A sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water ; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea ; sometimes a large river , or an artifical basin ; locally, the west , or (rarely) the south
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יָם (yam) is the Hebrew word for sea — the primordial waters, the Red Sea of the Exodus, the Mediterranean horizon, and the raging deep that threatens to swallow. The local index currently counts about 396 occurrences, and yam is one of the OT's most theologically laden words because in the ancient Near Eastern worldview the sea was not merely a geographic feature but the symbol of chaos, threat, and the uncreated.
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Full entry for יָם (H3220) · Open the biblical lexicon
יָם (yam) is the Hebrew word for sea — the primordial waters, the Red Sea of the Exodus, the Mediterranean horizon, and the raging deep that threatens to swallow. The local index currently counts about 396 occurrences, and yam is one of the OT's most theologically laden words because in the ancient Near Eastern worldview the sea was not merely a geographic.
The BSB source-word alignment has 396 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the sea (83), Sea (57), of the sea (52), west (17), . . . (12).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (60), Joshua (52), Exodus (39), Psalms (38).
יָם (yam) is the Hebrew word for sea — the primordial waters, the Red Sea of the Exodus, the Mediterranean horizon, and the raging deep that threatens to swallow. The local index currently counts about 396 occurrences, and yam is one of the OT's most theologically laden words because in the ancient Near Eastern worldview the sea was not merely a geographic feature but the symbol of chaos, threat, and the uncreated powers that oppose order and life. YHWH's dominion over the yam is therefore a sovereignty claim over the deepest human fears.
Genesis 1:10 gives yam its ordered beginning: 'God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas (yammim). And God saw that it was good.' The yam does not exist independently of God's creative word — it is called, named, and bounded by divine command. The boundary that YHWH places on the yam (Job 38:8-11, 'who shut in the sea with doors?... Here shall your proud waves be stayed') is the act that makes creation habitable. The yam is real and powerful, but it is bounded.
Exodus 14 gives the yam its most dramatic redemptive appearance: the Red Sea (Yam Suph, sea of reeds) parted, walled on both sides (Exod 14:22), and then returned to swallow the Egyptian army (14:27-28). The yam that threatened Israel became the instrument of Egypt's defeat — the same water that posed the barrier became the judgment. The Exodus through the yam is the OT's central act of salvation, and it is reenacted in prophetic visions of future redemption: Isaiah 11:15-16 ('there will be a highway for the remnant... as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt') and Revelation 15:2-3 (the overcomers standing beside the sea of glass, singing the song of Moses).
Psalm 107:23-30 gives yam its most pastoral face: 'those who go down to the sea (yam) in ships, doing business on the great waters — they saw the deeds of YHWH, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the yam. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight.' The sailors at sea represent all people in crisis — the yam of overwhelming circumstances. And the psalm's turn: 'He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea (yam) were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.' The stilling of the yam is salvation.
Psalm 89:9 makes the sovereignty claim direct: 'You rule the raging yam (yam); when its waves rise, you still them.' The YHWH who rules the yam is the YHWH who is covenant-faithful (Ps 89's subject is the Davidic covenant's permanence even in apparent failure). The yam-sovereignty assures: if YHWH can quiet the sea, he can sustain the covenant.
For the preacher, יָם (yam) is the image Scripture uses for every overwhelming, threatening, boundary-breaking force — and the answer is always YHWH's sovereignty over the sea.
יָם (yam) appears about 396 times in the local OT index. Genesis gives the ordered yam (created and bounded). Exodus gives the redemptive yam (the sea parted and then returned on Egypt). Numbers through Joshua give the geographical yam (the Mediterranean and the Jordan). The Psalms give the theological yam: Ps 46 (the yam threatening, but YHWH is our refuge), Ps 89 (YHWH rules the raging yam), Ps 95 (the sea is his for he made it), Ps 107 (the storm on the yam stilled by YHWH).
Isaiah gives the prophetic yam: drying of the sea for the new Exodus, the sea's praise (Isa 42:10). Revelation inherits the eschatological yam: the sea gave up its dead (Rev 20:13) and the new creation has no more yam (Rev 21:1).
Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters.
The sailors-at-sea as the image of all human vulnerability: those on the yam see 'the deeds of YHWH, his wondrous works in the deep' (v. 24) — they see both the storm (vv. 25-27) and the stilling (vv. 28-30). The yam-context is not chosen for its pleasantness but for its extremity: 'their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men' (v.
27). The yam-storm is the condition in which YHWH's deliverance is most visible — and the stilling is 'the desired haven' (menudat chafts, v. 30). The pastor who preaches Psalm 107 to people in the storms of overwhelming circumstances gives them the sailors' testimony: YHWH stills yam-level crises.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
The redemptive yam-parting: the yam that stood between Israel and freedom becomes the road through which they pass and the grave through which Egypt perishes. The same yam is both salvation and judgment — for Israel, dry land; for Egypt, returning waters. The yam does not choose sides; YHWH does. The Exodus yam is the template for all subsequent acts of divine rescue through overwhelming circumstances: Isa 43:2 ('when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you') is the covenant application of the Exodus pattern.
You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.
The covenant-grounding of yam-sovereignty: Psalm 89 is the psalm of the Davidic covenant's apparent failure (vv. 38-51) and the divine faithfulness that must still be true. The yam-sovereignty of verse 9 is not an abstraction — it is the foundation of covenant confidence. If YHWH can still the raging sea, then even the apparent failure of the Davidic line (v.
44) Is within his sovereign control. The preacher can use this structure: the congregation facing covenant-level disappointments (prayers unanswered, promises apparently unfulfilled) is addressed by YHWH's yam-sovereignty as the ground of continuing trust.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas,
The yam as cosmological threat: if the mountains fell into the heart of the yam, if creation itself dissolved into the primordial sea — even then, YHWH is 'our refuge and strength' (v. 1). Psalm 46 uses the maximum chaos image (mountains into yam) to locate the minimum condition of fear: none. The yam at its most threatening is still not threatening enough to displace YHWH as refuge. Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress' drew from this psalm the language that creation can shake and still the fortress holds.
The Lord will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.
The new-Exodus yam drying: 'YHWH will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea.' The redemptive pattern of Exodus 14 is repeated in eschatological form: the sea dries again for the second, greater Exodus (Isa 11:16). Isaiah's expectation of a new crossing of the yam becomes the NT's picture of the final gathering — and Revelation 15:2's overcomers standing beside the sea of glass singing the Song of Moses is the ultimate fulfillment of the yam-crossing image.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Represents cosmic chaos and divine boundary; the Mediterranean defines Israel's western limit and theological horizon.
Represents cosmic chaos and divine boundary; the Mediterranean defines Israel's western limit and theological horizon.
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river, or an artifical basin; locally, the west, or (rarely) the south BDB: sea Usage: sea (× -faring man, (-shore)), south, west (-ern, side, -ward).
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 396 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
יָם (yam) gives the preacher access to one of Scripture's most primal images for everything that overwhelms: the uncontrollable, the threatening, the boundary-breaking force that can swallow ships and armies alike. The OT's consistent theological move with yam is to point past the sea to the One who made it, bounded it, parts it, and stills it. Psalm 107's sailors are the congregation in every crisis that feels like an open sea in a storm — and the promise is that YHWH stills even the yam.
The Exodus yam-parting gives the congregation its confidence that what looks like an impassable barrier between them and God's promises can become the road through which they pass and the grave of what opposes them. Psalm 46's mountain-into-sea imagery gives the congregation permission to imagine the worst and still not be afraid — not because bad things cannot happen but because YHWH is the refuge even when creation itself seems to unravel.
For the congregation living with yam-level anxieties (health, death, economic catastrophe, political chaos), the OT's yam-theology is not escapism but honest engagement: yes, the sea is real; yes, it is threatening; and yes, the God who bounded it at creation and parted it at the Exodus is the same God who says 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you... when you pass through the waters, I will be with you' (Isa 43:1-2).
Revelation 21:1's 'no more sea' is the eschatological resolution: in the new creation, the chaos-boundary is permanently gone. But until then, the sailors' prayer (Ps 107:28) is the congregation's prayer: cry out to YHWH in your trouble, and he will bring you out of your distresses.
Ps.107.23
יָם (yam) is also used for the direction 'west' in Hebrew geography (the Mediterranean was to the west of Israel, so yam became the directional term). Yam Suph (H5488 suph, reeds) is the Red Sea/sea of reeds — the Exodus crossing site. Yam HaGadol (the Great Sea) is the Mediterranean. The phrase 'from sea to sea' (Ps 72:8, Zech 9:10) describes the extent of messianic dominion.
In the ancient Near Eastern worldview, the yam was associated with Yamm, the Canaanite god of chaos and sea — the OT's yam-theology is a sustained polemic: YHWH is not competing with Yamm, he is the creator and sovereign of the yam itself. The NT's thalassa (G2281) translates yam in most LXX uses. Mark 4:39 — 'he rebuked the wind and said to the sea (thalassa), Peace!
Be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm' — is the yam-stilling of Psalm 107:29 enacted by Christ, identifying Jesus with YHWH's yam-sovereignty.
The NT's yam-theology is concentrated in two directions: Jesus's sovereignty over the sea and Revelation's eschatological sea. The sea-stilling pericopes (Mark 4:35-41, Matt 8:23-27, Luke 8:22-25) are the direct NT enactment of Psalm 107:29's yam-stilling — the disciples ask 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?' and the answer is implicitly YHWH, the one who rules the raging yam (Ps 89:9).
Peter's walking on water (Matt 14:22-33) is the Exodus yam-crossing reenacted: the sea becomes the road when the Lord commands it. Revelation's eschatological sea appears in stages: Revelation 15:2 pictures overcomers beside the sea of glass singing the Song of Moses (the Exodus yam-crossing now seen from the other shore), and Revelation 21:1 announces 'the sea was no more' — the chaos-boundary of the old creation is permanently removed in the new.
The yam that was bounded at creation, parted at the Exodus, stilled by Christ in his ministry, and stood beside in triumph at the Revelation is finally — completely, eschatologically — gone.
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