H8380 H8380
twins; two offspring born together from the same pregnancy, whether human or animal
This noun refers to twins—two born together. Genesis 25:24 describes Rebekah's pregnancy: 'behold, there were twins in her womb' (Jacob and Esau). Genesis 38:27 similarly introduces Tamar's twin sons. Song of Songs uses twins poetically in describing the beloved: 'Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle' (4:5 and 7:3, emphasizing symmetry and pairing). The multilingual glosses (Spanish gemelos/mellizos, French jumeaux, German Zwillinge) consistently translate as twins. In biblical narrative, twins often signal special significance—rivalry between Jacob and Esau, the dramatic birth of Perez and Zerah. In poetry, twinning suggests perfect pairing and symmetry. The double birth marks both ordinary biology and extraordinary destiny.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Twins—two offspring born together. Describes Jacob and Esau in Rebekah's womb (Gen 25:24) and Tamar's sons by Judah (Gen 38:27). Used poetically in Song of Songs for paired breasts like twin gazelle fawns (4:5, 7:3), emphasizing symmetry and beauty. Biblical twin births often carry narrative significance—Jacob/Esau rivalry, Perez/Zerah's dramatic birth. The term captures both the biological reality of double birth and the literary/theological weight often attached to such pairings. 4×
AR["تَوْأَمَانِ", "تَوْأَمَيْ", "تْأُومِي"]·ben["যমজ"]·DE["Zwillinge", "[תאומי]", "[תאמי]"]·EN["twins", "twins-of"]·FR["jumeaux", "twins"]·heb["תאומי", "תאומים", "תומם"]·HI["जुड़वाँ", "जुड़वे"]·ID["anak-kembar", "kembar"]·IT["twins", "twins-of"]·jav["kembar"]·KO["쌍둥이가", "쌍둥이들-이라", "쌍둥이이다"]·PT["gêmeos", "gêmeos-de"]·RU["близнецы"]·ES["gemelos", "gemelos-de", "mellizos-de"]·SW["mapacha"]·TR["ikizi", "ikizler"]·urd["جوڑواں", "جڑواں"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [תּוֹאָם (Kö ii. 1. 69 תְּאֹם)] n.m. twin (NH id.; cf. Ph. n.pr.m. תאם, Gk. Θωμᾶς = δίδυμος John 20:24);—pl. abs. of two boys תּוֹמִם Gn 25:24 (Ges§ 23 f.) תְּאוֹמִים 38:27 (both J); of animals, cstr. תְּאוֹמֵי צְבִיָּה Ct 4:5, תָּאֳמֵי צ׳ 7:4.