Lexical Summary
tame: Unclean
Original Word:טָמֵא
Part of Speech:Adjective
Transliteration:tame'
Pronunciation:tah-MAY
Phonetic Spelling:(taw-may')
KJV: defiled, + infamous, polluted(-tion), unclean
NASB:unclean, defiled, ill, unclean thing, unclean woman, who was unclean
Word Origin:[fromH2930 (טָּמֵא - unclean)]
1. foul in a relig. sense
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
defiled, infamous, polluted, unclean
Fromtame'; foul in a relig. Sense -- defiled, + infamous, polluted(-tion), unclean.
see HEBREWtame'
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
tameDefinitionunclean
NASB Translationdefiled (1), ill (1), unclean (83), unclean thing (1), unclean woman (1), who was unclean (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. ; —
Leviticus 5:2 58t.; construct
Leviticus 22:4 3t.; feminine
Leviticus 5:2 11t.; construct
Ezekiel 22:5,10; plural
Leviticus 11:8 10t.; —
unclean,
Isaiah 6:5 (twice in verse)unclean of lips;Ezekiel 22:5defiled of name, infamous;Job 14:4.
:
, ""Deuteronomy 12:15,22;Deuteronomy 15:22;Ecclesiastes 9:2;Leviticus 22:4 (H); ()unclean for a (dead)personNumbers 5:2;Numbers 9:6,7,10 (P) =Haggai 2:13; elsewhere for various reasonsDeuteronomy 26:14;Leviticus 5:2;Leviticus 13:11,16,44,45 (twice in verse);Leviticus 13:46;Leviticus 15:2,25,33;Numbers 19:13,17,19,20,22 (all P), 2 Chronicles 23:19;Isaiah 64:5;Ezekiel 4:13;Ezekiel 22:10;Lamentations 4:15.
Leviticus 5:2 (4 t. in verse);Leviticus 7:21 (twice in verse);Leviticus 11:4,5,6,7,8,26,27,28,29,31;Leviticus 27:11,27;Numbers 18:15 (all P),Leviticus 20:25 (twice in verse) (H),Deuteronomy 14:7,8,10,19.
.Leviticus 11:35 (twice in verse);Leviticus 11:38;Leviticus 15:26;Numbers 19:15 (all P),Isaiah 52:11; foodJudges 13:4;Hosea 9:3; housesJeremiah 19:13; leprosyLeviticus 13:15,51,55;Leviticus 14:44,57 (P); offeringHaggai 2:14.
Leviticus 7:19,21 (P);Leviticus 10:10;Leviticus 11:47;Ezekiel 22:26;Ezekiel 44:23; of aliensIsaiah 52:1 ("" ), perhaps alsoIsaiah 35:8.
:unclean place (place of refuse away from holy place and human habitation)Leviticus 14:40,41,45 (P); land on the east of the Jordan separated from the land of the tabernacle ofJoshua 22:19 (P); so a foreign landAmos 7:17.
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope in Scriptureטָמֵא (Strong’s 2931) is an adjective and substantive describing persons, animals, objects, places, or times rendered “unclean” in relation to the holiness of God. The term appears approximately eighty-eight times, concentrated in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the Prophets. It is never a comment on inherent worth but on fitness to approach or serve the Holy One of Israel (Leviticus 10:10).
Categories of Uncleanness
1. Foods and Animals – Distinctions between clean and unclean creatures shape Israel’s diet (Leviticus 11;Deuteronomy 14:3-21).
2. Human Conditions – Childbirth (Leviticus 12:2), skin disease (Leviticus 13:2-3), and bodily emissions (Leviticus 15:2) render people טָמֵא.
3. Corpses and Death – Contact with a dead body conveys uncleanness for seven days (Numbers 19:11-13).
4. Idolatrous Objects and Places – Idols, pagan shrines, and defiled land are called טָמֵא (Ezekiel 20:7;Haggai 2:13-14).
5. Sinful Acts – Sexual immorality, bloodshed, and injustice “pollute” the land (Leviticus 18:24-28;Isaiah 59:3).
Ritual and Ceremonial Implications
Uncleanness restricts access to the sanctuary and community. “Anyone who is unclean and does not purify himself shall be cut off from the assembly” (Numbers 19:20). Purification ordinarily involves time, water, sacrifice, and priestly declaration (Leviticus 14:1-7). These rites uphold divine transcendence while providing a gracious path back to fellowship.
Moral and Ethical Dimensions
While many instances of טָמֵא are ceremonial, the prophets extend the term to ethical defilement. “Your hands are defiled with blood” (Isaiah 59:3). Thus טָמֵא exposes both ritual breach and moral rebellion, uniting cultic purity with covenant faithfulness.
Public Health and Communal Life
Regulations concerning skin disease, bodily fluids, and carcasses functioned as preventive measures against contagion and infestation, protecting the camp’s physical well-being (Leviticus 13-15). The distinction between clean and unclean underscores Israel’s identity as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6).
Prophetic Usage
Prophets employ טָמֵא to indict Israel’s idolatry and social injustice. “They have filled my inheritance with the detestable things of their abominations” (Jeremiah 16:18). Ezekiel envisions eschatological cleansing: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean” (Ezekiel 36:25), anticipating a renewed covenant.
Typology and Christological Fulfillment
The uncleanness laws foreshadow the saving work of Messiah. Yeshua touches lepers, corpses, and the bleeding woman, yet instead of becoming טָמֵא He transmits cleanness (Mark 1:40-42;Luke 8:43-48). His atoning death outside the camp parallels the red heifer rite that purifies from corpse defilement (Hebrews 13:11-13;Numbers 19). In Him the shadow meets substance; ritual impurity finds ultimate remedy in the “blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God” (Hebrews 9:14).
New Testament Echoes
The Greek equivalent ἀκάθαρτος carries forward the concept (Acts 10;Revelation 21:27). Peter’s vision reveals that the ceremonial distinctions pointing to separation from sin reach fulfillment in Christ, opening fellowship to the Gentiles without abolishing the holiness standard.
Implications for Christian Ministry Today
1. Holiness and Grace – טָמֵא reminds believers that God’s holiness remains uncompromised; grace must never erode reverence.
2. Pastoral Care – The Levitical pattern models compassionate restoration rather than exclusion. Church discipline aims at cleansing, not condemnation (Galatians 6:1).
3. Ethical Purity – The prophets’ linkage of טָמֵא with injustice calls the Church to oppose sins that defile society.
4. Hope of Final Cleansing – Revelation envisions a city where “nothing unclean will ever enter it” (Revelation 21:27), motivating present sanctification and future anticipation.
Conclusion
טָמֵא threads through Scripture as a multifaceted call to discernment, repentance, and holiness. It safeguards worship, protects community, exposes sin, and ultimately magnifies the cleansing accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom ceremonial shadows find their enduring reality.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּטָמֵ֔א בטמא הַטְּמֵאִ֑ים הַטְּמֵאִ֥ים הַטְּמֵאָ֖ה הַטְּמֵאָה֙ הַטָּמֵ֔א הַטָּמֵ֖א הַטָּמֵ֤א הַטָּמֵ֥א הַטָּמֵא֙ הטמא הטמאה הטמאים וְטָמֵ֥א ׀ וְטָמֵֽא׃ וְלַטָּמֵ֔א וּטְמֵאִ֖ים וטמא וטמא׃ וטמאים ולטמא טְמֵ֣א טְמֵֽא־ טְמֵאִ֖ים טְמֵאִ֣ים טְמֵאִ֥ים טְמֵאִים֙ טְמֵאַ֣ת טְמֵאַ֥ת טְמֵאָ֔ה טְמֵאָ֗ה טְמֵאָ֜ה טְמֵאָ֥ה טְמֵאָֽה׃ טְמֵאָה֙ טְמֵא־ טָמֵ֑א טָמֵ֔א טָמֵ֖א טָמֵ֗א טָמֵ֞א טָמֵ֣א טָמֵ֣א ׀ טָמֵ֥א טָמֵֽא׃ טָמֵא֒ טָמֵא֙ טמא טמא־ טמא׃ טמאה טמאה׃ טמאים טמאת כַטָּמֵא֙ כטמא לַטְּמֵאָ֔ה לַטָּמֵ֔א לטמא לטמאה מִטָּמֵ֗א מטמא bə·ṭā·mê betaMe bəṭāmê chattaMe haṭ·ṭā·mê haṭ·ṭə·mê·’āh haṭ·ṭə·mê·’îm hattaMe haṭṭāmê haṭṭəmê’āh haṭṭəmê’îm hattemeAh hattemeIm ḵaṭ·ṭā·mê ḵaṭṭāmê laṭ·ṭā·mê laṭ·ṭə·mê·’āh lattaMe laṭṭāmê laṭṭəmê’āh lattemeAh miṭ·ṭā·mê mittaMe miṭṭāmê ṭā·mê taMe ṭāmê ṭə·mê ṭə·mê- ṭə·mê·’āh ṭə·mê·’aṯ ṭə·mê·’îm teme ṭəmê ṭəmê- ṭəmê’āh ṭəmê’aṯ ṭəmê’îm temeAh temeAt temeIm ū·ṭə·mê·’îm ūṭəmê’îm utemeIm velattaMe vetaMe wə·laṭ·ṭā·mê wə·ṭā·mê wəlaṭṭāmê wəṭāmê
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