כִּימָה (ki.mah)
ki.mah
Pleiades
N:N-F-TQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N-F-T
Word Overview
The noun kimah refers to the Pleiades, a tight cluster of stars visible in the night sky. In the Hebrew Bible, this word appears only three times, always within poetic passages that highlight the vastness and power of creation. It serves as a concrete marker for the ancient reader, grounding abstract theological concepts in the familiar reality of the evening heavens.
Its usage is distinctive because it never appears in lists of constellations or astronomical observations. Instead, Job 9:9 and Job 38:31 mention kimah alongside kessil (Orion) to demonstrate God’s ability to shape the stars with wisdom and strength. Amos 5:8 uses the same pairing to describe the Creator who transforms the shadow of death into morning light, linking celestial order with divine justice.
Translators typically render kimah simply as "Pleiades," preserving the proper name of the star cluster. The word itself likely derives from a root meaning "to heap up" or "gather together," which fits the visual appearance of these stars bunched closely in the sky. This etymology underscores the text’s emphasis on God’s deliberate arrangement of the cosmos, rather than random chance.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word kimah refers to the Pleiades, a tight cluster of stars visible in the night sky. In the Hebrew Bible this noun appears only three times, always within poetic passages that highlight the vastness and power of creation. It serves as a concrete marker for the ancient reader, grounding abstract theological concepts in the familiar reality of the evening heavens.
Its usage is distinctive because it never appears in lists of constellations or astronomical observations. Instead Job 9:9 and Job 38:31 mention kimah alongside kessil (Orion) to demonstrate God’s ability to shape the stars with wisdom and strength. Amos 5:8 uses the same pairing to describe the Creator who transforms the shadow of death into morning light, linking celestial order with divine justice.
Translators typically render kimah simply as Pleiades, preserving the proper name of the star cluster. The word itself likely derives from a root meaning to heap up or gather together, which fits the visual appearance of these stars bunched closely in the sky. This etymology underscores the text’s emphasis on God’s deliberate arrangement of the cosmos, rather than random chance.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Pleiades2×
- and/ Pleiades1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- כִּימָ֑ה1×
- כִימָ֜ה1×
- וְ/כִימָ֗ה1×
Key Verses
-
Job 9:9
He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the rooms of the south.
This verse lists kimah alongside Orion to demonstrate God's power in shaping the stars.
-
Job 38:31
“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
Here God questions Job about binding the cluster, highlighting divine wisdom over human ability.
-
Amos 5:8
Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
Amos connects the maker of kimah with turning the shadow of death into morning light.