What does בָּמָה (bāmāh) mean in the Bible?
H1116 names a height or elevated place and often refers to a high-place shrine. Its moral force is not supplied by elevation alone.
Hebrew · H1116
בָּמָה
An elevation
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בָּמָהH1116
Pronunciationbāmāh
What does בָּמָה (bāmāh) mean in the Bible?
H1116 names a height or elevated place and often refers to a high-place shrine. Its moral force is not supplied by elevation alone.
Reader summary
Full entry for בָּמָה (H1116) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H1116?
The BSB source-word alignment has 102 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include The high places (24), on the high places (11), high places (7), of the high places (6), the heights (6).
Where does בָּמָה (bāmāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Leviticus 26:30. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Kings (27), 2 Chronicles (17), 1 Kings (14), 1 Samuel (7).
What This Word Actually Means
H1116 names a height or elevated place and often refers to a high-place shrine. Its moral force is not supplied by elevation alone. In 2Chr. 1. 3, Solomon and the assembly go to the high place at Gibeon because the Mosaic Tent of Meeting and altar are there before the temple is built. In 1Kgs. 11. 7, Solomon constructs a high place for Chemosh and Molech, making the site an expression of covenant treachery.
In Hab. 3. 19, the Lord gives the prophet deer-like footing to walk upon the heights, a poetic confession of strength amid deprivation. H1116 opens teaching on worship ordered by God's revelation, corrupted worship that borrows sacred form, and confidence received from the Lord. It does not make every hill holy or demonic, erase the transitional setting at Gibeon, or promise believers social or material superiority.
The place, object of worship, covenant moment, and genre determine the claim.
How the Bible Uses It
H1116 can denote literal heights, elevated terrain, and cultic high places. Historical narratives distinguish exceptional or transitional worship settings from persistent unlawful shrines, while poetry uses heights for secure movement, victory, or divine majesty.
- 2Chr.1.3
And Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon because it was the location of God’s Tent of Meeting, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.
Solomon and the assembly travel to Gibeon because the Mosaic Tent of Meeting stands at that high place before the temple's construction.
- 1Kgs.11.7
At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
Solomon builds a high place east of Jerusalem for Chemosh and Molech as his foreign allegiances turn his heart from the Lord.
- Hab.3.19
God the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
Habakkuk confesses that the Lord God is his strength and gives secure footing on the heights despite agricultural loss and national fear.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItThe high places24×1 Kings 15:14, 1 Kings 22:43, 2 Kings 12:3, 2 Kings 14:4
on the high places11×1 Kings 3:2, 1 Kings 3:3, 1 Kings 12:31, 1 Kings 13:32
high places7×1 Kings 14:23, 2 Kings 17:9, 2 Chronicles 21:11, 2 Chronicles 28:25
of the high places6×1 Kings 13:2, 1 Kings 13:33, 2 Kings 17:32, 2 Kings 23:9
the heights6×Deuteronomy 32:13, 2 Samuel 22:34, Psalms 18:33, Isaiah 58:14
to the high place5×1 Samuel 9:13, 1 Samuel 9:14, 1 Samuel 9:19, 1 Samuel 10:13
[there]3×2 Kings 12:3, 2 Kings 15:4, 2 Kings 15:35
for the high places3×1 Kings 12:32, 1 Kings 13:33, 2 Chronicles 11:15
from the high place3×1 Samuel 9:25, 1 Samuel 10:5, 2 Chronicles 1:13
the high place3×2 Kings 23:15, Isaiah 16:12
at the high place2×1 Chronicles 16:39, 1 Chronicles 21:29
heights2×Numbers 21:28, Ezekiel 36:2
ridge2×Jeremiah 26:18, Micah 3:12
their high places2×Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 33:29
whose high places2×2 Kings 18:22, Isaiah 36:7
your heights2×2 Samuel 1:19, 2 Samuel 1:25
your high places2×Leviticus 26:30, Ezekiel 6:3
. . .1×2 Kings 17:32
[it]1×2 Kings 23:15
a high place1×1 Kings 11:7
and high places1×2 Chronicles 14:3
and the high places1×Ezekiel 6:6
at its high places1×Isaiah 15:2
at the high places1×2 Chronicles 33:17
at their deaths1×Ezekiel 43:7
high place1×1 Kings 3:4
His high places1×2 Chronicles 32:12
is the high place1×Micah 1:5
is this high place1×Ezekiel 20:29
of your high places1×Jeremiah 17:3
on the high place1×1 Samuel 9:12
the tops1×Isaiah 14:14
the waves1×Job 9:8
with their high places1×Psalms 78:58
Show sample aligned rows
Leviticus 26:30בָּמֹֽתֵיכֶ֗םtoyour high placesNoun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine pluralNumbers 21:28בָּמ֥וֹתtoheightsNoun - feminine plural constructNumbers 33:52בָּמֹתָ֖םtotheir high placesNoun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine pluralDeuteronomy 32:13בָּמוֹתֵיtothe heightsNoun - feminine plural constructDeuteronomy 33:29בָּמוֹתֵ֥ימוֹtotheir high placesNoun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural1 Samuel 9:12בַּבָּמָֽה׃toon the high placePreposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular1 Samuel 9:13הַבָּמָ֜תָהtoto the high placeArticle | Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular1 Samuel 9:14הַבָּמָֽה׃סtoto the high placeArticle | Noun - feminine singular1 Samuel 9:19הַבָּמָ֔הtoto the high placeArticle | Noun - feminine singular1 Samuel 9:25מֵהַבָּמָ֖הtofrom the high placePreposition-m, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLeviticus 26:30
Aligned rows102
Books represented18
Leviticus1Numbers2Deuteronomy21 Samuel72 Samuel31 Kings142 Kings271 Chronicles22 Chronicles17Job1Psalms2Isaiah5Jeremiah6Ezekiel6Hosea1Amos2Micah3Habakkuk1
Source forms
הַבָּמ֖וֹת8xhab·bā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 12:32, 1 Kings 22:43, 2 Kings 12:3, 2 Kings 14:4
בָּמ֣וֹת7xbā·mō·wṯ2 Kings 23:8, Jeremiah 7:31, Jeremiah 19:5, Ezekiel 16:16
בַּבָּמֽוֹת׃4xbab·bā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 22:43, 2 Kings 12:3, 2 Kings 14:4, 2 Kings 15:4
הַבָּמ֔וֹת4xhab·bā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 13:32, 2 Kings 21:3, 2 Kings 23:9, 2 Chronicles 33:3
בַּבָּמ֑וֹת3xbab·bā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 3:2, 2 Kings 15:35, 2 Chronicles 33:17
בָמ֔וֹת3xḇā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 13:33, 2 Kings 17:32, 2 Chronicles 28:25
הַבָּמוֹת֙3xhab·bā·mō·wṯ1 Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 15:35, 2 Chronicles 34:3
הַבָּמ֗וֹת3xhab·bā·mō·wṯ2 Kings 17:29, 2 Kings 18:4, 2 Kings 23:8
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - feminine plural24x1 Kings 12:32, 1 Kings 13:2, 1 Kings 13:32, 1 Kings 22:43
Noun - feminine plural construct16xNumbers 21:28, Deuteronomy 32:13, 2 Kings 23:8, 2 Chronicles 33:19
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural11x1 Kings 3:2, 1 Kings 3:3, 1 Kings 22:43, 2 Kings 12:3
Article | Noun - feminine singular9x1 Samuel 9:14, 1 Samuel 9:19, 1 Samuel 10:13, 1 Kings 3:4
Noun - feminine plural9x1 Kings 12:31, 1 Kings 13:33, 1 Kings 14:23, 2 Kings 17:9
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine plural4x1 Kings 15:14, 2 Chronicles 14:3, 2 Chronicles 15:17, Ezekiel 6:6
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular3x2 Samuel 22:34, Psalms 18:33, Habakkuk 3:19
Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular3x2 Samuel 1:19, 2 Samuel 1:25, Jeremiah 17:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not label another culture's hill, mountain, or elevated neighborhood spiritually corrupt merely because H1116 can refer to idolatrous high places.
- Do not promise a suffering believer that walking on the heights means promotion, wealth, influence, or rapid escape from loss.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every H1116 occurrence names an idolatrous shrine; some denote ordinary terrain, waves, or poetic heights.
- Do not claim that worship at Gibeon authorizes any self-chosen worship site without regard to its specific covenant setting.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. High place for worship or idolatry; physically elevated shrine, often condemned as illegitimate alternative to temple
Source Gloss
an elevation
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
High place for worship or idolatry; physically elevated shrine, often condemned as illegitimate alternative to temple
an elevation BDB: high place Usage: height, high place, wave.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
high place
high place
Elevated worship site.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 104 lexical occurrence verses.
Why This Word Matters
Highlights the tension over proper worship and reform.Hosea 10:1-8
Unauthorized worship centers.Hosea 4:11-19
Centers of unauthorized worship.Isaiah 36:1-10
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H1116 shows why place must be interpreted through covenant allegiance rather than appearance. At Gibeon, Solomon and the assembly seek the Tent of Meeting and bronze altar that belong to the Mosaic arrangement before the temple stands in Jerusalem. Later, Solomon builds a high place for foreign deities, and the same kind of elevated site now embodies his divided heart and disobedience.
Habakkuk uses heights differently again: when fields and herds fail, the Lord gives the prophet sure footing like a deer. The word itself does not sanctify or condemn elevation. A high place may be a topographic feature, a historical worship site, an idolatrous shrine, or a poetic location of secure movement. Faithful teaching asks whom people worship, whether their practice accords with God's revealed command, and what the narrator or prophet says about it.
Spiritual height is not a biblical guarantee of prominence. God may sustain His servant on difficult heights while calling His people away from impressive religious places that conceal false worship.
Anchor passage
1Kgs.11.7
Doctrinal connections
- H1116: true worship is governed by God's self-revelation and covenant command rather than by an impressive or elevated setting.
- H1116: transitional worship at Gibeon must be read within its historical moment and not made a permanent authorization for private shrines.
- H1116: Solomon's divided worship shows that wisdom, achievement, and prior blessing do not remove the danger of covenant unfaithfulness.
- H1116: idolatry can borrow architecture, sacrifice, and royal sponsorship while directing honor away from the living God.
- H1116: the Lord strengthens faithful people amid real deprivation without promising that the fields and herds will immediately recover.
- H1116: Christ gathers worship around Himself in spirit and truth, while this fulfillment does not erase Israel's historical worship boundaries.
H1116 is a Hebrew noun for a height or high place. Cultic contexts often yield high-place shrine, while topographic and poetic contexts retain senses such as heights, elevated terrain, or waves.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament locates acceptable worship in relation to the Father through Christ rather than in the prestige of a mountain or sanctuary. That canonical development clarifies worship's center without flattening the distinct lawful, transitional, idolatrous, and poetic uses of H1116.