מֵאָה (me.ah)
me.ah
hundred
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 465 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun me’ah denotes the number one hundred, appearing nearly five hundred times in the Old Testament. It functions primarily as a simple cardinal number, anchoring narratives with precise counts. In Genesis, it marks the ages of patriarchs like Abraham and Seth, grounding their long lives in tangible reality. In Exodus and Numbers, it quantifies materials for the tabernacle or soldiers in the census, reflecting an organized society that valued exact accounting.
Beyond simple counting, me’ah carries nuanced uses that reveal its flexibility. It forms part of larger numbers, such as six hundred in Genesis 6:15 describing the ark’s length, and serves as a fraction meaning one-hundredth, as seen in Nehemiah 5:11 where interest on grain is calculated. The word also appears in adverbial phrases like “a hundred times” in Proverbs 17:10, emphasizing repetition or intensity.
This term’s consistency across diverse contexts—from genealogies to temple construction—highlights its role as a stable unit of measure in ancient Israelite thought. Its frequent appearance in historical and legal texts underscores how numbers structured daily life and religious practice, offering readers a clear window into the precision of biblical record-keeping.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word me’ah anchors our understanding of time and value in the Old Testament. It appears frequently in genealogies, marking the long lives of patriarchs like Adam and Seth. These numbers are not just abstract data; they show that God remembers each person and their place in history. When we read that someone lived one hundred years or more, we see a tangible reality of human existence under God’s watch.
Beyond age, this number structures community life. In Exodus and Numbers, it helps count materials for the tabernacle and soldiers in the census. This precision reflects a society that valued order and exact accounting. It reminds us that God cares about the details of our lives, from the large to the small.
Even when used for fractions or repetitions, me’ah shows consistency. Whether counting years, items, or people, it provides a stable measure. This stability offers comfort, knowing that the God who numbers the days of the patriarchs also knows the number of hairs on your head. It invites us to trust in a God who is precise and faithful.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 465 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- hundred<s>263×
- one hundred74×
- and/ one hundred45×
- two hundred39×
- and/ two hundred22×
- the/ hundreds14×
- a hundred8×
- [were] one hundred8×
- hundreds7×
- and/ the/ hundreds6×
- for/ a hundred4×
- [was] one hundred4×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מֵא֖וֹת112×
- מֵא֥וֹת30×
- מֵאָ֖ה23×
- מֵא֣וֹת23×
- מֵאֽוֹת\׃21×
- מֵאָ֥ה21×
- מָאתַ֖יִם16×
- מֵאוֹת֙16×
- מֵאֽוֹת\׃\ \פ12×
- מֵא֔וֹת12×
- וּ/מֵאָה֮12×
- מָאתַ֥יִם10×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 5:3
Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
This verse uses me’ah to mark Adam's age at Seth's birth, establishing the start of the genealogical record that traces humanity back to creation.
-
Genesis 5:27
All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.
Methuselah's lifespan of nine hundred sixty-nine years highlights the extreme longevity attributed to the pre-flood patriarchs in this biblical account.
-
Genesis 6:3
Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”
Here me’ah limits human days to one hundred twenty, signaling a divine boundary on life before the flood narrative begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does me’ah mean in Hebrew?
Why are so many numbers in Genesis 5?
How is me’ah used outside of counting years?
Every Occurrence (465 verses across 24 books)
Genesis 61 verses
Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him…
Genesis 5:4The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he became the father of other sons…
Genesis 5:5All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years, then he died.
Genesis 5:6Seth lived one hundred five years, then became the father of Enosh.
Genesis 5:7Seth lived after he became the father of Enosh eight hundred seven years, and became the father of other sons and…
Genesis 5:8All of the days of Seth were nine hundred twelve years, then he died.
Genesis 5:10Enosh lived after he became the father of Kenan eight hundred fifteen years, and became the father of other sons and…
Genesis 5:11All of the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years, then he died.
Genesis 5:13Kenan lived after he became the father of Mahalalel eight hundred forty years, and became the father of other sons and…
Genesis 5:14and all of the days of Kenan were nine hundred ten years, then he died.
Genesis 5:16Mahalalel lived after he became the father of Jared eight hundred thirty years, and became the father of other sons and…
Genesis 5:17All of the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety-five years, then he died.
Genesis 5:18Jared lived one hundred sixty-two years, then became the father of Enoch.
Genesis 5:19Jared lived after he became the father of Enoch eight hundred years, and became the father of other sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:20All of the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, then he died.
Genesis 5:22After Methuselah’s birth, Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 5:23All the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years.
Genesis 5:25Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years, then became the father of Lamech.
Genesis 5:26Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of other…
Genesis 5:27All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.
Genesis 5:28Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, then became the father of a son.
Genesis 5:30Lamech lived after he became the father of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and became the father of other sons and…
Genesis 5:31All the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years, then he died.
Genesis 5:32Noah was five hundred years old, then Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 6:3Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred…
Genesis 6:15This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its…
Genesis 7:6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.
Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the…
Genesis 7:24The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.
Genesis 8:3The waters continually receded from the earth. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters receded.
Genesis 8:13In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth.…
Genesis 9:28Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.
Genesis 9:29All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.
Genesis 11:10This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad…
Genesis 11:11Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 11:13Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 11:15Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 11:17Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 11:19Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:21Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:23Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:25Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of more sons and…
Genesis 11:32The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.
Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his three hundred eighteen trained men, born in his…
Genesis 15:13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will…
Genesis 17:17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred…
Genesis 21:5Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him.
Genesis 23:1Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah’s life.
Genesis 23:15“My lord, listen to me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Therefore bury…
Genesis 23:16Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the children of…
Genesis 25:7These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred seventy-five years.
Genesis 25:17These are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred thirty-seven years. He gave up his spirit and died, and was…
Genesis 26:12Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.
Genesis 33:1Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. He divided the…
Genesis 33:19He bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father,…
Genesis 35:28The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.
Genesis 45:22He gave each one of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes…
Genesis 47:9Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have…
Genesis 47:28Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred…
Genesis 50:22Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s house. Joseph lived one hundred ten years.
Genesis 50:26So Joseph died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.