What does מָאוֹר (māʾwōr) mean in the Bible?
מָאוֹר (māʾwōr): Light as active illuminator—from physical luminary to emotional brightness, capturing radiance as both phenomenon and mood.
Hebrew · H3974
מָאוֹר
Properly, a luminous body or luminary , i.e. (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness , i.e. cheerfulness ; specifically, a chandelier
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מָאוֹר H3974
Pronunciation māʾwōr
What does מָאוֹר (māʾwōr) mean in the Bible?
מָאוֹר (māʾwōr): Light as active illuminator—from physical luminary to emotional brightness, capturing radiance as both phenomenon and mood.
Full entry for מָאוֹר (H3974) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3974?
The BSB source-word alignment has 19 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include for the light (8), light (2), lights (2), as lights (1), for light (1).
Where does מָאוֹר (māʾwōr) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (7), Genesis (5), Numbers (2), Psalms (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It for the light 8× Exodus 25:6, Exodus 27:20, Exodus 35:8, Exodus 35:14
light 2× Genesis 1:16
lights 2× Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:16
as lights 1× Genesis 1:15
for light 1× Exodus 35:14
in the light 1× Psalms 90:8
The light 1× Proverbs 15:30
the moon 1× Psalms 74:16
the shining 1× Ezekiel 32:8
used for light 1× Numbers 4:9
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 1:14 מְאֹרֹת֙ to lights Noun - masculine plural Genesis 1:15 לִמְאוֹרֹת֙ to as lights Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural Genesis 1:16 הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת to lights Article | Noun - masculine plural Genesis 1:16 הַמָּא֤וֹר to light Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 1:16 הַמָּא֤וֹר to light Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 25:6 לַמָּאֹ֑ר to for the light Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 27:20 לַמָּא֑וֹר to for the light Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 35:8 לַמָּא֑וֹר to for the light Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 35:14 הַמָּא֛וֹר to for light Article | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 35:14 הַמָּאֽוֹר׃ to for the light Article | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 1:14
Aligned rows 19
Books represented 7
Genesis 5 Exodus 7 Leviticus 1 Numbers 2 Psalms 2 Proverbs 1 Ezekiel 1
Source forms
לַמָּא֑וֹר 3x lam·mā·’ō·wr Exodus 27:20, Exodus 35:8, Leviticus 24:2
הַמָּא֤וֹר 2x ham·mā·’ō·wr Genesis 1:16
הַמָּאוֹר֙ 2x ham·mā·’ō·wr Numbers 4:9, Numbers 4:16
הַמָּאֽוֹר׃ 2x ham·mā·’ō·wr Exodus 35:14, Exodus 39:37
הַמָּא֛וֹר 1x ham·mā·’ō·wr Exodus 35:14
הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת 1x ham·mə·’ō·rōṯ Genesis 1:16
לְמָא֕וֹר 1x lə·mā·’ō·wr Exodus 35:28
לִמְא֥וֹר 1x lim·’ō·wr Psalms 90:8
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - masculine singular 7x Genesis 1:16, Exodus 35:14, Exodus 39:37, Numbers 4:9
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular 4x Exodus 25:6, Exodus 27:20, Exodus 35:8, Leviticus 24:2
Article | Noun - masculine plural 1x Genesis 1:16
Noun - masculine plural 1x Genesis 1:14
Noun - masculine plural construct 1x Ezekiel 32:8
Noun - masculine singular 1x Psalms 74:16
Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Proverbs 15:30
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural 1x Genesis 1:15
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Light as active illuminator—from physical luminary to emotional brightness, capturing radiance as both phenomenon and mood.
Source Gloss
properly, a luminous body or luminary , i.e. (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness , i.e. cheerfulness ; specifically, a chandelier
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Light as active illuminator—from physical luminary to emotional brightness, capturing radiance as both phenomenon and mood.
properly, a luminous body or luminary, i.e. (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness, i.e.cheerfulness; specifically, a chandelier BDB: luminary Usage: bright, light.
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.
Biblical Witnesses
Celestial luminaries, sun and moon, created to give light to earth
Figurative brightness or cheerfulness that brings health and refreshment
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 19 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מָאוֹר is built from this root:
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.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain