עָמַס (a.mas)
a.mas
to lift
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 7 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb amas describes the physical act of loading or carrying a burden. It appears in seven verses across the Old Testament, with significant usage in Isaiah, Zechariah, and Nehemiah. The word captures the tangible weight placed upon someone or something, whether it is goods being loaded onto an animal or a heavy yoke being laid on a person.
In its basic Qal stem, amas simply means to carry a load or to load something up. The Hiphil form intensifies this by meaning to lay a burden on another. This distinction is clear in Nehemiah 13:15-17, where the prophet condemns those who are loading donkeys with goods and bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Here, the word highlights the specific action of placing heavy items for transport, underscoring the violation of rest.
The term often carries a negative connotation when referring to human relationships or divine judgment. In Isaiah 46:1, the idols are described as being carried away, burdened by the weight they could not support. Similarly, Zechariah 9:9 contrasts the humble king riding on a donkey with the heavy loads of war, suggesting that amas can symbolize oppression or the futile weight of sin and idolatry that people try to bear.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word amas describes the physical act of loading a burden onto someone or something. In the Old Testament, this verb often highlights the tangible weight placed upon individuals, whether it is goods piled high on a donkey or a heavy yoke forced upon a people. It captures the reality that some loads are meant to be carried, while others are oppressive weights that exhaust the soul.
When we encounter this term in Scripture, it invites us to examine what we are carrying. Sometimes, like the idols in Isaiah 46, we try to support things that were never designed to bear weight, leading to exhaustion. Other times, we see leaders adding burdens that others cannot sustain. This word reminds us that true rest comes not from managing heavier loads, but from trusting in the One who carries us.
There is a gentle invitation here to release what weighs you down. The biblical narrative shows that when we place our trust in God, we are freed from the futile effort of supporting impossible demands. May you find peace in knowing that your burdens do not define your strength, but rather point you toward the One who offers rest.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 7 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- he loaded2×
- who/ have been carried1×
- and/ he loaded1×
- and/ [some who] loaded [them]1×
- [those who] carry/ it1×
- [are] carried1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הֶעְמִ֤יס2×
- עֹמְסֶ֖י/הָ1×
- עֲמוּס֔וֹת1×
- וַֽ/יַּעֲמֹס֙1×
- וְֽ/עֹמְסִ֪ים1×
- הַֽ/עֲמֻסִים֙1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 46:1
Bel bows down. Nebo stoops. Their idols are carried by animals, and on the livestock. The things that you carried around are heavy loads, a burden for the weary.
This verse uses the word to describe idols being carried away, highlighting their inability to support the weight they represent.
-
Nehemiah 13:15
In those days I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath in Judah, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food.
The prophet condemns those loading donkeys with goods on the Sabbath, using the term to emphasize the violation of rest through commercial activity.
-
Zechariah 12:3
It will happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
Jerusalem becomes a burdensome stone that severely wounds those who try to carry it, symbolizing the futility of opposing God's purposes.