פַּ֫עַם118 H6471
A time or occurrence; a step or footstep; a foot or base; also an anvil. From the root notion of a beat or strike.
Pa'am is a word that moves between the countable and the concrete. In its most frequent use — far and away the dominant one — it simply means 'time' as in 'this time,' 'seven times,' 'once and twice,' functioning as the Hebrew counter for repeated events. But beneath this abstract temporal sense lies a vivid physical image: the word also means 'beat' or 'stroke,' and from that root it develops into 'footstep' and even 'foot.' The Psalms exploit this beautifully: 'Order my steps (pe'amai) in your word' (Ps 119:133) and 'they have dug a pit for my steps' (Ps 57:6) both use pa'am where the English reader might expect regel ('foot'). Spanish veces ('times') versus pasos/mis pies ('steps/my feet'), and French fois versus mes pas, show how neatly languages separate what Hebrew holds together. A lone occurrence in Isaiah 41:7 preserves the oldest concrete sense: the anvil — the thing that gets struck.
Senses
1. time, occasion — A time or occasion of occurrence — the dominant sense at 101 occurrences, used for counting events and marking temporal instances. Found in cardinal expressions like 'seven times' (sheva pe'amim, Gen 33:3), ordinal markers like 'this time' (happa'am, Gen 2:23; 29:34-35), and comparative phrases like 'as at other times' (kepha'am bepha'am, Judg 16:20; 1 Sam 3:10). The dual pa'amayim ('twice,' Gen 27:36; 41:32) is grammatically distinctive. Spanish veces, French fois, and German Mal all select pure counting vocabulary, with no trace of the physical 'beat/foot' semantics. This complete semantic bleaching from concrete to abstract is the word's most productive historical development. 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 or footstep, often figurative for one's course of life or conduct — 9 occurrences, concentrated in poetic and wisdom literature. In Ps 119:133 'order my steps (pe'amai) in your word,' the image is of directed walking under divine guidance. Ps 85:13 envisions righteousness going before God and 'setting its steps on the way.' Deborah's song pictures Sisera's mother peering through the window for 'the sound of his chariot-beats' (Judg 5:28), preserving the auditory 'beat' that links footstep to time-count. French mes pas ('my steps') and Spanish pasos cleanly distinguish this from the temporal fois/veces of sense 1. 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. Applied to persons, Ps 17:5 pleads 'my steps (pa'amai) have held to your paths, my feet (pa'amai) have not slipped,' and Isa 26:6 parallels pa'am with regel ('foot'). Spanish pies/mis pies and German Fuesse confirm the anatomical reading, while the architectural usage for 'base/corner-foot' of ritual objects suggests the word retains its concrete physical core even as senses 1 and 2 abstract away from it. 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 a craftsman encourages the smelter and strikes the anvil (pa'am) with his hammer. This preserves what may be the oldest concrete sense: the thing that receives repeated blows, the object of beating. Spanish yunque ('anvil') and the BDB entry both confirm this specialized artisanal meaning. The semantic thread connecting anvil, footbeat, footstep, and counted occasion is the underlying notion of a repeated strike or impact — the pa'am as a single unit of percussion from which all other senses radiate. 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.…