תְּנוּמָה (te.nu.mah)
te.nu.mah
slumber
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun tenumah refers to a state of deep, heavy slumber or drowsiness. It appears five times in the Old Testament, primarily within poetic books like Psalms and Proverbs, where it describes a sleep so profound that one is difficult to rouse.
Unlike words for ordinary night rest, tenumah often carries a negative connotation of spiritual negligence or divine judgment. In Isaiah 29:10, for example, God causes this deep slumber to fall upon the people as a consequence of their rebellion, rendering them unable to perceive truth. Similarly, in Proverbs 20:13, it warns against laziness, suggesting that excessive sleep leads to poverty.
The term highlights the danger of being spiritually unconscious when alertness is required. Translators usually render it as "slumber" or "deep sleep," emphasizing a state that goes beyond mere physical tiredness into a realm of unresponsiveness or blindness to divine reality.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word tenumah describes a heavy, unresponsive state that goes beyond normal rest. In Scripture, it often warns against spiritual drowsiness when alertness is needed. This deep slumber can mask negligence or even serve as a consequence of turning away from God’s truth.
When we read about this in Proverbs, the focus is on practical wisdom: ignoring responsibilities leads to poverty and harm. In Isaiah, it reflects a deeper spiritual blindness where people cannot perceive divine instruction. Recognizing this danger invites us to stay spiritually awake and attentive to God’s voice.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- slumber<s>2×
- slumber1×
- in/ slumber<s>1×
- and/ slumber1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תְּנוּמ֑וֹת2×
- תְּנוּמָֽה\׃1×
- וּ֝/תְנוּמָ֗ה1×
- בִּ֝/תְנוּמ֗וֹת1×
Key Verses
-
Proverbs 6:4
Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
Here, the word warns against excessive sleep as a form of negligence that leads to tangible loss and poverty.
-
Psalms 132:4
I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,
David uses this term negatively here, vowing not to let it overtake him while seeking rest for the Ark, showing its potential as an obstacle to devotion.