מָה mah
Hebrew word for “what?” · Strong’s H4100 · used 752 times in 658 verses
Meaning
interr pron; 1) what, how, of what kind;
How it is translated
Glosses given for mah in context, with how often each is used:
- what? 435
- why? 204
- how! 39
- how? 26
- whatever 20
- how many? 7
- when? 5
- what! 2
- how long? 2
- how much? 2
- what is this? 1
- what? at the first time 1
Where it is used
| Book | Uses | Per 1,000 words | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Samuel | 67 | 5.1 | |
| Psalms | 66 | 3.4 | |
| Genesis | 63 | 3.1 | |
| Job | 63 | 7.6 | |
| Jeremiah | 50 | 2.3 | |
| 2 Samuel | 45 | 4.1 | |
| Judges | 41 | 4.1 | |
| Exodus | 33 | 2.0 | |
| Numbers | 30 | 1.8 | |
| Isaiah | 29 | 1.7 | |
| Ecclesiastes | 28 | 9.4 | |
| 2 Kings | 24 | 2.0 |
Also in 25 more books.
Chapters where it is used most
2 Samuel 19 (11), Genesis 31 (7), Joshua 7 (6), Judges 18 (6), 1 Samuel 28 (6), Jeremiah 2 (6), Zechariah 4 (6), Exodus 32 (5), Numbers 23 (5), Judges 16 (5)
Forms
- מה 446
- למה 143
- ומה 80
- ולמה 34
- במה 24
- כמה 12
- ובמה 5
- מה־זה 1
- למבראשׁונה 1
- למדי 1
Words used with it
Words that share verses with mah more often than their overall frequency would suggest:
- זֶה zeh “this” 100
- נִי ni “me” 78
- יָדַע yada “to know” 78
- אַתָּה attah “you(m.s.)” 76
- רָאָה raah “to see” 70
- ךְ kh “you” 45
- דָבַר davar “to speak” 60
- נָגַד nagad “to tell” 43
- דָּבָר davar “word” 60
- הָלַךְ halakh “to go” 54
- ךָּ ka “you” 42
- נוּ nu “us” 33
Key verses
The verses using mah that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):
- Deuteronomy 10:12 — And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy…
- Job 40:4 — Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
- Psalms 2:1 — Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
- Psalms 22:1 — [To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.] My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the…
- Isaiah 1:5 — Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
- Jeremiah 5:31 — The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
- Ezekiel 33:11 — Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye…
- Joel 2:17 — Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to…
- Micah 6:8 — He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
- Habakkuk 2:18 — What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to…
- Zechariah 9:17 — For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
- Malachi 1:6 — A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of…
See all 658 verses in the Word Atlas
Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.