1822. dummah
Lexical Summary
dummah: Silence, stillness

Original Word: דֻּמָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: dummah
Pronunciation: DOO-mah
Phonetic Spelling: (doom-maw')
KJV: destroy
NASB: who is silent
Word Origin: [from H1820 (דָּמָה - ruined)]

1. desolation
2. (concretely) desolate

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
destroy

From damah; desolation; concretely, desolate -- destroy.

see HEBREW damah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from damam
Definition
one silenced or brought to silence
NASB Translation
who is silent (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
דֻּמָּה noun feminine one silenced, brought to silence (?; destroyed?) מִי כְצוֺר כְּדֻמָּה בְּתוֺךְ הַיָּ֑ם Ezekiel 27:32 (form pecul. & sense dubious: Baer כְּדֻמָֿה; Co כְּבֻדָּה from כָּבֹד adjective, compare Ezekiel 23:41; Psalm 45:14) AV What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed (as though for מְדֻמָּה compare ההללה Psalm 26:1; but Pi`el Punic not elsewhere) in the midst of the sea? RV like her that is brought to silence. — DlBaer Ezech p.xi. & Pr 64 derived, hesitantly, from II. דמם.

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Nuance

דֻּמָה (dumah) portrays the stunned hush that follows calamity—an eerie stillness brought about by divine judgment. Rather than the restful quiet of peace, it is the silence of devastation, the wordless void left when prideful splendor collapses.

Scriptural Occurrence

Ezekiel 27:32 records the term’s single appearance: mourning sailors lament over Tyre, crying, “Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the midst of the sea?”. The city’s bustling harbors had once echoed with commerce and triumph; now only a mute ruin remains. The noun captures the moment when no voice is left to boast, protest, or plead.

Historical Context: Fall of Tyre

Tyre dominated Mediterranean trade for centuries, building an empire on maritime prowess (1 Kings 5:1–12; Isaiah 23:8). Ezekiel’s oracle (Ezekiel 26–28) came during Nebuchadnezzar’s long siege and anticipated Alexander’s later destruction. The lament turns Tyre’s proud “I am perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 27:3) into utter dumah. The bustling port that supplied Solomon’s temple cedars and gold became an example that earthly wealth cannot withstand the Lord’s verdict.

Theological Significance

1. Silence as Judgment. When God speaks in wrath, the rebellious are rendered speechless (Psalm 31:17; Romans 3:19). Dumah underscores that His judgments are unanswerable.
2. Silence as Confession. In Scripture, accepting God’s righteous sentence often begins with silence (Lamentations 3:28; Ezra 9:4). Tyre’s hush implies reluctant recognition that the Lord alone is sovereign over nations and commerce alike.
3. Eschatological Overtones. Tyre’s fall foreshadows the final collapse of the world system called “Babylon” (Revelation 18:9–19). Both narratives end with merchants standing afar, stunned into silence as smoke rises.

Ministry Application

• Humility in Prosperity: Churches and believers engaged in business or missions to affluent cultures must heed Tyre’s example—success without submission breeds dumah.
• Lament as Worship: Ezekiel’s poetic dirge models godly lament. Corporate worship can include honest acknowledgment of judgment that leads to repentance and renewed hope (2 Corinthians 7:10).
• Evangelistic Warning: Dumah reminds preachers that loving proclamation includes warning the proud of coming silence if they reject God’s call (Acts 17:30–31).

Related Concepts and Cross-References

Habakkuk 2:20; Zephaniah 1:7 – reverent silence before the Lord’s holiness.

Psalm 94:17 – “silence of death” absent divine help.

Isaiah 47:5 – Babylon told to “sit in silence,” echoing Tyre’s fate.

Romans 3:19 – every mouth stopped under God’s law, pointing to universal need for Christ’s atonement.

Forms and Transliterations
כְּדֻמָ֖ה כדמה kə·ḏu·māh keduMah kəḏumāh
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Englishman's Concordance
Ezekiel 27:32
HEB: מִ֣י כְצ֔וֹר כְּדֻמָ֖ה בְּת֥וֹךְ הַיָּֽם׃
NAS: is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst
KJV: over thee, [saying], What [city is] like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst
INT: Who Tyre her who the midst sea

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 1822
1 Occurrence


kə·ḏu·māh — 1 Occ.

1821
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