun"]·KO["그-의-발걸음들-을", "그의-발들", "나-의-걸음들-을", "나-의-발걸음-들-에", "네-발들-이", "당신-의-발걸음들-을", "발걸음들-이", "발걸음들이여"]·PT["Os-meus-passos", "meus-passos", "os-seus-passos", "para-meus-passos", "passos-de", "seus-passos", "teus-passos", "teus-pés"]·RU["Шаги-мои", "ногам-моим", "стопах-его", "стопы", "стопы-его", "стопы-твои", "шаги", "шаги-Твои", "шаги-мои"]·ES["Pasos-de-mí", "mis-pasos", "para-mis-pasos", "pasos-de", "pasos-de-el", "ruedas-de", "sus-pasos", "tus-pasos"]·SW["hatua", "hatua-za", "hatua-zake", "hatua-zako", "hatua-zangu", "kwa-hatua-zangu", "nyayo-zako"]·TR["adimlari", "adimlarin", "adımları", "adımlarım-için", "adımlarımı", "adımlarını", "ayaklarının"]·urd["اُس-کے-قدموں", "اپنے-قدم", "تیرے-قدم", "قدم", "قدموں-اُس-کے", "لَ-قَدموں-میرے", "میرے-قدم"]
3. foot, base — The physical foot or the base/corner of an object — 7 occurrences spanning human anatomy and sacred furniture. In Exod 25:12 and 37:3 the ark of the covenant has four pa'amot ('feet/corners') for its carrying rings; in 1 Kgs 7:30 the bronze stands in Solomon's temple have pa'amot as supporting structures. Applied to persons, Ps 57:6 reads 'they dug a pit before my steps... they set a net for my feet (pe'amay),' where the parallelism with snare imagery suggests physical feet as targets of ambush. Ps 58:10 speaks of washing one's feet in the blood of the wicked — a visceral image of triumph. In 2 Kgs 19:24 Sennacherib boasts of the soles of his feet treading foreign lands. Spanish pies and German Fuesse select anatomical vocabulary. The distinction from sense 2 is subtle but real: sense 2 denotes the act of stepping (motion), while sense 3 denotes the body part or structural base (anatomy or object). The tabernacle usage — feet of the ark — extends the human body metaphor to sacred furniture. 7×
AR["أَقْدَامِهَا", "أَقْدَامِي", "خُطُواتُهُ", "زواياهُ", "زَواياهُ", "قَدَمَايَ", "قَدَمَيَّ"]·ben["আমার-পা", "আমার-পায়ের", "তার-পা", "তার-পায়াসমূহ", "পায়ের-তার"]·DE["[פעמי]", "mein-Fuesse", "mein-Füsse", "sein-Fuesse", "sein-Füsse"]·EN["his-feet", "its-feet", "my-feet", "of-my-feet"]·FR["fois", "mes-pas", "mon-pieds", "pas", "son-pieds"]·heb["פעמותי-ו", "פעמותיו", "פעמי", "פעמי-ו"]·HI["अपने-पैर", "अपने-पैरों-से", "उसके-पैरों", "पाये-उसके", "पैरों-मेरे", "मेरे-पैर"]·ID["kakiku", "kakinya"]·IT["mio-piedi", "suo-piedi", "volta"]·jav["kados-mentah", "sampar-kula", "sikilipun,", "suku", "suku-ipun,", "suku-kawula", "suku-kula"]·KO["그-발들에", "그-의-발-들-을", "그것의-발들", "그것의-발들은", "나의-발의", "발들-나의", "발자취들-이"]·PT["meus-pés", "pés-dela", "pés-meus", "pés-seus", "seus-pés"]·RU["ног-моих", "ногах-его", "ноги-свои", "ножки-её", "стопы-мои", "углах-его"]·ES["de-mis-pies", "mis-pies", "pies-de-ellos", "sus-esquinas", "sus-pies"]·SW["mabega", "miguu-yake", "miguu-yangu", "za-miguu-yangu"]·TR["ayaklarimin", "ayakları", "ayaklarım", "ayaklarımın", "ayaklarını", "ayaklarının"]·urd["اُس-کے-پاؤں", "اپنے-پاؤں-کے", "میرے-پاؤں", "پاؤں-اُس-کے", "پاؤں-میرے", "کونوں اُس کے"]
4. sense 4 — An anvil — a single occurrence in Isa 41:7 where the prophet describes the manufacture of an idol: the craftsman encourages the metalworker, and the one who smooths with the hammer strikes 'the anvil' (pa'am). Spanish yunque and English 'anvil' both identify this as specialized metallurgical vocabulary. The connection to the root meaning is elegant: an anvil is the thing that receives repeated 'beats' (pe'amim) — the surface against which the hammer's blows fall. BDB lists this as a distinct concrete sense, and the context of idol-making craftsmanship makes it unmistakable. Arabic sandan ('anvil') is unrelated, but the Hebrew semantic logic — from 'beat/stroke' to 'the thing beaten upon' — is a natural metonymic extension. This rare usage preserves the word's oldest kinesthetic meaning, stripped of the counting abstraction that dominates elsewhere. 1×
AR["بِالسِّنْدَانِ"]·ben["নেহাইতে"]·DE["[פעם]"]·EN["of-the-soldering"]·FR["fois"]·heb["פעם"]·HI["निहाई-पर"]·ID["landasan"]·IT["volta"]·jav["landhesan"]·KO["모루에"]·PT["bigorna"]·RU["наковальней"]·ES["yunque"]·SW["fuawe"]·TR["ors"]·urd["سندان-پر"]
Related Senses
H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)H5927 1. go up, ascend (Qal) (779×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H7971 1. to send, dispatch (Qal) (701×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G2064 1. come / arrive (physical movement toward) (588×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G2250 1. day (388×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
פַּ֫עַם118 n.f. Ex 8:28 (masc. only Ju 16:23 [text suspicious, v. GFM AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 76 KöSynt. § 248 m], 2 S 23:8 [1 K 7:30 [crpt., v. infr.]) beat, foot, anvil, occurrence;—abs. פ׳ Gn 2:23 +; פָּ֑עַם 46:30 +; du. פַּעֲמַיִם Gn 27:36 +, etc.; pl. פְּעָמִים 33:3 +; also (concr.) cstr. פַּעֲמֵי Ju 5:28 +; sf. פְּעָמַי ψ 57:7; 119:133, etc.; פַּעֲמֹתָיו (only 1 c) Ex 25:12 + 2 times;— 1. a.…