Original Language Studio

Jeremiah 6:20

“To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.” (KJV)

Tap a word · read right to left

Lexical meaning

מָהmâh · maw
H4100 · Hebrew

Definition: properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses
Derivation: or מַה; or מָ; or מַ; also מֶה; a primitive particle;
KJV renderings: how (long, oft, (-soever)), (no-) thing, what (end, good, purpose, thing), whereby(-fore, -in, -to, -with), (for) why.
Grammar: לָ — preposition
מָּה — particle (interrogative)
Code HR/Ti
Usage: Occurs 750 times in the Hebrew Bible.Genesis 2:19 Genesis 3:13 Genesis 4:6 Genesis 4:6 Genesis 4:10

Theological interpretation (AI)

The card on the left shows lexical data from published sources. Interpretation is separate: ask the Companion to explain how traditions read מָה here.

Verse 19 Verse 21

Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain). Morphology & lemmas: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, CC BY 4.0 (hb.openscriptures.org). Lexicon: Strong's Hebrew Dictionary (1894, public domain; JSON edition © Open Scriptures, CC BY-SA). Verse numbers follow the Hebrew text, which occasionally differs from English Bibles.